Daily Archives: October 8, 2020

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Mobile market provides free food

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Poster with details about the mobile food market

The mobile farmer’s market at Northern Essex Community College provides free food to students and faculty,

The Food Market is open once a month from September through April on both campuses located in Haverhill and Lawrence.

Northern Essex will have its next Food Market on Oct. 27.

In order to receive food from the Food Market, an appointment has to be made a week an advance.

A bag of food which is prepacked and fresh will be given through drive-up and if you don’t have a vehicle then it can be given by foot.

Due to Covid-19, everyone who’s volunteering at the Food Market will being wearinggloves and a facemask for the safety of others and themselves.

Coordinator of Civic Engagement, Service-Learning, & Community Resources Janel D’ Agata Lynch, who supervises the Food Market stated that about 150 to 200 students participated recently at the FoodMarket. Everyone receives the same amount of food and the same fresh produce. According to Courtney Morin, who manages the Food Market, stated that fresh food like onions, eggplant,peppers, and zucchini is some of the produce that is being given at the Food Market. Each bag weighs about 15 pounds each.

The Food Market receives its fresh food from the Boston Food Bank.

In order to register, students and faculty can go onto the NECC website and click on Events and thenc lick on Food Market, which is presented on the school calendar, which will give the option to fill out a form in order to register.

If anyone wants to volunteer and help the community, 5 to 6 people is needed at theFood Market in order to help those in need.

The Food Market is running by appointments only, due to Covid-19, if you’re a student or a faculty at NECC, NECC wants to help and provide free food for those in need

 

 

 

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Pandemic School: Learning during COVID

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Coronavirus has drastically changed the ways schools have been running. Throughout Haverhill and surrounding areas, schools are all going about opening in a very different way.

Three students, Violette Smith, Hannah Grace, and Sydney Wolbach all attend different schools in the area and give us some insight into what it is like to be a student during a global pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has been raging for over 7 months and has shown no sign of stopping. It has infected close to 40 million people and killed over 1 million. Schools officially shut down across the nation in March. Everyone was unsure of how long they would be closed.

Violette Smith, an early college student at Northern Essex Community College, remembers the day the college closed down in March.

“It was like a few days before we were scheduled to go on spring break. I was in history class and everybody got an alert on their phones saying that someone at NECC tested positive and in person classes were canceled. I remember we all were freaking out. Our professor just sort of said alright, bye guys and we all just booked it out of class. There were just students all waiting to get picked up or to get on the bus and everyone was really confused. But, it was kind of all in a lighthearted joking manner. I don’t think any of us knew how long we would be out of school for.”

But, fairly quickly Smith and other students at NECC realized they weren’t going to be back anytime soon. Pretty soon the school was closed down for the rest of the semester and classes were to be continued completely online.

“The teachers took about a week to transition to online learning,” Smith recalled on starting remote learning, “Overall, it was a pretty smooth transition. I still got a lot from all of my classes and I think my teachers handled the quick switch great. I do remember though at the start of the summer classes it was still up in the air whether we’d be doing live classes or not, which looking back is pretty funny because obviously we’re still all remote. But, I think that’s a good choice. I think that’s definitely what’s safest and that’s the most important. And personally, I’ve been doing fine with remote learning. As long as I keep managing my time and keep up with the workload, I’ll be pretty successful. ”

Not all schools in the area chose to start off this school year as fully remote. Pentucket High School, a nearby public school in West Newbury offered either full remote or a hybrid option. However, they have just announced that they are going to move to only full remote after a few students came down with the virus. Hannah Grace, a junior at Pentucket, has been doing full remote since the start of the school and shared how the school year has been going so far.

“I think for me remote learning works pretty good, which is why I chose the full remote option, that and it’s obviously safer then the hybrid, which they aren’t doing anymore anyway,” she said. “I honestly thrive in an independent learning situation, where I have more freedom, so I think that online learning works pretty well for me. It can be a little challenging to communicate with teachers.”

