Reflecting on COVID: One Year Later

Beginning

In March 2020, New America College temporarily suspended in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff, instructors, and students quickly pivoted to working, learning, and teaching online. In March 2020, we didn’t know how long we would be learning and working from home. The prediction at the time was that we would all be at home for two weeks and then life would return to normal.  One year later, reflecting on COVID gives us perspective on the strength of our community.

We are now a year into the pandemic and things are not fully back to “normal”. We are still wearing masks. We are still socially distancing. We are still limiting activities.  

Today

NAC offered fully online classes from March to December 2020. In January 2021, we returned with a very successful – and safe! –  hybrid model. Students take classes online and in person. We have strict social distancing guidelines and students are divided into smaller groups to ensure that we can be as safe as possible. Bringing students back to campus was not an easy decision, but in the end we think it was the best choice for our students.  

To date, we are proud to say we have had no evidence of classroom transmission of COVID-19. We can attribute this to the focus of our staff and students following protocols we’ve put into place.  

We have learned a lot over the past year at NAC, because of – and in spite of – COVID. We learned how to teach, work, and learn online. We learned how to stay in touch with friends and family while keeping socially distant. We reaffirmed our commitment to diversity and equality. And most importantly, we learned that if we work together and think of others, we are stronger as a community.  

Finally, reflecting on COVID also means thinking of those our communities have lost. We at NAC want to honor those of you who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19. Our thoughts are with you.