We checked in with LEDA Cohort 15 Scholar Muskan to discuss her reflections on life during the pandemic, starting with some of her tips on navigating remote learning:

1. Pace your work rather than piling it on.
2. Writing out your schedule in a planner or in Google Calendar can be helpful.
3. Know when to take a break to focus on yourself and do something you enjoy.
4. Reach out to your fellow Scholars because, chances are, they are going through the same thing.

For Muskan, the support that she has received since becoming a LEDA Scholar, spanning her 2019 Aspects of Leadership Summer Institute (#LEDAsummer), college application process, and the COVID-19 pandemic, is something that she cherishes. She especially appreciates check-ins with her LEDA College Guidance Counselor, who guided her through not only the application paperwork, but also emotional stress during the process.

Keeping in close contact with both her counselor and her LEDA Writing Instructor was also important, she said, because they provided her with all the tools she needed to convey her voice in her college application essays.

With the continuing global pandemic and the emerging discussions on racial justice, Muskan is also grateful for the inclusive forums LEDA provides, such as our recent Community Circle, gave her spaces to have open discussions about the plethora of current events and challenging feelings gripping the country.