However, Grace says that, while all remote works well for her, she can see why it might not work for other students at Pentucket and in general.

“I do work well when I am essentially left in charge of everything with minimal outside support. But, I do know that most kids don’t work that way, so I can imagine that lack of teacher support and live interaction could be really hard from a lot of schools.”

Most private schools in the area have chosen to go with a hybrid model. Penguin Hall, a private high school in Wenham, has a hybrid model that consists of one week live, one week remote. A junior at said school, Sydney Wolbach, gave her opinions on this school year.

“Personally I think that my school did a very good job of handling it. I think it was great that we were able to open and still all be safe,” she said. ” I definitely prefer the weeks when we are doing live learning. Remote learning is just very challenging for me. It’s hard for me to retain information and harder to keep concentrated and to keep a motivational schedule.”

Wolbach does struggle with remote learning, but she understands it’s necessity. She said, “I do wish we could go back to full live learning soon, but we’re in a global pandemic right now and the number one priority is keeping safe. But, I do think that my school is doing a pretty phenomenal job overall.”

Smith, Grace and Wolbach all agree on the importance of safety during schooling. Remote learning is very new for both students and teachers and brings many new challenges.

Smith put it nicely, “We all are very unsure right now, especially us students. But, it’s very important for us to keep up with our education, even if it is not in person, because our safety is also very important.”

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Pandemic Etiquette 101

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The day of March 12 will live in infamy due to the coronavirus pandemic and how it subsequently shook up the world.

When this pandemic first hit, we didn’t exactly know what we were in for but we knew that life as we knew it would never be the same.

The pandemic has really changed how we act as a society and has given us a whole new bunch of rules to follow.

There are the classics like social distancing, wearing masks and practicing good hygiene, however no one really talks about another how the aspects of daily life have changed.

“Socialization — people are staying home more often due to the pandemic,” said Carrie Corsaro, NECC Educational Coach said.

We are now recommended to eat outdoors, shop using one-way lanes and get our education through a variety of technological applications due to the virus.

There is something that people also do not consider when discussing pandemic etiquette, and that is the mentality of how it affects people of different ages.

The response from children is different from the response from adults.

“I would say children have a harder time with this because they don’t know what is going on,” said Henry Nachamie, NECC student.

It does not matter how old you are, good etiquette is always important especially in trying times such as these.

As long as we stay careful and vigilant and follow the guidelines, then we will return to a new normal and be better off for it.

Opinion

Dual enrollment is a win-win for high school students during the pandemic

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March 11 of this year the World Health Organization would declare COVID-19 a pandemic, two days later the U.S. declared a state of emergency, closing schools and changing education forever.

Change is not a weak power, change is the driving force of tragedy, hope, disaster, and success, it is a power we as people barely understand despite it being our greatest strength.

While elementary and middle schools were not changed as much, high school and college education was changed drastically. High schools across the state struggled to change, most of them were already overpopulated and poorly integrated with technology. Colleges while integrated with college technology and in control of the population, had the issue of running as a business during a time when money was becoming less common.

Gabriella Castro-Rovira, a high school student at Andover High School commented on the issue of online work for high schools. “High schools started outsourcing classes to online education institutes, like Virtual High School,” she said.  “While these classes where good for students who wanted 1 or 2 classes to be a challenge, they aren’t effective for most kids and quickly become overwhelming.”

Some students were able to dual enroll, where they can enroll in a local college at the same time they are enrolled in high school.

“Dual enrollment gave students a chance to transition into college early, while saving money and getting ahead.”

Dual enrollment saves the families of students a good deal of money that can be put into other life expenses, and it allows students to gain an opportunity to get college credits.

Money is a huge factor in a lot of the motivations that drive the school. While colleges make a lot of money off tuition, housing, and food services, and these services are things that either cannot happen during the pandemic. Ursula Furi-Perry, an attorney and higher education professional commented on the financial situation. “Money is crucial to families nowadays; the pandemic has made so many families lose jobs and money has overall become less frequent. Colleges are scrambling to get students into their campuses and this causing a lot of smaller colleges to close.”

