Jesse Eccles, the point of view of a current Whittier College student..
Jesse Eccles is a current Senior at Whittier College who has accomplished quite a bit throughout his four years. He was a member of the Whittier Men’s Tennis team and was the elected senator of the Associated Students of Whittier College or ASWC for short, and now currently is the President! He also made the Deans list during Fall term of 2019 and worked for the Dean of Students, developing student life.
Getting the current ASWC Presidents perspective, who has also worked hand in hand with the Dean of Students, is a direct insight on not only a students experience but an informed individual who plays a part in our daily college experience as well being student life.
The first question I asked Jesse was, “How have you personally been affected by COVID-19?”
In which his response, “First off not having sports has made it tough to deal with not just physical health (the daily exercise from training and weights) but mental health. For many of us sports are a release from school and life. These are sports we love (hopefully) and so not being able to play means we have to find new ways to work on this health. It has been hard and although we all miss our sports dearly, it wasn’t worth getting sick or getting someone else sick over.
Classes are also harder. When we first went online in spring 19, I was on track to make deans list again. However, one class that I have an A-/B+ in got significantly harder as the professor was missing, not setting up meetings correctly and also not providing the same level of integrity when grading practice quizzes in time and with the right info to prepare us for actual exams and so I don’t think I made deans list that semester purely off of the struggles of one class.
The last part is the student body. Meeting online is tough, but what has really been sacrificed is camaraderie and involvement. Students don’t want to join our events because they have spent all day on zoom in a chair and honestly I don’t blame them. The table and our process throughout the year just isn’t the same and so it feels more defeating than actually feeling like we are making a difference.”
The second standard question I asked Eccles was,
“How do you feel this will affect you once you join the workforce after college?”
Eccles responded in kind, “I think all adversity is good and that the lessons we learn over this time are good for our minds and souls. Knowing we can get through a tough time, and being able to adapt quickly is super important when dealing with the workforce. I do think that social skills, social norms and social lives will look different.”
These are wise words. Overcoming adversity has been something we’ve all be fighting towards throughout COVID-19 times.
The next prominent question I asked Jesse was,
“Has these set of events affected potential plans you had throughout your college career?”
“Obviously when I ran for ASWC President I wanted to be a leader who was visible on campus. While I’m still living here in a dorm and am myself visibly around, no one else is. I also think that I thrive more with an in person learning environment.
Sports being gone is one thing but no on-campus facilities are open so we can’t even run on the track, do core stuff in the basketball gym or go to the weight room. So being stuck in my room all day and then having to find space off campus to exercise isn’t the easiest.”
The last question was,
“How has Whittier College supported you during this period of difficulty, (if at all) throughout this time?”
In which he replied, “Having a dorm is huge. As an international student I usually go home over the summer and winter breaks. Because I was elected President and I wanted fulfill this role, I wasn’t able to go home (as the fear of not being able to get back into the U.S would mean I can’t be active in this role due to timezones). I’m grateful for the housing and help with food over the summer as I also cannot get a job here. The school has really helped me stay warm, safe and fed over the last 7 months.
Advisors and staff I work with or used to work with are also very supportive and great to talk to. Knowing that staff in the Dean of Students Office, the OSE and OEI does also add comfort to the idea if I needed more help, they would be there.”
The last question always gets a varied response throughout submissions as everyones experience through Whittier College is different. As my project progresses, so does the depth of interconnections each student is having throughout this pandemic.
