Text
Just One Family
Creator: Hannah Reidy ‘22
Date: 4/14/2020
I chose this item because it shows the true affects that the COVID pandemic had
on a family where each family member had their own unique experiences during
the pandemic and how they all fit together in the group. It is important to preserve
real accounts because it shows not just the numbers of cases or deaths but a
personal relatable story that will resonate with the future reader. I would want
someone to notice how much changed in such a short period of time and how quick
we had to adapt to this “new world”.
Personal Information: Hannah Reidy, hreidy@springfieldcollege.edu, HIST 106,
Ian Delahanty
Hello, my name is Hannah Reidy and I am 1 of 2,228 undergraduate students from
Springfield College that has been affected by the 2020 COVID outbreak. My major is Sports
Biology and I am currently in the spring semester of my sophomore year. Although I have been a
commuting student since I started college, I still feel the impact the school closing has. Even
though I do not live in a resident hall, I still spend 99 percent of my time on campus. Due to the
school closing, I feel I have been disconnected from my peers and professors. Having all my
classes online makes it hard to focus and hard to navigate assignments and expectations that
were set in the beginning of the semester. As a science major, even my organic chemistry and
anatomy and physiology labs have been moved online. On top of the regular academic stress, I
have not been able to complete shadowing hours that are necessary for me to meet Physician
Assistant graduate school requirements. In addition to school, I was also working 20 hours a
week as a server in my city. Because of the pandemic, all the restaurants are being shut down and
are only available for pickup. Therefore, I was laid off from my job and am therefore not making
money at this time which adds to the stress of everything else.
Thankfully, the assistance I have received from my professors in this time of uncertainty
is phenomenal. I know personally as a student I feel incredibly supported by all of my professors
in this incredibly hard time.
In addition to the change in school life, my home life has been increasingly stressful as
well, which I can imagine everyone’s has in this time. However, my mom is a nurse who is a unit
manager in a nursing home. In the last month, they have been preparing for the reality that they
will have a patient test positive for COVID. Just like they thought, in the last week the building
has 6 positive swabs. In order to try and contain the spread of the virus, they have turned my
mom’s unit into a COVID unit which means she is in contact with the disease every day for
extended hours. Thankfully, her facility is fortunate enough to have the proper personal
protective equipment to keep them safe; however, it is still scary to have her be so close. In order
to try and keep my father, my sister, and I safe, she must leave all of her work things in the
garage, wash all her clothes separate from ours and shower as soon as she gets home. Because
she is so close, the rest of my household has taken extra precautions in keeping everyone else
safe by not going to visit the rest of our family like my grandparents which has been incredibly
frustrating.
Currently, I am spending my days at home in the company of my younger sister who is a
junior in high school. Just the same, I must sit and watch her life be affected as well. She was
supposed to start her 3rd year of high school lacrosse, on a team that I was supposed to be
coaching. Due to the pandemic, the season has been postponed however we do not have much
hope that the season will start on the postponed date due to uncertainty in regard to when the
pandemic will end. Also, being a junior in high school means that she was supposed to have her
junior prom this year. Due to corona, her school has decided to cancel prom and not try to
postpone it. Prom has been something she has looked forward to since my first prom 3 years ago.
It is heartbreaking to see that she will not be able to do the one thing she has been looking
forward to all this time.
In all this turmoil, I guess you could say that we are one of the lucky families. I hear
stories from multiple friends that both of their parents are out of work without pay and they are
unsure how they are going to be able to pay bills. Although my mom is on the frontlines and my
sister and I are missing out on important events in our lives, we still are living in a two-income
household. My dad is a heavy equipment operator for our cities Highway Department and so he
does not come in contact with a lot of people and is considered essential to maintain roads.
Therefore, he is still working and hence getting paid to do so. All in all, we are very fortunate for
that and are incredibly grateful.
In times like these however, we must challenge ourselves to look on the bright side and
be able to adapt and make the best out of every situation. For example, I zoom chat my group of
friends at least once a week, I stay in contact with my professors and am completing assignments
to the best of my ability and I have extra time to do things I love that I did not have time for
when I was working, like painting. My sisters’ spirit was brought up over prom being cancelled
after my mom said she would host a “mini-prom” at our house when it is safe to do so. My
parents go to work every day grateful that they still can. My mom takes pride in helping people
that are victims of COVID and my dad continues to be grateful that we remain healthy.