Money was also a motivating factor in the high school’s decision, Virtual High School was a huge expense to a lot of schools with a lot of classes costing $500-$1,000, forcing schools to spend thousands on students in order to avoid drafting a new plan to support remote learning.

Dual enrollment seems to be a perfect medley for students and families, it saves money for the high schools and families, it allows for colleges to get students into their programs, it allows high school students to meet college students and to get college credits, and most importantly it allows high school students to get ahead in a time when everyone seems to be behind.

 

 

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Online learning in the pandemic

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During this pandemic, it has been difficult for students to learn and concentrate. Some college students have faced a lot of struggles. Also, the professors have been facing difficulties teaching during the pandemic.

Mirrororajah Metcalfe is a student at Northern Essex Community College. Her major is Journalism and Communications. She from Las Vegas.  Metcalfe states that she struggles  learning virtually.

“The hardest part is creating a schedule every week,” she said.

She also is having to email teachers for questions instead of being able to ask. Students also have problems staying focused during this pandemic since everything virtual is been to hard maintain focus. Because we in a different set of learning and don’t see the professor face to face.

Metcalfe said, “for the classes I’m taking I don’t have any virtual meetings.”

Not every student has a virtual meeting this fall semester which can be beneficial since it causes some stress and confusion for students.  Helpful resources are important and take you a long way during learning virtually. It is useful to find any recourse it can help you.

”Honestly just planning my schedule is the most important thing for me so that I can stay organized and not fall behind also getting a planner notebook and doing school work at my desk instead of my bed,” said Metcalfe.  This is very helpful and can make you feel more confident in school and be more prepared to learn.  It can still difficult to stay motivated if you not getting the help you need.

Metcalfe said the way she keeps motivated is “I just have to be in the right mindset to get work done.” Having a positive mindset and getting work done and not procrastinating can take students a long way in school during this pandemic.

A student from Northern Essex Community College, Pachano Matos is an Electrical/computer and Chemical Engineering major. Matos is from the Dominican Republic.

He faced struggles from learning virtually. The struggle Matos has is “I have ADHD, so I have a hard time concentrating and taking the time out to do the class and when reading the material, I get distracted and bored and usually don’t finish and I’m working full time,” he said.

It can be hard for students to learn especially with learning disabilities. It’s hard to stay focus during virtual learning if you are distracted easily.

There are ways to fix it, This is what the Matos said about fixing the issue about him not concentrating. “I don’t really. I’m always late for everything I tried and plan but at the end of the day it really does not work for me. In a zoom classroom. I can turn off mic and camera and just do other things and the whole things class is in the background. The lectures that I have to read I don’t, and the discussion board I don’t really participate.”

This student has problems staying focused and being on task because it’s hard for him to pay attention and to make a schedule for the upcoming day. Some students having trouble with the same thing as well it can be hard to also achieve in school while learning virtually.

Matos also stated about his grades. “for example, I am taking one class so far in person. And in that class so far, I have 60 points out of 60 compare that to one of the classes complete online where have 48 out of 70.”

Students have been struggling on maintaining good grades since the semester started. That’s why good methods come in handy for some students during this virtual learning. This is what Matos said about his resources: “Honestly I don’t think I can with all honestly say that there’s any of me. Except maybe for the school paying for half of my computer.” Paying for expenses of students has helped a lot and has put less stress in their life. It also made it is easier for them to study and pass in work.

It has been very difficult for students to stay motivated during a pandemic. Especially if they can’t seek help.  Matos struggles during the pandemic, with staying motivated.

“I have my good share of struggle even if we are on campus, but being so behind in almost all of my classes and losing point in such unnecessary manner, and having to self-teach for me most part and trying to juggle everything and that at the end of the day may not be enough,” he said.

