For college students during the pandemic, school has challenged us in new ways. We must not only face the world as adults and prepare for our futures, but we’ve had to do a lot of that virtually. Paying attention in class and finding peers to work with can feel impossible in an online environment. But for one University of Utah student, Lauren Wigod, working at an on-campus chemistry lab has helped her through the challenge of going to college during a global pandemic.

Wigod started studying chemistry at the U in fall of 2020 when classes were still mostly online. The classroom environment at the beginning of her college experience made it difficult to build social connections and learn. Not only were classes online, but other social outlets, like intramurals, were canceled for months. In an interview, Wigod explained how online classes were “weird” because the friendships built there didn’t “feel quite real.” Wigod came to the U from Idaho, which presented its own challenges. She opened up about how as an out-of-state student, “it was really hard to meet people who I share common interests with.”

For many students, moving online also made classes harder to focus on and technical difficulties often got in the way of learning. For Wigod, the online format lended itself to easier coursework. She told me that with online classes “you’re banking on being able to use your notes or look up answers,” and never felt pressured to dig into the content of her major.

Also, missing community in her classes impacted her learning experience. She talked about not having “an opportunity to meet your classmates, your peers and TAs,” which made it difficult to find other students to study with or ask TAs for help.

For Wigod, the lack of connection with other students and her education became big obstacles to her success at the U. After her first semester, she considered moving home to do classes online from there or transferring altogether. She said, “the one thing that kept me from transferring and from moving out and going back home was having my job.”

Work became integral to her happiness at the U because her life in Fall 2020 consisted mostly of being at her dorm. Work was one of her few reasons to go out on campus. Wigod’s job also became a big social outlet at a time when she really missed connection with other people. Seeing and talking to her coworkers in person felt nice because a lot of her meeting other people on campus mostly happened on Zoom.

Additionally, because her work tied directly to her major, it helped supplement her online education and prepare her for more challenging in-person classes. She “learned a lot about chemistry, prep work and lab safety,” at a time when she didn’t have in-person labs at all. Wigod explained while taking organic chemistry last semester and now this semester, “I feel like I am doing a lot better in those classes and those labs because I had some prior experience.”

At a time when Wigod felt disconnected from community and coursework, having an on-campus job really helped. While classes are mostly in person now, building connections after two years of isolation is still challenging. We see this reflected in the rapid rise of college students choosing to drop out during the pandemic.

For those of us who feel lost at the U, we can look to Wigod’s experience. Research shows that involved students are happier with their college experience and more likely to complete their degrees. When we’re struggling to find that involvement, an on-campus job can help. They often involve working with other students and can even be major-focused, like Wigod’s job working in a chemistry lab as a chemistry major. These can be great opportunities to make friends with other students and potentially even help us with our degree.

It feels unfair to do two years of catch-up in our education and social lives. But here we are two years later, with a desire to connect on campus and just as many goals for our futures. If you feel like you’re lacking connection at the U, consider looking into working on campus, where you can build social connections with other students and potentially learn more about your major.

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@cushman_kcellen