When the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread throughout the U.S., one of the major challenges facing LEDA and our peers in the education field was adapting our student programming for a “new normal” of social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and remote learning.
LEDA’s model has incorporated remote components since our founding, and we were able to swiftly and successfully make the adjustments needed to ensure that our students would not only continue to receive our customary level of support, but also have access to additional resources to address the sudden and unique issues stemming from the pandemic.
Our College Success team intensified its outreach to LEDA Scholars on campus – and even in study-abroad programs – through one-on-one check-ins and distributing information on community resources. Important topics included funding for basic needs, physical and mental healthcare, and remote learning.
One theme that arose consistently was the importance of time management, not simply in the context of completing schoolwork and maintaining productivity, but also for its role in understanding the need for self-care and finding the time to enact them.
LEDA Graduation Party on Zoom
Our College Success team generated creative community spaces online by taking inspiration from well-known in-person events, such as organizing Spirit Week and Cohort 16 Welcome Week on social media, and hosting a Zoom-based Graduation Party for the Class of 2020.
LEDA’s College Guidance team sprung into action to gather new and changing information on a wide variety of topics, such as financial aid, matriculation deadlines, and virtual events for admitted students.
Stay tuned throughout the summer as we continue to explore how LEDA and the higher education community have adapted to the “new normal.”