Freshman Santiago Mayer, who moved with his
family from Mexico to California two years ago,
said he’s a naturally optimistic person trying to
make the best of a “nightmarish” time.
He lives at home and said it’s often too
distracting to focus on online classes so he
spends his time on other pursuits. That includes
a political campaign he helped create that
encourages high school graduates to don
their unworn prom clothes while voting in
upcoming elections.
“At this point I’ve completely forgotten about
having a normal freshman year,” Mayer said.
At the University of North Carolina, Asheville,
some classes are being held in person but on
many days the campus looks like a ghost town,
said Miracle Okoro, 20.
“It’s not easy to be able to thrive in this
environment where it’s your first year in college,
your first experience in the real world and
having to do it in such an isolating way,” she said.
Originally from Nigeria, Okoro works as a
student health ambassador, a campus program
in which students encourage their peers to
engage in safe and healthy behavior and steers
them to campus resources and activities. These
include daily mental health and fitness breaks, a
pen pal program to help students make friends
online, and arranging serenades by performing
arts students outside housing for those who’ve
been exposed to the virus or become ill.
Health ambassadors and other campus groups
also hold online support sessions after stressful
events, including the COVID-19 death of a
student at nearby Appalachian State in late
September, and less than two weeks later, an