On Campus Groups Adapt and Overcome to Keep Students Engaged During COVID

Written By: Qichelle Maitland

The arrival of the COVID-19 virus and the chaos that it quickly caused disrupted the world as we knew it. On the week of Mar. 11th 2020, Brooklyn College, along with many other institutions, made the decision to switch to remote learning. People across the world relied on each other to navigate through our new reality, and at BC, support groups were on stand-by for students adjusting to the sudden changes. 

   “What we originally wanted to do was to make connections with the students in a way that we could learn about them and then help them no matter what their needs were,” said Nava Renek, Program Coordinator for the Women’s Center, who felt an obligation to keep a strong engagement with her community during the pandemic.

   For over 20 years, the Women’s Center has been an environment to counsel and empower college students, but it had to quickly transform into a supportive online space.

   “We wanted an environment to make students feel like they had a place to go that wasn’t this formal academic type standard,” said Renek. “We made the Women’s Center a really inviting environment that was not traditional and it served our purposes in that way. Students were coming to form a community, to find an anchor on campus where they felt comfortable.”

   Renek and her team saw the move to online as an opportunity to optimize engagement even with the limitations of stay-at-home orders. She immediately became acclimated with the new technology and initiated various virtual wellness events, hosted by previous alumnus, who were more than happy to lead a Meditation and Yoga workshop bi-weekly for students. “We were just going with the resources and connections that we had,” explained Renek.

   Renek said that although they adjusted quickly, there was still the connection missing from the environment that they were used to. Prior to COVID-19, she and her colleagues were able to approach students more easily. “Even though they weren’t exactly coming to the Women’s Center to tell us what their problems were, we could see it on their faces and knew that they needed help. That aspect of what I do is completely gone,” said Renek. 

Even with a year of remote learning, Renek has not gotten used to carrying out on-campus activities online – a challenge that students have noticeably faced. 

   “The biggest challenge with this is that most students are ‘Zoomed out,’” said Natalie Esses, Tanger Hillel’s “Let’s Talk” co-host and Engagement Associate. “They don’t want another Zoom event, so getting the attendance rate up at these things is a challenge.” Participants of “Let’s Talk” engage in peer-to-peer discussions on a topic that interests them, with the hosts sharing information related to the conversation. 

   “We provide resources for them to walk away with [but] it’s still about keeping them engaged and keeping them here,” said Esses. 

   In order to keep momentum strong, the center has encouraged smaller volunteer efforts to keep students engaged and provide some relief to the weighing Zoom fatigue. “It’s been incredible to see how students in need come out to help others in need and work together to make it through this time,” said Yelena Azriyel, Assistant Director of the program. 

   With the pandemic, coordinators have created their own weekly check-ins, including Mindful Mondays and Wellness Wednesdays to offer a space where students can get together and socialize virtually under these new social norms, Esses explained. 

   At the Women’s Center, Renek has asked for student peers to step in where program directors feel like they can’t reach students as much as they would like to. “We really feel that the students are in a lot of pain and are having extreme difficulties,” Renek said, “which led us to establish something called ‘The Squad.’”  

   “The Squad,” is a group of students who do peer-to-peer outreach with other students and those who need check ins. “That was our strategy, in order to make up what we’ve lost in terms of that informal connection.” 

   At the Immigrant Student Success Office, Director Jesus Perez and Ana Bartolome, the Program Coordinator, chose an integrated approach when working with students. Assessing family circumstances, personal counseling recommendations, assigning faculty mentorship and financial aid support. 

   “Because of the pandemic, we were able to get an emergency grant from the Robin Hood Foundation,” one of New York’s largest anti-poverty organizations, Perez said. The grant of $150,000 was given to ISSO to help students who had been struggling throughout the COVID-19 crisis. They were able to distribute $500 grants to 300 BC students throughout the summer and fall. The aid is to be spent on housing, food, technology needs or for DACA application and renewal fees.

   “We needed to meet them where they were,” Perez said, about students who were desperate for assistance over the last year. 

   When the pandemic hit, Jesus and his team had just opened their doors the previous fall. 

“It’s still a work in progress. I think that because of the nature of what we do, having to deal with our immigrant students and undocumented refugees, it’s important for them to meet us and get to know us more.”

   “It was really hard in the beginning to connect on a personal level,” Perez said, referring to the switch to Zoom meetings. “However, I have to say that Zoom became the vehicle for connecting with more students.”

   Perez has maintained his individual connections with all of those that come to ISSO for help, establishing a “trust between the students and the office.” With their permission, he keeps records of their cellphone numbers in order to check-in and follow up with them about issues that they’ve expressed. Making ISSO’s outreach more personal.

   “That’s ultimately what I want. I want to know exactly what I can do and how I can help,” he said. “It’s a more targeted approach.”

   Talks of the upcoming fall semester and the extent of in-person campus life still lies in uncertainty. For Esses, the goal would be to switch to occasional in person gatherings, as long as it’s safe. “I think we’ve realized in this time that in person interactions are kind of vital and it’s an integral part of the college experience. I think that if the world allows it, we’ll try our best,” she said.

   For the Women’s Center and Renek, the spontaneous programs and efforts to connect will remain whether social distance restrictions ease up or not. “For now, I haven’t really conceived of what the fall is going to look like. I have a feeling it’s going to be more remote than in person, so we’re going to stick with things, enhance things. We are all in to try to find new ways of doing things better,” Renek said.

   With that hope of a Fall semester return, Brooklyn College’s groups are starting to look to the future. 

   “We can’t wait until we can go back to everyday campus life where students can come, connect again and experience an atmosphere of familiarity,” said Azriyel. “I’m feeling optimistic about the future. During these difficult times we’ve been able to come together as a community. This past year has highlighted how resilient our Brooklyn College community is.”

   As the pandemic continues, these groups and others at BC are willing to continue standing beside students. So long as these spaces exist, so will the communal support. “I’m able to make a difference in a student’s life and help them along this journey. It’s also something that gets me up in the morning,” said ISSO’s Jesus Perez. “The more that we can make this community come together, the better that we can work for the students’ well-being and their support.”