Item
GU Oral History, 2022/05/10
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
GU Oral History, 2022/05/10
Description (Dublin Core)
A student working during the pandemic describes his experience tutoring other students and dealing with the adversities thrown his way.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
May 10, 2022
Creator (Dublin Core)
LT
GU
Contributor (Dublin Core)
GU
Event Identifier (Dublin Core)
HIS459
Partner (Dublin Core)
University at Buffalo
Type (Dublin Core)
oral history
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Community Service
English
Conflict
English
Health & Wellness
English
Home & Family Life
English
Online Learning
English
Public Space
English
Transportation
English
Social Distance
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
mask
mandate
tutor
employment
family
precaution
sanitation
work environment
job loss
unemployment
Collection (Dublin Core)
College COVID Stories
Language & Communication
Mental Health
Working Students
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
05/10/2022
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
05/10/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
05/10/2022
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
LT
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
GU
Location (Omeka Classic)
14228
Buffalo
New York
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Coverage (Dublin Core)
March 2020 - Present
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:06:47
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
LT 0:00
Alright, it is Tuesday, May 10, at 6:40pm. And I am here with GU. And just for the record, I have your permission to record and upload this on job. Is that right?
GU 0:09
Yes, you do.
LT 0:10
All right, how old are you?
GU 0:11
I'm 21 years old.
LT 0:13
And do I have--Um, were you working during the pandemic?
GU 0:18
Yes, I was.
LT 0:19
Okay, were your working hours affected by the outbreak of the pandemic? And if so, how?
GU 0:25
Uh, our operating hours weren't affected because we were only open two days a week at our tutoring center that I was working at. But the--the limitations on what we could do were definitely much stricter during that time.
LT 0:39
Okay. And, um, as a result of the pandemic, did you transportation method to work change at all?
GU 0:44
Um, for myself, no, I had my own source of transportation. However, I used to drive some of my co workers and I could no longer do that.
LT 0:55
And did your coworkers aside from the ones you drove, do you know if, um, they had any change in transportation?
GU 1:00
Uh, not that I know of, no.
LT 1:03
Did your employer reduce the amount of workers present at the workplace at one time following the outbreak?
GU 1:08
Yes, we had to let go of a couple of our homework graders.
LT 1:12
Were you expected to follow strict cleaning procedures like wiping down any tables or, um, sinks when you were using them?
GU 1:18
Yes. So, uh, the tables that we had, we had to limit the amount or the number of kids that could come in in a certain allotted amount of time. And we had to keep them six feet apart at all times. And the second they left the center, we had to wipe down anything that they were using and anything that they could have come into contact with before the next person could come to that station.
LT 1:40
And aside from those procedures, did you see an increase in sanitary awareness among your coworkers?
GU 1:45
Yes, absolutely. Everyone was definitely much more consistent with washing their hands and using hand sanitizer just to make sure that they were clean and not susceptible to catching anything or giving anything.
LT 1:57
And what age group did you work with when you were tutoring?
GU 2:01
The ages ranged from about four years old, up until about 13 to 14.
LT 2:06
Okay, so did any tasks assigned to you change due to the pandemic did you have to do anything differently?
GU 2:11
For the younger children, because of the fact that some of them were too young for all the mask mandates and things like that, we generally treated the same, except we still did all the cleaning and everything. However, with the older kids, they had to start wearing their masks every single time they came into the center and were never allowed to take them off. But besides that day to day operations were relatively normal.
LT 2:38
And did you notice any co workers leaving or new workers joining was there kind of a turnover of employees during the pandemic did people not feel comfortable enough to stay?
GU 2:46
Um, a couple of the people did leave on their own volition. However, um, some of the people that wanted to stay because of the fact that we had to limit the amount of students that could come in, we also just had to let go of a few people because of that.
LT 3:04
Um, were your wages affected by the pandemic?
GU 3:06
Uh, no. So we were still open the same amount of days per week, and I was still getting paid the same rate.
LT 3:13
And do you know anyone whose wages were affected, or who went on employment as a result of the pandemic?
GU 3:19
I know a few people that had gotten laid off due to the pandemic, as well as also had some of their hours cut because of it. And that definitely had a financial impact on their daily lives.
LT 3:30
So in your opinion, did it become more difficult to juggle both your personal and professional life during this time? Was it difficult to kind of keep up with both with everything happening?
