Remote University Students During COVID-19: Proceeding With Passion and Grit

by: Josh Fassnacht

"The stress is real; being halfway around the world, the time difference is a real adversity especially as classes take place overnight for me." says Dushan Wijetunga, a fellow first year international student at the University of Victoria, British Colombia. "It all cancels out due to all of the amazing things I am learning however. It is amazing how interesting university is even if online, and it feels great to be doing what I love to do," he adds. This appears to be a common outlook among many university students that are stuck learning remotely whether quarantining on campus, off campus, or even having to reside at home in a different country than that of their university.

This condition of remote learning has managed to provide multiple difficulties for students to overcome. International students may be learning in completely different time zones while recorded and live video lectures also may not be fulfilling certain students' full learning capabilities in comparison to in person lectures. Connecting with and meeting new peers along with finding new opportunities have been moved primarily online for many students, and as courses and various responsibilities along with extracurricular involvements have moved online, time management and organization becomes a trickier task... especially if one is a student operating in a separate time zone.

These difficulties being faced by many current university students happen to have many temporary solutions as students find ways to: tweak daily routines and management of time, better pair independent study and research skills with recorded and live video lectures; connect and study with fellow classmates and peers via various video chat platforms; and even tend to various responsibilities, involvements, relationships, and extracurricular activities through a multitude of online programs and social medias.

"This is a bit of a contradiction, but while I feel more organized—probably because I’m trying so hard to not miss any assignments or assessments—I can’t help but to feel like I’m missing assignments, even though I’m not," says Julia Brusco, another fellow first year international student. "Knowing that everyone will be safer if we go through this is definitely an inspiration," she adds. Wijetunga and Brusco, both in similar spirits, note that while adversity in different forms is very much present due to the pandemic and state of remote learning, they have found that while adaptation and certain creative measures must be taken, great passion and inspiration have still been found within their studies and work while proving to be fuel to proceed with grit nonetheless. Similarly to Brusco's statement, this situation of remote learning is acknowledged by many remote students as a necessary precaution to fight the pandemic and flatten the curve while keeping friends, family, and neighbors safe.

What today's young adults and university students have proven to the world is that they are prepared to adapt to and take on unplanned difficulties now and ever into the future. Not only that, but it is of great importance to take note that many of the world's young students are willing to take on struggle to keep their fellow neighbors safe. While these times are truly unprecedented, it can be of certainty that the world's young students will be coming out on the other side of these times brighter and with more passion than ever.