This Is What It's Like to Start a New Life in Covid Times: Maya Rodriguez
For many young graduates, the COVID-19 pandemic put a dent in most future plans. From deserted summer music festivals to delayed careers, the impact of cancellations and never-ending postponements range from short-lived disappointment to life-altering damage. After spending a year abroad coupled with a strict lockdown from March to April, I moved my belongings to a new city just as far from home while preparing for a remote quarter “at” UChicago. I’ve spoken to many students who have done the same, whether they chose to stay at their home in a different country or similarly prolonged their study abroad (if you can even call it that) experience. It’s strange enough to move to a new city and even more so in 2020. I began to wonder how odd this experience must be for my graduated friends in both the states and abroad. This interview represents the first in a series where we can learn more about what starting a new life looks like in these times and, I hope, providing a bit of hope to those of us with big plans.
First, I’ll be chatting with Maya Rodriguez, a class of 2018 graduate who then worked as a staff member at the Center for Identity + Inclusion. Maya started her master’s in Sociology at Columbia University this fall. Because Maya also served as EIC for MODA Magazine, we paid tribute with a timely FaceTime photo shoot.
Give us an update on your life! Where are you now and what have you been up to?
I got accepted to grad school in the spring! From March till mid-August I was at home in Chicago and then moved to Washington Heights to live with a fellow UChicago graduate and close friend of mine. I’m currently at Columbia University in the Sociology MA program studying social movements, technology and media, and urban cities. I’m currently trying to enjoy the city outside and in a COVID-friendly way until the winter really hits.
How has Covid impacted your life in a new city? Did you ever rethink moving?
COVID limits the amount of time and physical class engagement I have in NYC. In some ways, it’s hard to really engage with the campus and have the “full grad experience.” That in itself can be frustrating. For me, part of the appeal of grad school was small-group learning and collaboration in a university setting, but my cohort friends and I have been able to figure this out by making library reservations, quad hangouts, and cafe patio sessions here and there. Besides that, the COVID measures put in place in Chicago concerning dining and indoor events have been pretty similar to those in NYC. So overall, there hasn’t really been a huge change in that respect.
However, because of guidance from the CDC and Dr. Fauci that I’ve internalized, I haven’t felt the need to doubt or rethink my plans! I’ve adjusted to what we need to do to keep ourselves and others safe and that’s really all that matters. My ability to do “fun NYC things” is only limited to my imagination; there are a ton of ways for me to do COVID safe things like bike rides and Central Park hangouts, to name a few.
Have you been able to make new relationships during this time?
I have! I’ve been able to at first virtually connect with my fellow cohort members and those of us in NYC have been able to socially distanced hang out while the weather allows! It has honestly been really great to feel like we can support each other academically and socially via zoom, research projects, and outdoor safe activities. In some ways, this is as close to the normal grad school experience we can have in a pandemic. That sense of normalcy is comforting. We also just celebrated one of their birthdays by having cookies on one of our quads.
The “good part” of living through the pandemic in NYC is that I can still maintain my relationships from home, college, and across the country while being able to form these new relationships in grad school. I’m lucky that, in this point in my adult life, I have the amazing support of my friend network as well as my family. It makes me feel significantly less alone during this time.
As a former staff member, how did you feel about the university’s handling of COVID last spring? Did you feel supported? Do you now?
I think the university did the right thing by swiftly moving all of us off campus, which generally aligned with spring break. There was a lot of communication from administration that was debating just how quickly they could move people without totally disrupting UChicago life. While it is completely valid to be upset with the final decisions, I was generally supportive of what they decided in the end. As a staff member who worked with students on a daily basis, it really did feel that the university was trying to strike a balance between our health and the need to support students and I would say it was an acceptable compromise. I knew there could have been better and more concrete ways that I would have liked to see students supported, like physically helping people move items, but I know that was and continues to be a health risk for all involved. It was the balance the university struck and it seemed to turn out to be acceptable.
As a Columbia grad, I feel supported by the university since we have randomized mandatory testing to keep ourselves safe. This, along with limited campus access, does feel like a good way to ensure community health and us being able to feel we’re a part of the community. At the same time, the randomized COVID testing is not weekly which could be improved. Since Columbia’s campuses are embedded into the NYC neighborhoods, it does feel like we have to have faith in other students. Similar to UChicago, this is the compromise many universities have had to make and I feel is defensible.
What’s been the best and worst part of your experience so far? Are you happy?
So far, the best part has been being able to enjoy life as a student again with the sociology department, in combination with enjoying the outdoor NYC activities with new friends. It still feels like life is going on even if in some ways that makes me feel guilty. How can we continue to experience life “normally” while so many people continue to suffer, get sick, and in some cases pass away? Why can I go to school and feel secure that if I did get sick I would be cared for at the Columbia hospital while many couldn’t? Sometimes that feeling is the worst part about this experience, because it reminds me that so much more should and could be done to protect people.
In general, however, I do feel happy. Going back to school was a big goal of mine and I’m glad that I could have the opportunity to do that. My support network continues to be there for me in multiple aspects of my life. I try to keep in perspective that I can still take time to support my local and home communities and make sure that when school is finished, I can use the skills from Columbia and translate them to tangible change, be it policy or local impact work.
Why can I go to school and feel secure that if I did get sick I would be cared for… while many couldn’t? Sometimes that feeling is the worst part about this experience, because it reminds me that so much more should and could be done to protect people.
Do you see yourself staying in New York? What’s next for you?
I could definitely see myself staying in NYC for a bit longer! I’ve slowly started to see the city as a place to learn and grow and I hope that I can see how communities and neighborhoods in NYC support each other. That way, when I feel like it’s the right time for me to go back home to Chicago, I can bring what I’ve learned back and the connections I’ve made to help make the best improvements at a neighborhood and city level. I’ve got the rest of the year at school but I could definitely see myself working at a Columbia research center or working with the city in some capacity to help underrepresented communities. If I feel like it’s the right thing for me, I could apply to PhD programs in sociology as well. The main goal is always to figure out what is the best way for me to help and support the communities I care about, especially in Chicago. The pandemic has affirmed that this should have always been at the center of my work and I will make sure that the next steps I’ll take will hold me to this!