GU 3:38
Absolutely, just because of the fact that that's when school also switched to online. And that was very new. Um, I feel like from the student perspective, it wasn't as bad of catching up with all of the new material and the new teaching methods. However, in terms of how the professors communicated it because of the fact that they're a little bit older, I feel like that switch technology was definitely much more slow for them. And that also had an impact on their students.
LT 4:06
Did you find your work became less personal due to social distancing and mask use? Did you find it like the environment was kind of colder because people were more disconnected?
GU 4:15
Uh, definitely. I mean, I think part of that was definitely due to the regulations that were set in place with all the social distancing and everything people kind of wanted to just do their own thing. But overall, I feel like if it was someone that you already had a close connection with, you would still figure out a way to frequently communicate on a regular basis.
LT 4:37
And kind of a follow up kind of related to that, um, did work become more difficult, like did tutoring become more difficult with the mask use and even socially or social distancing yourself did that kind of bring any struggles for you?
GU 4:49
Yeah, absolutely. So um, part of what we did at the tutoring center, it was all, uh, math and reading skills, so especially on the reading side with the masks for some of the kids that were just old enough to wear them, a lot of them have speech impediments and other forms of things that would, uh, hinder them from communicating effectively. And then with the mask on top of that, it became very difficult to understand them in some cases. So sometimes they would stay half hour or an hour longer than they would usually stay just to in order to get their work done.
LT 5:20
And did you experience an increase in stress while working? Was it on your mind that you could contract COVID or that someone you're tutoring could?
GU 5:27
Absolutely, um, mainly because, uh, my parents are a little bit older. My dad had a surgery about like, five, six years ago, and he hasn't gone back to work since. So I mean, just definitely coming into the house and giving that to them when they're overly susceptible to something like that was always on my mind.
LT 5:46
And did you experience a lack of motivation to work or even keep your job during the pandemic?
GU 5:50
Um, in terms of my job, not as much however, the pandemic and with the switch to online classes definitely hurt my drive and my motivation for school a lot. My, uh, my organizational skills were definitely not up to par for the new, uh, teaching format.
LT 6:11
Um, and did you--you kind of hinted at this earlier that your parents are more susceptible. But, uh, did your family experience any hardship as a result of job loss or other pandemic complications?
GU 6:20
For us personally, no. So my dad's already retired and my mom works in the medical field. Same thing with my sister. So us, my immediate family were personally unaffected, thank God. But, uh, I definitely had a couple of cousins that had to go through some hardships and lost their jobs and stuff like that during COVID.
LT 6:38
Okay. Do you have any questions for me?
GU 6:41
Uh, no, I think I'm good.
LT 6:42
All right. Thank you for your time.
GU 6:43
Yeah, of course.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Alright, it is Tuesday, May 10, at 6:40pm. And I am here with GU. And just for the record, I have your permission to record and upload this on job. Is that right?
GU 0:09
Yes, you do.
LT 0:10
All right, how old are you?
GU 0:11
I'm 21 years old.
LT 0:13
And do I have--Um, were you working during the pandemic?
GU 0:18
Yes, I was.
LT 0:19
Okay, were your working hours affected by the outbreak of the pandemic? And if so, how?
GU 0:25
Uh, our operating hours weren't affected because we were only open two days a week at our tutoring center that I was working at. But the--the limitations on what we could do were definitely much stricter during that time.
LT 0:39
Okay. And, um, as a result of the pandemic, did you transportation method to work change at all?
GU 0:44
Um, for myself, no, I had my own source of transportation. However, I used to drive some of my co workers and I could no longer do that.
LT 0:55
And did your coworkers aside from the ones you drove, do you know if, um, they had any change in transportation?
GU 1:00
Uh, not that I know of, no.
LT 1:03
Did your employer reduce the amount of workers present at the workplace at one time following the outbreak?
GU 1:08
Yes, we had to let go of a couple of our homework graders.
LT 1:12
Were you expected to follow strict cleaning procedures like wiping down any tables or, um, sinks when you were using them?
GU 1:18
Yes. So, uh, the tables that we had, we had to limit the amount or the number of kids that could come in in a certain allotted amount of time. And we had to keep them six feet apart at all times. And the second they left the center, we had to wipe down anything that they were using and anything that they could have come into contact with before the next person could come to that station.
LT 1:40
And aside from those procedures, did you see an increase in sanitary awareness among your coworkers?
GU 1:45
Yes, absolutely. Everyone was definitely much more consistent with washing their hands and using hand sanitizer just to make sure that they were clean and not susceptible to catching anything or giving anything.
