The pandemic has created many challenges for college students including online classes, lack of in-person campus resources and a loss of the “college experience.” However, for many students there is the added stress of the risks they take due to the job they have to support themselves financially.
On March 11 the University of Texas announced that spring break would be extended to two weeks as a plan for how to continue the semester with the spread of COVID-19 was formed. For most undergraduate students, they have yet to set foot back on campus as their education has shifted to become completely virtual.
Eight days later Governor Greg Abbott announced the shutdown of, among other businesses, all restaurants and bars. For many college students, in less than two weeks they not only lost the college experience they believed they would have, but they also lost their job too.
A report released by the Congressional Research Service, which was last updated Jan. 2021, states that although many industries that have transitioned to a work at home model have seen some decline in the number of cases, the rate of COVID-19 cases has remained elevated among those who work in the service industry.
The shutdown first began in March 2020 and by April part-time workers were experiencing unemployment rates that were nearly double that of their full-time counterparts according to the report. However, as May came around many part-time workers were able to return to their service industry jobs.
The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators released a survey in Oct. 2020 about student-wellness during COVID-19, specifically focusing on college students.
Nearly one-fifth of the students surveyed responded that they feel constant anxiety in regard to the pandemic and over half of the students said they needed more emotional support than they received.
“The real problem these days is that a tiny bit of stress will just set anybody off, all of our sponges are full, so to speak,” said Brad Gold, a lecturer for the humanities program at the UT-Austin’s College of Liberal Arts
“We can’t really absorb what we are used to being able to absorb,” said Gold.
Hannah Kim, a computer science senior at the UT-Austin, said “I’ve had an okay experience because the professors I’ve had have been pretty understanding of COVID and the fact that we are also trying to care of our mental health on top of school. I still think it’s pretty challenging getting used to it and being comfortable with online school though.”
In 2019 Pew Research released a study analyzing the level of poverty among undergraduate students. The study found that from 1996 to 2016, there was over a 44% increase in the number of independent undergraduates, meaning undergraduate students who are reliant on their own income versus that of their parents, who now fall below the poverty line.
Joseph Shin is a phycology major at Austin Community college. When the pandemic first began, he was working at Chipotle. He is currently an employee at H Mart which is a Korean supermarket. Shin has chosen to continue to work during the pandemic period.
Shin said, “My only main reason is I’m just doing it for my family and myself as well.”
During the pandemic, everyone has dealt with their own fears and anxieties. No one’s experience with the coronavirus has been the same. Many people have been forced into a position where they have to prioritize paying bills and maintaining their job over their own safety and health, and that includes a portion of the UT-Austin student body and other college-aged individuals in the Austin area.
Shin said, “For any students who are working and are trying to take full advantage of work and are trying to balance out everything. I would just pretty much say, your health comes first.”
“I think students that are in the position of needing to work and needing to do it in this environment just need to be strong about pursuing their priorities and taking care of themselves,” Gold said.