Many students may be curious about how college students deal with COVID-19 regulations
and what the overall college experience is like at the time. Many schools are online, but I
reached out to a good friend of mine, Trevor Franek, who is attending college in person.
Below are his responses to some questions that students may have.

Q1: What school are you attending?
Trevor: “I am attending Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.”

Q2: What is your major?
Trevor: “I’m majoring in Computer Engineering Technology. “

Q3: What clubs/activities do you participate in?
Trevor: “I’m very active in the rock-climbing club at RIT as well as the intramural beach
volleyball team.”

Q4: What is your favorite thing about college?
Trevor: “My favorite thing about college is certainly the people. The people in college all
come from an entirely different upbringing that will never fail to challenge your
perspective on what you thought previously.”

Q5: What is something you find difficult about college?
Trevor: “The most difficult aspect of college is the pace at which the classes teach. In high
school, you learn a base then build upon that base as you progress through the content, but
in college, you are expected to already have that base and if you don’t then you’re going to
be in trouble.”

Q6: What is the college experience like during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Trevor: “The college experience is obviously a bit different due to the whole COVID-19
stuff, but it really only restricts your ability to meet people. Most aspects of college remain
the same, the only difference being that everyone has a mask on and some of your classes
may be online. As long as you get out of your room and make an effort to meet people and
try new things you’ll have just as great of an experience as any other.”

Q7: Have there been any cases on campus? What is the protocol if so?
Trevor: “Our specific campus started out really solid, but towards the end of the semester
there was a decent increase in cases, I believe we ended the semester with around 35 cases.
Due to the increase in cases our previously strict limitations simply became more strict. For
example, instead of four people limited to a table, it was now two, or instead of limiting
gatherings to 25 people they were now limited to 12 people. In addition, they closed more
and more public spaces for students to lounge in and restricted lab access.”

Q8: Since you are out of state, have you noticed any differences with how New York
handles COVID? Are they more or less strict?
Trevor: “From my personal experience I would say that New York handles COVID-19
significantly better than Pennsylvania. New York is a lot more strict with their rules and
regulations, or maybe not even more strict but more so enforcing. If there is a student on
campus that shows any symptoms, regardless if it’s COVID-19 related or not, they will be
detained and quarantined within 10 minutes while in PA people refuse to wear a mask and
nobody cares.”

Q9: Overall, are you enjoying college?
Trevor: “Overall, yes absolutely. College is as enjoyable as you make it. If you sit in your
dorm and rot away every day you’re going to have a miserable experience, but if you force
yourself to meet people and actively participate on campus you’ll have an amazing time no
matter the circumstances.”