My name is Tessa Belongia and I am a BFA Musical Theatre Senior who will be spending the rest of her time at CCU doing virtual learning. You can imagine the struggle doing a performance-based degree online. I will admit that I was incredibly nervous and feeling a bit overwhelmed when CCU announced that we would be switching to online classes because I have been known not to be great with technology.
We are just beginning virtual learning, and right off the bat, my professors have made this transition as easy as possible. They are working with us individually to make sure we have access to all of the required materials and technology. After just a few days of communicating with my professors and testing out Zoom and Slack and every other source, I feel confident about proceeding with this semester online. I am so thankful for CCU and its professors and everything they have done for me over the past four years.
I have been filling my time at home with crocheting, cooking, watching movies, cleaning and making music with my friends. I have made over a dozen scrunchies and even deep-cleaned my bathroom. I decided to stay in Conway with my roommates and spend as much time with them as I can before school is over and we all go our separate ways. We make family dinners and spend a lot of wonderful quality time together. The other day we went to the beach to soak up a few hours of sunlight and get out of the house. We are doing little things to make sure we are taking care of our mental health.
This has been a very emotional time for all of the students, especially the seniors who didn’t expect their last semester in school to end the way it did, but we are staying connected as a community and lifting each other up. I hope to spend the next few weeks working hard in my classes and growing as an artist. Chants up!
