After three semesters of virtual learning amidst pandemic, students find ways to maintain community and stay connected
Gauen Lee
reporter
TCC continues to reach out across the district through a variety of virtual student programs, helping students stay engaged outside the classroom.
“Since all the campuses are closed due to the coronavirus, I thought I would not be able to participate in various student activities,” TR student Pyeonghwa Kim said. “However, I am so happy to have the opportunity to participate in them online.”
All of the activity programs went online in March 2020, coordinator of TR student activities Kelsey McGee said. “We will continue to offer a variety of student activities this academic year, and that’s what we do,” McGee said. TCC student activities don’t only focus on existing programs, but also provide more online activities based on students’ needs such as collaborating with student career services, McGee said.
There are four areas the program focuses on: lead, engage, serve and play. Participants can help out the community and do volunteer projects in the serve section, she said.
The play section shows competitions, online games and sports. Along with the four basic programs, there are weekly live sessions for the Trailblazer Leadership Academy, in addition to the LinkedIn Learning and Resilience powered by LeaderShape.
Every week students learn about leadership, ethics and diversity in leadership.It collaborates with TCC’s Resilience program and learns about Powered by Leadership, which hosts virtual events that help students’ careers in general.
No matter what their home campus is, all TCC students can access events and organizations to participate in all online meetings and activities. So far, it has planned a slew of diverse online activities for various holidays and occasions. Each team decides on the events and when they are held. There is at least one online activity a week.
“I can even participate in events that I may not have been able to attend if it was a face-to-face event, and I am grateful because I feel like I am learning a lot,” SE student Suyeon Kwon said.
The biggest advantage is students can join events regardless of travel time, and they also have easy access. Some events are recorded, and the recordings can be viewed at any time.
“I miss seeing students in person and being able to provide them with snacks or a meal at the event and getting real-time feedback verbally and nonverbally,” McGee said.