Creator: Hannah Reidy ‘22
Date: 4/14/2020
I chose this item because it shows the true affects that the COVID pandemic had
on a family where each family member had their own unique experiences during
the pandemic and how they all fit together in the group. It is important to preserve
real accounts because it shows not just the numbers of cases or deaths but a
personal relatable story that will resonate with the future reader. I would want
someone to notice how much changed in such a short period of time and how quick
we had to adapt to this “new world”.
Personal Information: Hannah Reidy, hreidy@springfieldcollege.edu, HIST 106,
Ian Delahanty
Hello, my name is Hannah Reidy and I am 1 of 2,228 undergraduate students from
Springfield College that has been affected by the 2020 COVID outbreak. My major is Sports
Biology and I am currently in the spring semester of my sophomore year. Although I have been a
commuting student since I started college, I still feel the impact the school closing has. Even
though I do not live in a resident hall, I still spend 99 percent of my time on campus. Due to the
school closing, I feel I have been disconnected from my peers and professors. Having all my
classes online makes it hard to focus and hard to navigate assignments and expectations that
were set in the beginning of the semester. As a science major, even my organic chemistry and
anatomy and physiology labs have been moved online. On top of the regular academic stress, I
have not been able to complete shadowing hours that are necessary for me to meet Physician
Assistant graduate school requirements. In addition to school, I was also working 20 hours a
week as a server in my city. Because of the pandemic, all the restaurants are being shut down and
are only available for pickup. Therefore, I was laid off from my job and am therefore not making
money at this time which adds to the stress of everything else.
Thankfully, the assistance I have received from my professors in this time of uncertainty
is phenomenal. I know personally as a student I feel incredibly supported by all of my professors
in this incredibly hard time.
In addition to the change in school life, my home life has been increasingly stressful as
well, which I can imagine everyone’s has in this time. However, my mom is a nurse who is a unit
manager in a nursing home. In the last month, they have been preparing for the reality that they
will have a patient test positive for COVID. Just like they thought, in the last week the building
has 6 positive swabs. In order to try and contain the spread of the virus, they have turned my
mom’s unit into a COVID unit which means she is in contact with the disease every day for
extended hours. Thankfully, her facility is fortunate enough to have the proper personal
protective equipment to keep them safe; however, it is still scary to have her be so close. In order
to try and keep my father, my sister, and I safe, she must leave all of her work things in the
garage, wash all her clothes separate from ours and shower as soon as she gets home. Because
she is so close, the rest of my household has taken extra precautions in keeping everyone else
safe by not going to visit the rest of our family like my grandparents which has been incredibly
frustrating.
Currently, I am spending my days at home in the company of my younger sister who is a
junior in high school. Just the same, I must sit and watch her life be affected as well. She was
supposed to start her 3rd year of high school lacrosse, on a team that I was supposed to be
coaching. Due to the pandemic, the season has been postponed however we do not have much
hope that the season will start on the postponed date due to uncertainty in regard to when the
pandemic will end. Also, being a junior in high school means that she was supposed to have her
junior prom this year. Due to corona, her school has decided to cancel prom and not try to
postpone it. Prom has been something she has looked forward to since my first prom 3 years ago.
It is heartbreaking to see that she will not be able to do the one thing she has been looking
forward to all this time.
In all this turmoil, I guess you could say that we are one of the lucky families. I hear
stories from multiple friends that both of their parents are out of work without pay and they are
unsure how they are going to be able to pay bills. Although my mom is on the frontlines and my
sister and I are missing out on important events in our lives, we still are living in a two-income
household. My dad is a heavy equipment operator for our cities Highway Department and so he
does not come in contact with a lot of people and is considered essential to maintain roads.
Therefore, he is still working and hence getting paid to do so. All in all, we are very fortunate for
that and are incredibly grateful.
In times like these however, we must challenge ourselves to look on the bright side and
be able to adapt and make the best out of every situation. For example, I zoom chat my group of
friends at least once a week, I stay in contact with my professors and am completing assignments
to the best of my ability and I have extra time to do things I love that I did not have time for
when I was working, like painting. My sisters’ spirit was brought up over prom being cancelled
after my mom said she would host a “mini-prom” at our house when it is safe to do so. My
parents go to work every day grateful that they still can. My mom takes pride in helping people
that are victims of COVID and my dad continues to be grateful that we remain healthy.