The Coronavirus pandemic has been in full swing for over a year and a half, and more and more people are affected by it every day. As a student, getting sick can cause turmoil in your academic life. Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do once you find out that you are sick.
Dr. Patricia Wilson, Calhoun’s Vice President of Student Services, says what students who find that they are sick should do to ensure illness has the least impact on their education.
“I would suggest that the student communicate with his/her instructor(s) as soon as possible to implement a plan of action while the student is out due to the illness. The guidance may already be outlined in the course syllabus,” says Dr. Wilson.
We interviewed Champagne Morris, a current Calhoun student who came down with COVID-19 during the Spring semester and asked her about her experience.
Question: When you first learned you had COVID, what was your first thought?
Answer: Because I was pregnant at the time I was diagnosed with COVID, my first thought was how is this going to affect my baby and how is my body going to handle this sickness with my immune system already working overtime to protect me and my child.
Q: What did you do to inform the school and your professors that you had COVID?
A: Because my classes were online, I knew I didn’t need to contact the school directly. As for my professors, I made sure to send all of them an email letting them know I did have COVID on top of being pregnant and that I would still be doing my absolute best to ensure I had all my assignments completed on time despite being sick. I made sure to let them know if for any reason I was unable to complete any assignments on time, I would send them an email ahead of time letting them know.
Q: From what I understand, you were pregnant at the time. How did this affect how you proceeded after learning you had COVID?
A: I was around 29 weeks pregnant. Knowing I had COVID did not stop me in the slightest bit from moving forward with my everyday life and school life. I also have a 2-year-old so I knew I couldn’t let COVID defeat me because sick or not, my son still needed my attention just as much. I carried that same attitude when it came to my schoolwork. Towards the second week of having COVID I was admitted to the hospital and found out I had developed COVID pneumonia. I had to stay for a week, and my boyfriend brought my laptop and books to the hospital for me because I didn’t want to be late turning in one of the essays for Mrs. Hood’s class.
If you find that you are sick, with the Coronavirus or otherwise, one of the most important things is communication. Reach out to your professors and fill them in on the situation. Work with them to come up with a way to continue participating in your classes. Be sure to check your course syllabus as well.
For any additional information regarding COVID-19 assistance at Calhoun, please visit https://calhoun.edu/coronavirus-information/.