“It’s hard to want to continue … It  seems that the system doesn’t really care for the odd ones out. The school is set up as one fits all kind of education when life doesn’t work like that. And they should allow some people, learning remotely being able to take classes on campus and practicing social distancing. I know it is possible because it is a reality to one of my classes,” he said.

Mary Jo Shafer teaches journalism and English Composition at Northern Essex Community College. She is also the faculty adviser for the college student newspaper the NECC Observer, which is not publishing a print issue right now but is being updated on its website.

Learning virtually can be a struggle and teaching can be a struggle too. Before this semester Shafer said she had never taught fully online.

She said, like many of her students, she has also struggled to stay focused during this stressful time.

The work environment made it tough to stay focused during this pandemic and attention span has gotten shorter, she said. Teachers also had resources to help them out during this time as well and she took a class this summer on how to design online courses.

The professor stated that she had some helpful resources, including coaches this summer ot help her design online courses.  She said that she knows many people have struggled with staying motivated during this pandemic and that she realizes it has been hard for the students as well.

“This affected professors in college as well,” she said. “Everybody had different struggles …. because everybody had a different experience …. but everyone did struggle during this new transition from working on campus to working from home.”

Being a student and teacher during this pandemic has been a struggle for many students and professors in schools, not just Northern Essex Community College. My sources all had a different experience, different issues but they all can relate to one another’s struggle.

 

 

 

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When COVID-19 hits home

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COVID-19 continues to tear through the world, through the United States, and through Massachusetts. It continues to reach and affect people throughout the Haverhill community, and in other surrounding communities. And since the pandemic first reached this area, it has hit home for numerous college and high school students, like Sabine Smith, Jason Curry, and Hannah Longo.

The coronavirus has affected over 35.8 million people worldwide. Around one million people have died. In the U.S alone, around 7.53 million people have contracted the virus and more then two hundred thousand have died. In Massachusetts, the total number of cases is around 130,000, and the number of deaths is up to 9,500.

In Essex County, Mass., which includes cities like Haverhill, there are about 20,600 with 1,300 deaths.

Back in March, lockdown had just begun, nobody was really aware of how destructive the virus actually was.

Sabine Smith, a student at Northern Essex Community College, said she had not been taking the virus seriously at all.

“School had closed down, but nobody was sure for how long. I think I thought the virus would pass us by,” she said. “I was following protocols and everything, but I was sort of oblivious to what was going on. I’d be texting or facetiming my friends, and we’d just be joking about everything. It was funny to us. Being on social media was like that too. Everyone was making jokes and acting like it wasn’t a big deal, so I wasn’t worrying about it.”

Her mindset changed quickly, however. Just a few weeks into quarantine, Smith learned that her grandfather had contracted the coronavirus.

“I remember my mom told me, and I just didn’t believe her. I had the idea that it wasn’t going to happen to anyone I knew,” she recalls. “I was worried. But I also didn’t want to tell anyone else. I feel like there was a stigma around the virus at that point in time.”

It was an excruciating time for her and her family. Her grandfather, and her grandmother, who did not test positive but quarantined with her grandfather, were both in the age bracket of those most heavily affected by COVID-19. At the time, the virus was still emerging, and so nobody knew much about it. Smith remembers how terrifying the whole thing was. She, along with the rest of her family, had to quarantine for two weeks, but they did not have the virus. Everyday, they would check in with her grandparents, and would drop things off at their house.

“Thankfully, they weren’t super sick from it, but it was still worrying.” said Smith. “My grandparents have always been really healthy, so it was hard for everyone to adjust. Thankfully, they were only sick for about two weeks, and it doesn’t seem like they have any lasting effects from it. I know that they were incredibly lucky.”

The social aspect was hard for her family. Her grandparents live close by, and they are always seeing them, so to be cut off like that was hard on both ends.

