Students are in high spirits as they embark on an unconventional post-secondary journey at Lakehead University.
Move-in day for students staying in residence at the Orillia campus was Sept. 3, but Alyssa Neal arrived in August because she is serving as house president for the third floor.
“It has definitely been nerve racking. It’s also been a big adjustment,” said Neal, who moved here from Maxwell in Grey County to study criminology. “Coming from a small town where there were no (COVID-19) cases to Orillia, where there have been some, it can be nerve-racking.”
Neal graduated high school in the summer, so she knows what it’s like to learn during the pandemic. While this isn’t the post-secondary experience she thought she’d have, she remains confident.
“We have an amazing residence life team this year,” she said.
It will be up to everyone to ensure one another’s safety and well-being while at Lakehead, Neal said, and she will be doing her part.
“My plan is to put my and others’ safety as my main priority,” she said. “We just have to work with what we have and make the most of it.”
Lakehead is doing what it can to make that happen.
“We are sincerely committed to offering the very best university experience possible under the current circumstances,” said Dean Jobin-Bevans, Orillia campus principal. “We really do want to work to improve the student life experience and try to make students comfortable and feel that they do have some community connection.”
There’s no doubt the experience will be different. The majority of classes will take place virtually, with the exception being classes that require lab work and other in-person activities.
“We have very few face-to-face opportunities in the first term for students,” Jobin-Bevans said.
Residence will also look different. Although there is capacity for about 270 students, no more than 34 are expected to live on campus. Students will not be sharing rooms or washrooms.
During the recent orientation, students were advised of safety measures they must follow. They include wearing masks in public spaces on campus and in situations where physical distancing isn’t possible.
“We ask that students not congregate in large numbers,” Jobin-Bevans said.
Lakehead has also set up extra hand sanitation stations.
