When I stepped onto the CC campus in August to begin the 2021- 22 academic year as a senior, I was transported back in time to my first visit as a prospective student in 2017. What I remember most about that day was how welcoming everyone was \u2014 from the students to the faculty, from the admission team to the staff at the dining hall and bookstore. I\u2019m from Lakewood, Colorado. I\u2019d initially thought I wanted to go to a larger school, but as I pictured myself being part of that close-knit community, I changed my mind.<\/p>\n
During the Coronavirus pandemic, that community feeling was put to the test. Suddenly, we couldn\u2019t do the things that build community naturally \u2014 like having lively, in-person classroom discussions or gathering with friends over a meal. We missed those bonding experiences that typically happen during club and athletic events, study abroad, and block break adventures. But ultimately, I think our community was strengthened during this time. We learned to adapt and take care of each other. One great example is CC Mutual Aid, the student-run group that strives to build a network of solidarity by meeting each other\u2019s needs. This fund helps offset costs not covered by other support systems around campus, and it\u2019s been incredibly impactful.<\/p>\n
Today, I have a new sense of gratitude for being back on campus. The CC community continues to look out for each other by getting vaccinated and wearing masks because it\u2019s important to all of us that we can gather safely. I\u2019m thrilled to be back in person with the Speech and Debate team, a setting that\u2019s very challenging to replicate on Zoom. It\u2019s rewarding to meet with prospective students face-to-face again as an Admissions Fellow. And, I\u2019m enjoying being able to interact with my professors outside the formality of a class Zoom call. Those relationships with faculty are part of what\u2019s so special about academics at CC, so I\u2019m feeling particularly grateful for the Block Plan this year.<\/p>\n
Most of all, I\u2019m reminded of the community spirit that drew me to CC in the first place \u2014 and I\u2019m savoring every moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An insider view of the enduring community spirit at CC despite the Coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1496,"featured_media":17571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-17615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2021-22","tag-student-perspective"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/files\/2022\/01\/13_RS72655_20211101_deksyos-damtew_0831.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1496"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17686,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17615\/revisions\/17686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}