On Sept. 2, the first wave of fall classes started at GCC. While students will continue registering for classes through the month of October, we marked the beginning of the pandemic fall 2020 semester sitting in front of our computers on Zoom watching our Brady Bunch screens. This is, for certain, an unusual semester!
It’s hard to believe that it has been a full six months since we shifted to remote teaching, learning, and supporting our students. It is inspiring to see how the entering Class of 2020 is willing to experiment and embrace starting their college career fully remotely. The world is changing before our eyes.
This fall, we are seeing young people who are determined to complete the first two years of their undergraduate degree at the same time that they will graduate from high school. These students will not allow the pandemic to bring their lives to a complete stop. A number of them have signed up for our remote micro-internships with local businesses and non-profits. With generous support from Greenfield Savings Bank, the Greenfield Cooperative Bank, PeoplesBank, and other generous funders, we are pleased to help nurture this emerging generation of business and civic leaders, citizens, and stewards or our communities.
This pandemic is a defining experience for young people who are beginning their adulthood with learning to think through contingency plans, being adaptive and flexible, navigate through uncertainty and ambiguity. They are developing muscles and learning skills that many of us acquired later on in life, and are achieving new competencies in their youth alongside the rest of us. I am immensely proud of our young people and the educators supporting them through their journey.
As we start this academic year, we must also remember that our students need support. The pandemic continues to take an emotional toll on them. They need our help and this is why our GCC counselors and our contracted community agencies are being more intentional around how to best to care for students’ emotional well-being during this time.
During this pandemic, the Community Foundation of Western Mass. has generously supported our most vulnerable students experiencing food, housing, economic, and child care insecurity, and those that have been impacted by the virus. We are grateful for their continued support.
As you consider how best to support the student in your life, I recommend taking advantage of our beautiful region. Accompany them on a hike, a visit to a local waterfall, or enjoy some relaxing tubing or kayaking on the Deerfield River. Consider doing some fruit picking or enjoying a cone of our local maple ice cream. Lending an ear and listening to students is also a gift these days. At GCC, we are so thankful for our local senior volunteers and mentors who are supporting our students in the many ways that they do.
Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández is President of Greenfield Community College.