OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — On the anniversary week of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, college students in Oshkosh remember their high school experience in the middle of COVID-related restrictions.
- Five years ago, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
- Many college students went through high school during a global pandemic.
- UW-O students say it made them appreciate in-person college more.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
When Colby Rudo thinks of her early teens, it’s bittersweet.
“It’s kind of funny but also kind of sad looking back," she says, looking at a photo from her friend's birthday– they're both wearing masks. "Because you know this could have been a normal picture with us smiling, but you can’t even see us smiling."
She was a freshman in high school when the world shut down.
“It was really hard just not really learning anything and being at home, not getting to see my friends, like it was really difficult,” she says.
Now a sophomore in college, she walks by students who relate to her experience.
“Eighth grade year suddenly everything hit the fan and we were confined to our homes,” Nathan Biese, who was a middle schooler in Wisconsin when the pandemic started, says.
And with an unconventional high school career, many mourn what they missed.
“I didn’t get to experience freshman year in high school same as everybody else did,” Courteney Stenig says.
But now, they’re all the more grateful to be at college, in person.
“It’s nice seeing people’s faces again and I'm glad that we’re kind of back to normal,” Rudo says.
