Students and Faculty Celebrate Return to In-person Learning

A student holds a paper while another student looks over his shoulder in a classroom Image by Ed Brennen
Students look over the syllabus for their Calculus 3 course with Asst. Teaching Prof. Erica Yankowskas on UML's first day back to in-person learning.

09/03/2021
By Ed Brennen

Computer engineering majors Cameron Albers and Chad Abboud got to know each other as freshmen last year during virtual classes on Zoom.

On the first day of the fall 2021 semester, they finally met in person.

Waiting in a crowd of students outside Olsen Hall 401 for their first Calculus 3 class, Albers and Abboud recognized each other 鈥� in spite of their face coverings 鈥� and said their long-overdue hellos.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty cool to meet people that you only knew from a screen,鈥� said Albers, a sophomore from Braintree, Massachusetts, after grabbing a desk in the second row.

Like most everyone in Asst. Teaching Prof. Erica Yankowskas鈥� Calculus 3 class 鈥� and, indeed, across the 51视频 campus 鈥� Albers was thrilled to be back in a classroom after 18 months of virtual learning during the pandemic.

A woman in a yellow sweater and sequin face mask greets a student in a classroom Image by Ed Brennen
Asst. Teaching Prof. Erica Yankowskas chats with a student after her first Calculus 3 class of the fall.

鈥淚t feels amazing. I definitely have a new appreciation for in-person learning,鈥� he said. 鈥淪itting in a big lecture hall with a bunch of people and seeing everyone get locked in, it forces you to pay attention.鈥�

One of his new calculus classmates, sophomore biomedical engineering major Julia Measmer, agreed.

After spending her first year of college learning virtually 鈥� with the exception of a Chemistry 2 lab on campus last spring 鈥� Measmer couldn鈥檛 wait to get in the classroom. In fact, she and her River Hawk Village roommates walked around campus the day before classes began, mapping out where they needed to go.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been bouncing off the walls the past few days,鈥� said the Billerica, Massachusetts, native. 鈥淭here are so many people on campus. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen this many people in ... forever.鈥�

Over at Falmouth Hall, James Alhussaini was the first student to arrive for Visiting Instructor Elissa Magnant鈥檚 noontime Business Ethics class.

A female student in a face mask types on an ipad while sitting next to a male student at a desk in a classroom Image by Ed Brennen
Students tap on their devices during their first Business Ethics class of the semester with Visiting Instructor Elissa Magnant.

鈥淚鈥檓 happier than a pig in you-know-what to be back,鈥� said Alhussaini, who spent nearly two decades working in biotech research and development before returning to school to get a business degree with a concentration in finance.

鈥淏eing almost 40, I have to be in the classroom and associating with people,鈥� the Methuen, Massachusetts, native said.

Some students, of course, discovered that they preferred the convenience of virtual learning during the pandemic.

鈥淚 got used to doing everything from home. It allowed me to have more personal time,鈥� said Valentin Boulas, a senior business major (with a concentration in international business) from Andover, Massachusetts.

Boulas said it was 鈥渁 little strange鈥� getting to South Campus for his French 4 class at 9 a.m.

A female student with dark hair wearing a face mask listens in class Image by Ed Brennen
A student looks on attentively during her Calculus 3 class.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take some time to get back in the routine, but it鈥檚 nice to return to some sense of normalcy,鈥� he said.

The return to full, in-person learning was a big deal for instructors, too.

鈥淏eing with students is why you do this job,鈥� said Magnant, who taught one of the few in-person courses on campus last spring, before vaccinations were widely available.

鈥淟ast semester, the pandemic was in our face every day. Trying to give students hope was harder. Now, we鈥檙e going to get out of it,鈥� she said.

Yankowskas, who took part in a virtual workshop for faculty over the summer on how to get the fall semester off to a strong start, was surprised how anxious she was to return to the classroom.

Two students wearing face masks listen in class Image by Ed Brennen
Students are required to be vaccinated and wear face masks in classes and labs this fall.

鈥淚 felt like a little kid the night before my birthday 鈥� I had trouble sleeping, I was so excited,鈥� said Yankowskas, who arrived for her first Calculus 3 class wearing a colorful sequined facemask (faculty are allowed to remove face coverings while teaching).

For the next 45 minutes, Yankowskas enthusiastically zig-zagged across the front of the room, asking students how they were doing while going over the syllabus. When a student arrived a few minutes late, Yankowskas exclaimed, 鈥淲elcome to the party!鈥�

鈥淪he鈥檚 a ball of joy,鈥� said Bianca Pineda, a senior biomedical engineering major from Lawrence, Massachusetts, as she packed up her things after class. 鈥淚 feel like I was smiling the whole time.鈥�

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