Max Stewart
Third-Year
Biology Major
“The obvious one for me is I missed my dogs and my cats. I have one that lives in my apartment with me up at Western, but it has been a lot better for my mental health and everything to come home, especially because my big hobby is riding. That's my favorite thing in the world, riding horses, and I am way too broke to do that by myself. I have a much better barn to ride at down here than I do up there. So, I've been getting more exercise and seeing a horse that makes me really, really happy and spending time with my dad doing all these things that I take for granted when I'm off at college. Focusing on school, which hasn't been my focus other than getting my assignments done. I get that done, I go to the barn, I go for a walk with my dad.
Jeremy Johnson
Third-Year
Marine Biology Major
“It's definitely a weird experience, but I think the best part about it is spending time with my family more than I would have. It's a lot nicer to be home because obviously we get more food and everything like that, but it's also a lot safer in my opinion. A lot of people I've seen have been complaining about not being able to be in class. But I am grateful that we have the opportunity to go home and be able to learn from home so that everyone can be safer in the end. It's refreshing in the sense that I am not consistently in school mode. So that's my biggest pro.”
Bethany Hansen
Third-Year
Business Management Major
“I’ve had the opportunity to go home and spend time with family, so we spend a lot of time bike riding or being outside or playing games. I have two dogs and they have a lot of outside time, which is nice, so they seem happier than ever. My boyfriend has a six-year-old brother, so he gets to be around more for the next few months and take on that brotherly role again, which is fun. I’ve had the opportunity to go outside more than a normal spring quarter, and the weather has been great. Well, not always, but at the start of spring quarter the weather was beautiful and almost felt like summer with online classes. I have the opportunity to even do those classes outside and whatnot.”
Joe McPhee
Third-Year
Philosophy Major
“I'm out of Bellingham and I'm back in with my parents. I have a rigid structure in my life that Bellingham has not provided, which is good and bad. But there's definitely big upsides to it with regular meals. Not just the quality of the meal, but actually the timing and stuff. I'll have breakfast and lunch and dinner when normally I would just eat sporadically or not at all. I've been able to workout at the same time every day and things like that. There's a lot more structured time to actually focus on my homework. And I actually get readings completely done and stuff like that, instead of just doing them to get the assignment done. I'm able to focus on actually finishing them. Things like that. I've toyed with the idea of going back to Bellingham just cause I miss being up there and I miss the fun of it. But there are some really tangible benefits that have been showing up with how I physically feel. I feel like I’m more, like, put together as a human when I'm down here.”
