Balancing the life of an essential worker and a college student

“I mean, we do our best,” said Hudak. “But it is definitely difficult to work 12-hour shifts and do school and continue with homework and try to get enough sleep and stuff.”

The human biology veteran is one of many students at MSU who have had to balance a daunting workload due to the COVID-19 pandemic and his responsibilities for the school as a college student.

For many, the past year has been a blur of extended meetings and e-mail chains for work and school while staying home without classes and work due to the pandemic.

However, there are still several students who have had to continue to work personally and navigate the dangerous waters of human interaction during a deadly pandemic that claimed the lives of more than 500,000 Americans this year.

“Initially, when the pandemic hit in March, I was definitely more afraid, I think, of being at work,” said junior kinesiology Madeline Reilly, who works as a registered nursing assistant at a hospital in her hometown, Greenville , South Carolina . “I got home when classes became virtual and then I practically started working as soon as I could, and a lot of patients showed up with COVID.”

Students work in all aspects of the market as essential workers, including healthcare, retail and hospitality services, and on campus to help keep the MSU campus and its community functioning and protected from the virus.

For many of the students, working in person has been an escape from the stress and confusion of virtual classes, and they are happy to be able to leave home.

“I found out last semester, especially, that it was really hard to focus on online classes and follow that kind of work,” said veteran culture and comparative politics Mitchell Page, who works at Target on Grand River Avenue. “And in many ways, working in person, although it is sometimes stressful, is a kind of relief to be able to get out and be relatively social, considering all things.”

Students working on campus echoed that sentiment, saying that MSU did a good job of not overloading them and giving them time to focus on school and work, respectively.

“It makes their lives easier because it means that if you plan your schedule, you can probably take classes on the days when you are not working and on the days when you are working, you will not have any school work to do,” said financial senior Pius Mithika , who works as a student supervisor at the Case Hall service center. “So, online classes really made it easier for me.”

The pandemic affected the mental health of working students, although face-to-face work has eased the stress of virtual learning for some.

“Sometimes it has been a challenge,” said Page. “You know, I am naturally a very sociable person. I love to interact with people and now I find myself hesitant to physically approach people. I judge people when they walk into the store and whether or not I should interact with them, because I can see whether or not they look like someone who is breaking the guidelines and should avoid them. “

Reilly said he saw it affect all essential workers, not just her.

“I definitely think it wears and tears health workers more than people realize and see,” said Reilly. “It is tiring to have to take all precautions, of course, we are very willing to do that, but all precautions for all PUI’s, and so legitimate positive tests, just get tiring. And I definitely saw that health care system where I work exhausted by the pandemic. “

Carsen Rawles, a packaging senior who works at the service center in Holmes Hall, said he remains hopeful that everyone will continue to be diligent about health and safety protocols, especially on campus.

“I think that’s all you really need to do is stay hopeful about the situation,” said Rawles. “And I know it is difficult to do when there is no really defined timetable or no end in sight now, but I think you just need to remain hopeful and that there will be more vaccines and the numbers will continue to drop.”

Mithika said he feels protected from the virus and said the state of Michigan has ensured that they are safe while on the job.

“When it comes to employee preparation and protection, MSU really did its best,” said Mithika. “I feel that MSU is doing more than the people out there, you know, our employees and students, out there are doing because when they come, for example, with the table, there is no contact between me and the person I am serving. “

The students still had problems with COVID, even taking all the necessary precautions to stay as safe as possible.

“In August or something, I received COVID from some guys in the residential corridors I lived in,” said Mithika. “And, well, it was really challenging because you have to be alone for 14 days, for 10 to 14 days. And I mean, nobody knew what to expect, because you have news of how people are developing complications, even after recovery and so many other things. But for me, I think I went through it without any problems, I had symptoms, or practically the basic symptoms, like coughing, sneezing, fever and I went through it for 10 days. “

Reilly also contracted the virus when he visited the campus in August, after avoiding it while working at the hospital all summer.

“I followed all the guidelines. I’m on the swim team, so I need to be safe. We were in pods and, somehow, I ended up contracting it, ”said Reilly. “I couldn’t believe it, I worked at the hospital for about five months, I think, from March to August, and I didn’t end up contracting, so I went back to school and understood.”

Reilly said that contracting COVID made it difficult for her to concentrate on school while experiencing the symptoms of the virus, including brain fog.

“I never lost my taste or smell and I never had a fever, as far as I was concerned, but one of the worst symptoms I experienced was brain fog,” said Reilly. “As they say, when you take COVID, you get a little disoriented while you have it, and I definitely was. I would wake up at my home in East Lansing and just be confused and not really know where I was. It was very difficult to concentrate on schoolwork that week and I like to study a lot. “

Reilly and Hudak said it is frustrating to see other students who are not essential workers continue to ignore health and safety protocols, especially as health professionals.

“If you don’t work in healthcare, you can’t see firsthand the people who are struggling with their health, or even the older patients who are confused and don’t understand why they are in a room alone,” said Hudak. “… I know a lot of people think that COVID is not as serious as it is.”

Page said it was disheartening to see his fellow Michigan state students join Target every weekend to fetch supplies for the party while he was at work.

“Specifically for East Lansing, I would say it has been kind of disheartening to see my colleagues arriving on the weekends clearly getting ready to go to parties and stuff,” said Page. “And, you know, we’re working at a grocery store to make sure people have everything they need and some people are still breaking the guidelines because they just want a party, which I understand, but it’s also like, come on, we all have to sacrifice yourself. In that sense, it is a little discouraging, especially when it comes to people our age. “

Mithika repeated Page’s thoughts, saying he is confused by people who still ignore the guidelines, despite the devastating effect that COVID-19 has had on society.

“As someone who has had COVID before, I would say it is not a good situation to be in,” said Mithika. “And not just for us, because I was fine, but that doesn’t mean that the next person next to me who is exposed will pass through COVID as well as I do. So, yes, COVID is real. I mean, we just have to make sure that we are not selfish, we can try and see, even if you are healthy and we feel that even if you receive COVID, you can overcome it, it may not be the same in the next person. So let’s make sure everyone plays their part. The more we work together, the easier it is to get back to normal. “