Trevor Dolan is a freshman from Beaver Falls.
Trevor Dolan
Freshman, Business
Beaver Falls, PA
Posted May 11, 2020
I remember the moment I learned I was going to spend the rest of the second semester of my freshmen year of college online. The announcement came during spring break while I was out with a few friends at a local restaurant. I didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad; carry on like normal or let tears roll down my face. Looking at all the faces at the table, I knew for sure that I was going to miss what I have been used to over the past semester on campus.
All classes held online has been quite an interesting experience. The big pluses are that I have not had to get up as early in the morning, nor have I had to drive 15 minutes from my house to get to school. All I did was walk two feet from my bed to my schoolwork desk. Most of my classes are earlier in the day, which means I could have the rest of the day to myself after spending a few hours online. I have gotten so far ahead of my homework, that I don’t even stress about that, and I have more free time to study for tests or hang out with my family.
Getting used to staying at home, however, has been giving me a hit as well. My sleep schedule has not been on track, meaning I end up staying up past 1 in the morning on most nights, and not waking up until after 9 in the morning most days. Relying solely on technology can also be a bit painful, especially when some of my classes had to be cancelled because of difficulties.
Overall, I feel like Penn State made my learning environment stress-free, despite the challenges.
Posted April 23, 2020
A Day in my Life: I had a nice sleep last night and woke up five minutes before an 8 a.m. class this morning. Instead of the usual hour-long process of getting dressed, eating breakfast, and the 15-minute drive, I showed up on time without leaving my warm bed and with my dog snoring next to me. It felt great.
After class was finished, I called my girlfriend, who is now 15 minutes away instead of two hours away for school.
My next class was at 10:35 a.m., and it was my last one until the next day. Still in the PJs I slept in from the night before, I got yelled at by mom for not being dressed. Class was finished an hour early at 11 a.m. I called my other friend and we talked for roughly an hour.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep ahead on assignments. None of my assignments were ever turned in late, thankfully. After being done with all schoolwork for the day, my younger siblings were excited to see me emerge from my room to play a board game with them. After we finished a few rounds, dad prepared us a nice chicken quesadilla meal. The day turned into night, and we watched a movie together after dinner. I soon headed to bed to get ready to do the day all over again.