By Murphy Obershaw, Copy Editor
The final installment in our “College Life During a Pandemic” series profiles Allison Schoeppner, a senior majoring in occupational therapy and psychology.
She lived in Carrocci Hall during the school year but is now living at her parents’ house in Wichita. In addition to her parents, she is also living with her three siblings.
Q: What’s it like being stuck in a house with them?
A: It has been strange being home all day every day with them, but luckily we get along well together for the most part.
Q: Are you working still? If so, what does that look like?
A: I have a PRN job as an occupational therapy assistant, which means I come in as needed. With all the precautions in place right now, they are trying to limit how many people are coming in contact with our patients, which means that I have not been getting many hours lately. Elective surgeries or operations are being rescheduled, and so the number of patients needing rehab currently is down as well. I think that once all these restrictions are lessened, I will be working a lot more.
Q: Where do you take your classes/study at?
A: In my house, there are four of us who have online classes now, so we each have our own space to work. I have been using my bedroom as my classroom which gives me some privacy for my classes on Zoom.
Q: What activities have you and your family done to keep yourselves entertained?
A: I redid my room since I have moved back home; we even removed the carpet and found really nice hardwood floors underneath. My dad was able to work on a lot of house projects as well. My family has been watching a lot of movies and TV shows that my siblings haven't seen before. On Easter, my whole family did our best to follow a Bob Ross painting tutorial. We also threw my sister a party for her 18th birthday and had a stay-at-home prom. We all dressed up and got out our old Wii and played Just Dance.
Q: How do you keep in touch with friends?
A: It has been difficult to stay in touch with friends since I prefer face-to-face interactions. I have been keeping in touch by texting or video calling pretty much everyday.
Q: What does an average day look like for you?
A: My typical day involves me waking up about 10 minutes before my 8 a.m. class on Zoom, which lasts for about an hour. Then, I either go back to bed or get ready for the day. I usually try to get my homework done early in the day or listen to an audiobook if I don't have homework. In the afternoon, I just do whatever. I usually help my mom make dinner. In the evenings, I either video chat with my boyfriend or spend time with my family.
Q: What is the wackiest thing that has happened to you so far during quarantine?
A: The funniest thing that has happened during quarantine would have to be when I helped my sister dye her hair blue. Since all of her classes are now online, she didn't have to worry about following the dress code. She got the dye for her birthday and decided it would be fun to dye it then, so she would have blue hair for our stay-at-home prom that same day. When she got out of the shower from rinsing the dye out of her hair, she had a perfect blue mustache and beard, her neck was completely blue and there were blue stained lines on her arms and legs where the dye had run down in the shower. Even a few days later, her skin is still a little blue.
Q: How are you planning on celebrating your graduation?
A: My family plans on watching the graduation ceremony live and celebrating afterwards. We actually have three graduations this year as my sister graduates high school and my brother graduates middle school, so we will probably have a big party with extended family and friends when we can.
I will probably wear my cap and gown while we watch the ceremony, and we are going to invite my extended family to watch the ceremony from their homes too. I’m also going to do graduation photos on campus at some point as well as take some photos with my siblings who are graduating too. As far as I know, my sister's graduation has been moved to the end of July so that they can get everyone together again.
