Reflecting on Pandemic Uncertainty: A Personal Account from NYKids’ Interns

By Jessie Tobin, Jordyn Kossow & Brittney Wong

The transition from high school to work or college is a critical turning point in a young person’s life. The challenges individuals might face during this time have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as many youths have experienced significant instability during their junior and senior years of high school. In part 1 of this blog series, we take a closer look at the ways the pandemic has impacted high school students who had been preparing for their futures and getting ready to attend college at the end of 2020, and we share our NYKids interns’ personal reflections on their high school to college transitions during the height of the pandemic.

Meet NYKids’ Interns, Jordyn and Brittney

Jordyn Kossow and Brittney Wong just finished their Sophomore years at SUNY Albany. Jordyn and Brittney are double majoring in Psychology and Human Development and have strong interests in working in the field of education. The NYKids team has been delighted to have our creative interns on board this past semester to assist in our outreach and dissemination efforts.

Jordyn and Brittney Reflect on their Senior Year to College Experiences During COVID

On March 13th, 2020, rumors had been spreading rapidly about how the school may temporarily be closing due to a new virus they called “COVID-19”. An announcement was then made in my fourth period class confirming just that (how ironic). Following this announcement came five long mentally draining months of isolation, fear, and an abundance of “unknowns”. First came online schooling, then came the removal of prom, then senior trip, then graduation, then summer, and finally the removal of my college orientation. Everything in life became virtual. We survived solely off technology during this transition. It felt as if everything was taken from us. However, I knew there were more important things happening during this time. Deaths increased, and the virus had spread tremendously. Senior year was no comparison to those who suffered from COVID-19. And that’s just the thing, the unspoken parallel of our guilt and those who suffered was always unacknowledged. It felt as if I was trapped in a cage — in a prison-less world. Nothing could prepare us for what the world would become today.

– Jordyn Kossow

It was March of 2020, my senior year, when the COVID-19 pandemic affected my academic year. I remember wondering if it will get better when I got to college; what would my freshmen year look like? In the fall of 2020, there were many things that I didn’t anticipate. My roommate that I chose did not show up, all my classes were still online, and no in-person events were happening on campus. I also remember that the dining hall was only half open and closed the second week of school. Freshmen year in 2020 was definitely a strange time for new college students. Although I didn’t have a “normal” freshmen experience, I really wouldn’t change it. As a result of having no school events, it made all the students come out of their dorms and just walk around campus looking for people to talk to. I can say that because of the pandemic, I have made so many memories and met so many people that I will cherish for a lifetime.

– Brittney Wong

Both Jordyn and Brittney reflect on the uncertainty that arose when the pandemic first hit. How would they be impacted academically and emotionally? What is the first year of college going to look like? Are more foundational senior year events, such as prom, going to be taken away?

Brittney’s and Jordyn’s stories highlighted above speak to the isolation they felt while also understanding the need to do anything to keep family members and others safe. Additionally, our interns discussed some ways pandemic-induced obstacles created challenging and unique social experiences during their freshman year of college.

The Pandemic and Unique High School to College Transition Issues

Education researchers and educators have noticed the various ways in which pandemic disruptions have exacerbated uncertainties and challenges in young people’s lives in the past two years. Some experts are pointing to an increase in the “academic derailing” of individuals who expected to enroll in college directly after high school or who have dropped out of high school entirely. A 2021 study discovered that around 26% of low-income youth, for example, changed their plans to not attend college while around 20 states saw a decrease in high school graduation rates in 2021.

Some changes in the data we are observing may be due to a multitude of factors relating to the financial, social, emotional, academic, and mental toll the pandemic has inflicted. From ongoing NYKids research as part of the Minority Health Disparities Engaged Research initiative, we are also finding that the pandemic has had differential impacts on youth who entered the pandemic already vulnerable to social isolation and unsafe and/or unstable living conditions.

Overall, the pandemic has shed light on the precarity of transition periods for young people in particular, and it is crucial that researchers and educators continue to pay attention to these critical turning points in young people’s lives moving forward.

Coming Next…

In part 2 of this blog series, we will be diving further into the impacts of COVID on young people’s transitions into life beyond high school. We will also discuss strategies to support their social-emotional well-being and academic success during this time. Stay tuned as we share insights from K-12 and higher education professionals and highlight NYKids’ research on College and Career Readiness in positive outlier NYS schools.

As always, we thank you for your interest in NYKids. You can email us with any questions you have about our current research and continuous school improvement work at nykids@albany.edu and keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.