Touro University Nevada Students Share In-Home Learning Experiences During COVID-19
As the Touro University Nevada community conducts its teaching and business operations remotely, we compiled short synopses from students describing what their experience has been like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Troy Herrera Rice, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Class of 2022
My routine during quarantine has been pretty similar to my routine pre-quarantine. I’ll wake up, eat, and do some practice questions. I then take a break before starting my day. I am lucky that Touro offers us the ability to stream our lectures because it allows me to be efficient and stick to a schedule. However, I am limited in the fact that I can’t go to the gym or do other recreational activities. As we are heading into dedicated boards study time, I feel that exercise and recreation are important. It’s going to be imperative to find an outlet so that I don’t feel trapped in my room all day. Most importantly, I do my best to adhere to a sleep schedule. I make sure I don’t sleep too late or sleep in too much. This helps me feel energized each day.
Natalia Beheshti, School of Physical Therapy, Class of 2022
When we were first told classes would be moving online, my first thought was “how will physical therapy school be completed virtually?” However, the faculty have made this transition much easier with their constant help and support. It has been a learning experience getting to work with different online platforms such as Zoom for meetings and Kaltura for lectures. I have been discovering new tricks every day with these resources. Staying in touch with my classmates via GroupMe and google docs has been extremely helpful in supporting each other during this transition.
Fortunately, all this time at home has gotten the creative juices flowing in my brain and has provided opportunities to experiment with different recipes from bread to other delicious baked goods. I have also been utilizing different online resources such as YouTube for workout sessions and meditation to maintain my physical and mental well-being while at home.
Marisol Busacay, School of Occupational Therapy, Class of 2022
Amidst this COVID-19 pandemic, I have grown to become a tranquil, tenacious, and thriving student carrying on with life. By being confined to my home and only venturing out to the grocery store or the occasional restaurant to pick up some food, I have been left with time—time to study, time to cook new recipes, time to work on my artistic skills, time to exercise, time to indulge in everything. Although the world is a bit scary at the moment, I have made the most to create a positive atmosphere within my home. I have been practicing the art of occupational balance. Occupational balance is a relative state of happiness brought on by creating harmony among all of life’s activities and demands. While the world continues to spur up questions and dive into the unknown, I have been nourishing myself with the little pleasures of my life.
Nicole Guzolek, Medical Health Sciences Program, Class of 2020
I’ve always been someone who studies best on campus because it easily separated my home and work mentalities. Merging the two during “Stay at Home” has been challenging, but is slowly becoming easier. I try to plan out my study schedule, set up Zoom group study sessions, and schedule quick check-ins with OASIS to help evaluate my productivity.
The extra time at home has meant I’ve been able to rediscover some hobbies. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and now I am trying a bunch of new recipes. It’s been fun to experiment with different ingredients that I wouldn’t normally buy, like artichoke hearts or beets. They’ve all been successful so far. I am also re-teaching myself to sew so I can make a T-shirt quilt from the stacks of sentimental old T-shirts in my closet. This situation is not how I imagined ending my year of MHS, but I am trying to remain positive and remind myself that I am building better study skills for the future and rediscovering things that I loved doing before school.
