Emily Syme ’23 is majoring in plant science within the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources and business management. She is part of the CAHNR Ambassadors program, a group of highly engaged students who promote and serve the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR). Students in the program receive hands-on leadership experience through recruitment and other activities, like sharing their CAHNR Experience.
I remember sitting in the UConn Dairy Bar with friends in March of 2020. UConn had just announced that the student population would not be returning to campus for 2 weeks after spring break because of Covid. I naively thought that I would be back to my normal routine on campus at the end of the 3 weeks. Little did my friends and I know that that was the last time we would have UConn ice cream for a while.
All of my family went to UConn, and I am a third generation UConn College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources student! I grew up visiting UConn for various 4-H and UConn Extension events and fell in love with the campus. I did apply to other schools although looking back now I don’t know why because I knew I was going to end up at UConn. I am now going into my 6th semester of college and still have not had a full year on the campus I was so excited to become a part of.
There is no denying that Covid has had an impact on everyone’s lives. College students have had to adapt to online classes, and not getting the social and extracurricular involvement that comes with living on a college campus. The toughest part about online school for me the last few semesters was missing out on the social interaction with my friends. I felt like I was in isolation, not seeing my circle of friends and peers who are always around when living on campus. A facetime or text does not replace the dining hall lunches and late-night study sessions. I found my place at UConn doing the things I love with people who have similar interests. Most of the friends that I have met were actually not part of my major and instead part of clubs I am involved in. Those clubs my friends and I were a part of were severely limited in what we were able to do.
I also struggled academically; I had a hard time focusing on online classes when sitting at a desk in my childhood bedroom. Covid, for me, had taken away the seriousness of school. Schoolwork felt like just another task instead of the important work that it was. For years, we are told how magical the college experience would be, and there I was being called down to dinner by my Mom after class.
CAHNR classes are very hands on, and I was fortunate enough to take some of my classes in person during the 2020-2021 school year. Even though I was excited to be on campus a few times a week, it was not the same. The campus did not have the same hustle and bustle. There was an eerie feeling walking around campus and not seeing anyone, opposite from this past semester with the bustling crowds. This past year returning to campus, I felt like a freshman all over again, relearning the ins and outs of campus.
It’s hard to feel like I am not missing out on that college experience that friends and family have mentioned was such a magical experience. Most of my college experience has been through the screen of a computer and that does not chalk up to “the best years of my life.”
This past semester when we were all finally back on campus, I made sure to take advantage of every single opportunity I could. I found myself appreciating the little things like taking a walk around campus or grabbing a coffee at the Beanery with friends because I knew that this could all be taken away from me again. It felt like a teaser of what college life is supposed to be. I was able to live on campus, walk to my in-person classes and interact with my peers. Clubs were able to meet in person and hold events. I was able to travel with the UConn Dairy Judging Team to intercollegiate dairy judging competitions across the country. It felt as close to normal as I have experienced in awhile.
In the everchanging face of Covid, I have learned to become more adaptable. By nature, I am a planner and have come to realize that some things are out of your control, and you just need to roll with it. This pandemic plays a pivotal role in our population’s lives and it is important to feel and address that. I let myself be sad about what has happened, but I mourned it and moved on and made the best of it. I tried to focus on the good outcomes where I could. I was able to have a longer internship at the CT Agriculture Experiment Station. I was also able to spend more time working alongside my family on our farm where we grow Christmas trees, greenhouse crops, cut flowers, and potted plants.
College is a pivotal time in a person’s life, and this generation of students can claim to be different. We will remember our college experience as one that was unlike any others before us. If Covid has taught our generation one thing, it would be resilience. With this experience and my degrees in plant science and business management, I know I’m prepared for almost anything the world throws at me.
I also know how I want my Senior year to look, and it includes a full year on campus and eating lots of ice cream with friends at the Dairy Bar.
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