Everybody’s story of Lockdown is different, but our ability to adapt has been truly amazing to watch. International Student Caroline MacHaria (School of Agriculture Policy and Development) shares her story of studying in lockdown, being away from friends and family, and staying in Reading. Want to share your story? Get in contact studentcomms@reading.ac.uk.
For most people, myself included, interacting with friends and family in person is an integral aspect of daily life. As an international student from Kenya, relocating to study at the University of Reading provided me with an opportunity to meet and get to know many wonderful people who quickly became my family, away from home. As the School of Agriculture Policy and Development attracts students from all around the world, I got the opportunity to make friends who are all from different parts of the world.
Unfortunately, the University had to convert to online teaching as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Having to learn from home meant not seeing the people I had become so accustomed to interacting with daily. Travel limitations also made it difficult to return to my home country and I have remained in Reading. At first, this felt like a strange thing to undergo.
The lockdown meant completing remaining parts of our coursework online and beginning our independent research for our dissertations from home, which made me very anxious. One reason for my anxiety was wondering if I would still get the support that I needed to complete my degree on time. I however quickly realised that I had no reason to be anxious. My module conveners went over and beyond their call of duty to provide all the support I needed to complete my coursework on time. This was despite the whole process requiring a lot of adjusting and a possible significant increase in their workload.
Nonetheless, I have experienced incredible support from all my module convenors, my personal tutor and even my dissertation supervisor. We have had both joint (with other students) and individual online sessions and their genuine concern for my welfare has been very reassuring. I am currently working on my dissertation and despite having had to collect my data remotely, the continued support from my supervisor has greatly helped to make the process less stressful.
My course mates have remained my close friends, and despite social distancing measures, we realised that we could still stay in touch and check-up on each other frequently. Though we could not physically meet-up, we started weekly online video e-meet up sessions. During these sessions we would share our experiences and offer encouragement for anyone that was struggling to cope. We also watched films on some days and had quiz nights on others. The best part of interacting with them has been getting to talk freely and have some fun with people in the exact same situation as me. It has not only been very reassuring but has also helped us to continue to learn from each other, noting that we are all from different countries and professional backgrounds.
As I draw closer to completing my studies, I look back at my time here fondly and I am very pleased to have chosen to study at the University of Reading.