Covid, Culture, & College: How the Pandemic Impacted our Cultural & Academic Experiences
Transitioning to College
Hi all! I’m Evelina (she/her) and I started UCI as a first generation college student, and as a 2020 “COVID Graduate”. Even though I felt somewhat ill-prepared for the rigor of a university, I was lucky enough to have an older sister who started college the same year I started high school, and she passed on so much of her knowledge and experience to me. Her success was inspiring but also a bit daunting for me— she ended up graduating from UCLA the same year I got rejected from there. However, I was proud and excited to be attending UCI, and as I began to navigate my imposter syndrome, I learned that comparing my experience and success to those of my sister or my peers only added to my stress and increased my self-doubt.
My first year of college was entirely online, and because I come from a low income household, it only made sense for me to stay home and save money on housing for the school year. However, doing school from home as a freshman proved to be far more mentally draining than I could have anticipated. My parents weren’t able to be much help when it came to things like registering for classes and financial aid, and on top of that could not understand why I never came out of my room. Not only was I busy with my new college workload, I found it increasingly difficult to be cooped up with my family who treated me no differently from when I was in high school. Many of the close friends I hung out with had already moved away for college, so I spent most of the year pretty isolated. This made it more difficult to make friends when I finally did move out to Irvine, it was like I had forgotten how to socialize. Now as a 3rd year, this is only in my second year on campus and my first year with fully in person instruction. It is more fast-paced than I was used to, but I have made many memories and connections in the time I have been here. Although I have acclimated by now, I can’t help but wonder if what I missed out on has impacted the quality of my social and academic experience here.
If there is one thing I’ve learned from my upbringing and my college experience during a pandemic, it’s that you have to make the most out of the opportunities you’re given. It’s easy to dwell on what could’ve happened or what you should’ve done, but we end up wasting energy that should be invested in our goals, building relationships, and making connections with others. My advice to incoming freshmen: Do not be afraid to use your support system! Call your family when you feel lonely, talk to friends when you need to vent, and reach out to your peers and TAs for academic support. Your worth is not defined by your GPA– your overall well-being is always more important.
Hi everyone, my name is Selina (she/her) and I’m a second year international student majoring in psychological science and business economics. I would like to share a bit about myself and hope you will enjoy reading it.
Generally, international students who recently came to the U.S. to study are most likely forced to get used to using English in their daily lives, figuring out how to stay connected with parents and friends from home, and also adjusting to the new cultural environment. These are just some of the common stressors for them in addition to transitioning to college, compared to other students. I remembered when I worked on a project that focused on this topic, and read articles about acculturation, bilingualism and biculturalism, being physically away from parents, and mental health services specifically for international students. It’s surprising to see how these impactful factors are often neglected by people, even international students themselves.
For me personally, the transition to college is relatively smooth because I have already come to the U.S. for 4 years of high school. Regardless, it was still a pretty big transition because I moved from the east coast to the west coast. I attended high school in Rhode Island, and I did not understand the regional differences until I came to UCI. South California gave me a strong impression of relaxing from as early as my first glance. When I first came to campus and saw the Middle Earth buildings, I was thinking: “Is this some kind of holiday village?” The buildings are modern here, compared to those traditional Victorian buildings that the east coast has, which reflects on their more fast-paced routine and lifestyle.
One thing about UCI that stands out to me is the student population. It’s more diverse, and I felt students are generally more welcoming to people coming from various backgrounds. I met friends from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds and it’s very exciting to learn about them. Knowing more about other cultures allows me to become a global citizen which helps me learn to consider things from different perspectives.
Another impactful event for our class is the pandemic. I was a junior in high school when it first began and many of our courses were still online during the fall of 2021—my first quarter in UCI. My first-quarter experience felt challenging because it was difficult to connect with people outside of my dorm building. Zoom meetings made it hard for me to know my classmates, and there’s the sense that my college experience did not officially start until spring quarter, when most courses at that time became in-person ones.
This topic brings me to some suggestions I have for our first-years. The only takeaway would be: enjoy it! These four (in most cases) years pass so fast, especially with our quarter system. While focusing on your academics and develop professionally, don’t forget to enjoy your college time as well—join clubs, go to events, and have fun with friends, or anything that makes you excited~
Hello lovely readers! My name is Cally (she/her), and I am a Psychological Science student currently in my last quarter at UCI. I’ll be sharing a bit about my college experience, including how I’ve navigated college in the wake of a pandemic as both a transfer student and second-generation immigrant. I’ll also give some advice for those who are new to UCI towards the end of my piece, so stick around for that!
When reflecting on my entire college experience, I realize that it definitely has not gone as I expected; the pandemic tore down the notion of the “typical college experience” full of socialization with new people. I graduated high school in 2019, then attended community college for just one in-person semester until the pandemic shut down the world. With limited in-person social support and a schedule full of Zoom classes, my mindset around college became very negative. Since my close friends had moved away for university, I felt that my social support network had been deconstructed, only for stay-at-home orders to bring them back to my hometown, but prohibit me from seeing them. In terms of academics, as a first-generation student trying to transfer to a four-year university, this was also difficult to navigate. My parents came to the United States from Argentina and attended community college here, but had not been through the process of applying to a four-year institution. Because of this, I had to turn to my friends and counselors for assistance and advice. This was not like high school where counselors automatically guide you; I had to actively seek out and utilize my resources (which proved to be tough during remote learning). Thankfully, with much help from my community college’s Honors Transfer Program, I was able to successfully transfer to UCI during the same quarter in which we returned in-person, and my experience has definitely improved from there! Having the opportunities to meet new people and interact with our teaching teams in-person has felt like a great relief.
Nowadays, we are definitely not “done” with the pandemic. It is still here making an impact on the world, so it is important for us to remain cautious. However, being able to return to in-person activities on campus will hopefully help all of us feel more immersed and comfortable here at UCI. One takeaway of my college experience so far would be to really advocate for yourself. You are here for a reason and deserve to succeed! If you are in need of resources but are not sure what is out there for you, make an appointment with an advisor or counselor and ask if they can direct you to resources for your demographic. Being in my last quarter, there are definitely some opportunities that I wish I had found sooner and been able to take part in. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and remember to take the leap if you find an opportunity that excites you!
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