The stress of being separated from a loved one under such uncertain circumstances is a struggle for many people, and it hit Jason Curry, an Essex-Technical High School student, especially hard. Prior to the pandemic, his older brother had been traveling quite a bit, and he had been unable to see him. His brother had been in Europe from January, was supposed to come home in March, but held off due to the virus.

“He came back in April. He had to get tested, and then we found out he had COVID. It was like we barely got to see him.” said Curry. “We’d all been really missing him, and then as soon has he got back, he had to quarantine in his apartment.”

His brother was alone during his whole period of quarantine. Curry’s mother had been going to check on him, but then she tested positive, and the whole family had to quarantine.

“At that point, I don’t think they were testing people unless they showed symptoms. My mom started showing symptoms, so she got tested and she was positive. Everyone else in my family was asymptomatic, so we didn’t get tested. The doctors told us to just stay home for two-three weeks, and if we started showing symptoms, we should get tested.” Curry remembers. “It was hard because my school had just made the transition to online, and I was trying to focus on that, and I was also trying to facetime my brother, because I wanted to make sure he was doing okay. It was hard to talk to him though, because he was really tired. It was just upsetting because none of us had seen him for so long, and then he immediately got sick. But I’m just grateful nobody in my family got super sick, because a few friends of mine actually lost people to the virus”.

Curry said that being directly affected by COVID changed his perspective on the virus. Before his family members got it, he had thought people were overreacting about it.

“I didn’t really believe that the virus was that serious. But then, you actually see what it does first hand. I wish I hadn’t underestimated it before,” said Curry. “I’m glad that everyone was able to recover, but I feel stupid for disregarding the virus before.”

Hannah Longo, a junior at Pentucket Regional High School, was also skeptical about the virus. And then she saw how dangerous it actually was. Longo’s cousin had been traveling overseas. She returned in late March, and soon after, began exhibiting COVID symptoms.

“I’m not that close with that side of my family. I was concerned, but my cousin was doing okay,” said Longo. “Then it turned out that basically all my aunts, uncles and cousins on that side of the family tested positive. I had no idea that the virus was like that.”

Longo’s immediate family had not been in contact with any of the members who had tested positive, so they were not worried about contracting the coronavirus themselves. They were worried, however, about Longo’s grandparents. They had been in contact with the positive family members. Her grandparents were elderly, and both had multiple pre-existing conditions.

“We found out they were positive about a week after my other family members tested positive. Within a few days of them testing positive, they were both in the hospital.” said Longo. “It was really horrifying. They were doing fine, and then immediately, they were on ventilators. It was really shocking.”

A week after testing positive, Longo’s grandfather passed away. Only a few days later, her grandmother passed as well

‘It was awful.” Longo recalls. “It had only been a week or so, and the virus acted so quickly”.

It was hard for Longo. She had not seen her grandparents for quite awhile, and it upset her that nobody had been able to say goodbye. She had to try to do her best in her online classes, and try to help out her family members.

“It was tough because we couldn’t have a funeral, we couldn’t properly say goodbye,” said Longo. “It was hard to move on, because we couldn’t do any of the things that people do to move on.”

Longo’s family eventually held a small memorial service, which she feels helped them get through. Her family began to recover from the shock, and the trauma.

“It’s still hard, but slowly, we’ve been managing.” Longo said. “I wanted to add that before this happened, I was unaware of how devastating the virus was, but now I’m trying my best to follow the protocols and stay up to date on the information surrounding the pandemic. I just wish it hadn’t taken the loss of my grandparents to make me see that.”

For these three students, the effects of the virus showed them its seriousness.

But they are worried that others who were not directly affected still do not understand.

“I’m glad not everyone has to go through this,” said Longo. “But that’s why I’m glad to share my story. I want to help educate those who may have been like me. I know many people feel like the pandemic won’t affect them, but I want them to see what it can really do. It is still present in our community, and it can still affect you or your family members.”

 

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Students reflect on loss of on campus experience

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Not much has changed since March of 2020. NECC students remain inside, learning through the screens of their laptops. The only thing that is different is the question of what could have been.