LT 1:57
And what age group did you work with when you were tutoring?
GU 2:01
The ages ranged from about four years old, up until about 13 to 14.
LT 2:06
Okay, so did any tasks assigned to you change due to the pandemic did you have to do anything differently?
GU 2:11
For the younger children, because of the fact that some of them were too young for all the mask mandates and things like that, we generally treated the same, except we still did all the cleaning and everything. However, with the older kids, they had to start wearing their masks every single time they came into the center and were never allowed to take them off. But besides that day to day operations were relatively normal.
LT 2:38
And did you notice any co workers leaving or new workers joining was there kind of a turnover of employees during the pandemic did people not feel comfortable enough to stay?
GU 2:46
Um, a couple of the people did leave on their own volition. However, um, some of the people that wanted to stay because of the fact that we had to limit the amount of students that could come in, we also just had to let go of a few people because of that.
LT 3:04
Um, were your wages affected by the pandemic?
GU 3:06
Uh, no. So we were still open the same amount of days per week, and I was still getting paid the same rate.
LT 3:13
And do you know anyone whose wages were affected, or who went on employment as a result of the pandemic?
GU 3:19
I know a few people that had gotten laid off due to the pandemic, as well as also had some of their hours cut because of it. And that definitely had a financial impact on their daily lives.
LT 3:30
So in your opinion, did it become more difficult to juggle both your personal and professional life during this time? Was it difficult to kind of keep up with both with everything happening?
GU 3:38
Absolutely, just because of the fact that that's when school also switched to online. And that was very new. Um, I feel like from the student perspective, it wasn't as bad of catching up with all of the new material and the new teaching methods. However, in terms of how the professors communicated it because of the fact that they're a little bit older, I feel like that switch technology was definitely much more slow for them. And that also had an impact on their students.
LT 4:06
Did you find your work became less personal due to social distancing and mask use? Did you find it like the environment was kind of colder because people were more disconnected?
GU 4:15
Uh, definitely. I mean, I think part of that was definitely due to the regulations that were set in place with all the social distancing and everything people kind of wanted to just do their own thing. But overall, I feel like if it was someone that you already had a close connection with, you would still figure out a way to frequently communicate on a regular basis.
LT 4:37
And kind of a follow up kind of related to that, um, did work become more difficult, like did tutoring become more difficult with the mask use and even socially or social distancing yourself did that kind of bring any struggles for you?
GU 4:49
Yeah, absolutely. So um, part of what we did at the tutoring center, it was all, uh, math and reading skills, so especially on the reading side with the masks for some of the kids that were just old enough to wear them, a lot of them have speech impediments and other forms of things that would, uh, hinder them from communicating effectively. And then with the mask on top of that, it became very difficult to understand them in some cases. So sometimes they would stay half hour or an hour longer than they would usually stay just to in order to get their work done.
LT 5:20
And did you experience an increase in stress while working? Was it on your mind that you could contract COVID or that someone you're tutoring could?
GU 5:27
Absolutely, um, mainly because, uh, my parents are a little bit older. My dad had a surgery about like, five, six years ago, and he hasn't gone back to work since. So I mean, just definitely coming into the house and giving that to them when they're overly susceptible to something like that was always on my mind.
LT 5:46
And did you experience a lack of motivation to work or even keep your job during the pandemic?
GU 5:50
Um, in terms of my job, not as much however, the pandemic and with the switch to online classes definitely hurt my drive and my motivation for school a lot. My, uh, my organizational skills were definitely not up to par for the new, uh, teaching format.
LT 6:11
Um, and did you--you kind of hinted at this earlier that your parents are more susceptible. But, uh, did your family experience any hardship as a result of job loss or other pandemic complications?
GU 6:20
For us personally, no. So my dad's already retired and my mom works in the medical field. Same thing with my sister. So us, my immediate family were personally unaffected, thank God. But, uh, I definitely had a couple of cousins that had to go through some hardships and lost their jobs and stuff like that during COVID.
LT 6:38
Okay. Do you have any questions for me?
GU 6:41
Uh, no, I think I'm good.
LT 6:42
All right. Thank you for your time.
GU 6:43
Yeah, of course.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Item sets
This item was submitted on May 10, 2022 by [anonymous user] using the form “Upload” on the site “Oral Histories”: http://mail.covid-19archive.org/s/oralhistory
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