Crystal E. Tania said it’s rewarding to be back on campus after persevering through the pandemic because she can see the beauty that came from the difficult situation. “Everything is beautiful in its time, so don’t lose hope,” she explained.
She said being back on campus makes her feel happy and relieved because of all the uncertainty of living at home for the past year. Looking back, she said when someone is in the middle of a hardship, they might not know the reason why it is happening, but she believes there is always a reason.
For example, she said although it was difficult to go home during COVID-19, she can now see the blessing of being with her parents and gaining increased gratitude for returning to campus.
With Seasiders now able to return to paradise, they said they are grateful for the opportunity to be reunited with and make new friends, date, learn in person and resume the little things they missed, like eating at the cafeteria and studying in the library.
Camille Condie, a junior from Utah studying marine biology, said, “I’ve been waiting since I left to come back, and each semester, I kept getting sadder and more disappointed that I couldn’t come back. Being back is a delight. I hope we never have an instance again where we have to leave the campus, other than graduation.”
Reunited
Tania, a sophomore from Jakarta, Indonesia, majoring in communications, said she went home for eight months due to the pandemic. Now that she is back on campus, she said she is glad to see familiar faces and new ones because it felt like she wouldn’t get the chance to mingle with new people again.
“I couldn’t imagine meeting new people, making new friends, going to the cafeteria and sitting with a bunch of strangers [again], but now I get to do all of it,” Tania said. “I’m excited and I’m hopeful for what the future is going to bring.”
She said she feels safe being around others because of the changes the university made. “We usually enter and exit through the same door [at the cafeteria.] Now … they’re not doing it. They let us enter from one door and exit on the other door. [That way] we’re not always bumping into people, which minimizes contact.”
Condie said she returned to the University this April. She said she is grateful to be back in Laie with its nice, calming nature instead of being in a bustling city like where she is from.
“Being able to walk around, talk to people, hang out with people and be in the same room as other people makes me happy,” Condie explained.
EmmaLee Moore, a junior from Seward, Alaska, studying marine biology, said she returned to campus last December. “It was nice being able to see students I hadn’t seen in nine months or more and being able to talk to some of the professors [personally.]”
She said although she is used to the COVID-19 adjustments, part of her wants to return to fully normal so she can see people’s smiling faces.
Resumed activities
“Now we have in-person classes and we have real life interactions. … It really helps us to remember things longer,” Tania shared.
She said she registered for four classes this Spring Semester, and three of them were in person. For her, being physically at BYUH makes her feel more grateful for the campus and the education she is getting.
She said she has participated in a lot of Church activities since being back, such as family home evening and family history night with her ward. Besides ward activities, she said recently she was able to have a potluck with friends and even attend a wedding. Tania said she also hopes to attend the temple because it has reopened but has found it difficult because schedules are always packed.
“Another thing I noticed changed after I got here is many offices are available for face-to-face appointments again,” said Tania. “For example, International Students Services, the IWORK office, Academic Advising and Counseling Services, which is great because we used to have to talk to them through Zoom. But now we’re on campus so we can do it in person.”
Condie said one place on campus she likes going to is the library because she can concentrate better doing her homework. “I’m excited for when there won’t be as [many] restrictions as there are now. Then I can study with friends at the library and sit next to my boyfriend without him sitting across the room from me,” she elaborated. •