Claudia Sanchez, 21, an elementary education major, shares her reaction to the news of online learning.

“I was excited, I thought online would mean ease of access,” she said.

But online classes did not come without setbacks. For Sanchez, grasping teacher’s style of teaching has been difficult to grasp and even more so in an online setting. Online learning has not only made it difficult for students in the aspects of learning, but also on a social level.

Like many others, Sanchez craves activity. She was looking forward to attending school and being able to do something productive.

“I wanted to challenge myself and get closer to my goal rather than standing still and doing nothing,” she said.

Another student who wishes to remain anonymous says, “I just miss seeing things.”

The student mentions the past sights of students walking the hallways or studying in the library, and how it would be nice to see such things once again.

However students do understand what’s at stake, and agree with the restrictions put in place.

Sarah Sanford, an english major from Methuen states, “closing the school ensures the safety of students and faculty members.”

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Students share opinions of online learning

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There are many aspects that come into play with today’s changes in learning due to the pandemic that everyone wants to see the end of. Some believe the online changes are for the better and some do not.

Three Northern Essex community college students were interviewed on the topic at hand.

Alicia Russell, is a mother of 3 and currently in the nursing program at NECC.

Her perspective was different and unique compared to the normal community college student entering after high school due to the changes in learning over the years and her busy schedule she is used to.

She reported that it is actually better for her learning online for multiple reasons. With working overnight shifts at a hospital and helping her youngest son Max Russell in second grade she finds there to be not much time to herself.

With everything being online she has a better time doing things on her own time usually “during when work is dead and or around the afternoon when everyone in the family is all set.

” “It is good that I am able to work around my own schedule and not on the schools preset schedule every week,” she said.

This understandably makes sense for any mother putting herself back through school and throws a different perspective of a college student into the mix. When asked if she struggles with not being able to succeed without face to face learning she stated “most teachers nowadays simply throw a power point up and read it to the class while we take notes. I feel I can do that on my own no problem online unless the teacher decides to put some more thought into the lecture, but beside that I’m all set.”

She did state that for certain classes she took in the past of pre-covid-19 that she enjoyed the face to face help as she did in her anatomy class with a “wonderful teacher” by the name of Professor Noel Ways.

The second person interviewed was Brian Benjamin who has just graduated high school and is taking communications at NECC in hopes of one day becoming a sportswriter.

Him being from a different generation and having different responsibilities gives him a different perspective. He does not very much enjoy the change to online schooling but prefers it to the remote learning that some other colleges are taking the opportunity to pick instead of taking class online in zoom.

When asked why is online learning better then remote learning he stated that learning through zoom can at times be “annoying staring at a computer for that long trying to pay attention to a lecture about a power point I can read on my own time.”

He also stated that “at least with just online learning I can take a break, so I don’t have to burn my eyes out.”

While making the situation comedic during the interview he speaks facts while “growing up people have always been told not to stare at screens all day.”

Staring too long at screens can cause eye strain, headaches, and even neck pain, etc. The next question was as to why just regular online learning is worse than in person and he stated multiple reasons. The first being that when attending a class teachers are there to remind you as to when something is due and you will always be there in class to get that reminder while as to online you have to keep up to date with course announcements on your own which makes it a little harder to remember.

“I can remember I had to do something for a certain day when I have to actually physically show up to class with it,” he said.

Another reason he stated put simply was just that he is a face to face learner as many are. Some people just cannot read something and be ready for a test, some need the in person teaching to help them get through something.

Lastly, Sara Levesque of Northern Essex is taking accounting. She is another fellow 2020 high school graduate but is trying to get a very different degree then Brian Benjamin. Most of her classes will involve math while most of his writing. She on the other hand enjoys the online learning. She enjoys this due to being able to do her work at her own pace with assignments being posted ahead of time more often then not to get them out of the way. She also had said that she considered herself to be a “self-learner in high school behind the computer so I’m fine with it now as well.”

If she has any problems with the work, she already had taken online to it anyways, she said.

These 3 people had very unique answers to each other due to different backgrounds and considering very different majors between all three and one being an adult mother student taking classes once again. This affects whether you like or dislike the online learning and shows three good angles of such to consider for what position you are in as a college student.

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Staving off cabin fever in the time of COVID

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In a world on pause, what is one to do? Americans are resorting to an assortment of various activities to stave off cabin fever during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Have people been able to stay productive, healthy, and happy during the quarantine? Can people have benefited from the pandemic, whether it be a new skill picked or a personal achievement they have reached?

Find out how locals such as yourself have remained entertained during this deadly outbreak.

One 15-year-old, Julia Isabelle has decided to embark on a time travel journey, through her writings that is. “I am currently writing a story on a women who has to travel back in time to save the one she loves from dying in a duel, it is sort of going to be like Groundhog Day,” Isabelle says about her story.

Without the extra time afforded to her by the pandemic, Isabelle does not know if she would have even thought about writing the story otherwise.

Merrimack College Junior, Carissa Whittemore has spent her time by painting and creating more artwork than she has ever done before. Whittemore said that “I never really painted before the pandemic, or at least not nearly as much as I am now.”

When asked how they have been able to stay in contact with their friends both Whittemore and Isabelle responded by saying social media apps, such as Snapchat or Instagram have played a great role in staying connected with one another.

During this pandemic, many of us have seemed to retreat to the indoors, but Kristen Doringer has resorted to rather chilling walks. Doringer has started new walking routes through the cemeteries to find key figure’s graves.

Doringer said “I lost 30Ibs by walking to key figures resting places such as John Greenleaf Whittier.”

During the pandemic it seems that many of people have learned a new skill, perfected a preexisting skill, or reached personal milestones. But when asked if they would say they enjoyed their time during the outbreak, not even one could say they did, despite the new ventures each have delved into. At least the skills learned during this time will carry on, almost as a token of remembrance of our time away from our daily grinds.

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Creative outlets help NECC students during COVID-19

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Since March of 2020, the spread of COVID-19 has forced NECC students into the isolation of their homes.

Despite these difficult times, many students have found the use of creative outlets to be extremely beneficial for their creativity and mental health. Creative outlets are unique to everyone and can be any interest or hobby that releases anxiety and stress—a break from everyday life.

Isa Grullon, 33, is a journalism and communications major from Lawrence who loves writing poetry, singing alone in her car, and choreographing popular cultural dances for her friends’ quinceañeras. She is also a Features Editor for the NECC Observer. Writing allows Grullon to release all negative thoughts and express her true self. She explained that without writing, her negative thoughts would fester inside, leading her to become an angry person. Having a creative outlet brings her happiness, as she states, “if you’re happy, you get to share that with other people,”

Gyani Wasp, 18, is an international student and film major from West Newbury who enjoys filmmaking, movie-watching, photography, and writing film reviews for critical thinking. He explained how the isolation has affected his movie-watching experience by restricting him to appreciate films alone instead of at a theater with his friends. Wasp has been making films for four years, and when asked about his love for creating, he responded “I want to make people feel the way I feel [while watching movies].”

Lastly, Erik Terrio, 24, is a journalism and communications major from Haverhill who strongly believes in dedicating at least one hour of the day to himself.

“We [everyone] totally forget about ourselves. You need something fun to look forward to in order to be productive,” he said.

Terrio enjoys movies, video games, drawing, painting, and writing in his journal. He describes writing for him as a form of meditation and makes a daily “Gratitude List” of everything he his thankful for despite adversity. Terrio also implores students to spend time with their families.

NECC students’ use of creative outlets have contributed a positive effect on their lives, creativity, and mental health during COVID-19. Isa, Gyani, and Erik all encourage other students to find their own creative outlets, interest, or hobbies, as they feel it will be a beneficial resource for those battling with mental health and struggles of everyday life.