Blog

No matter where college students are living and learning, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted daily life. As a result, the well-being and mental health of students is of keen interest to parents, families, and universities worldwide. Between November 1 and 16, 2020, the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) Research team invited all Duke undergraduates to share their experiences with academics, social relationships, stress, mental health, and well-being during the fall semester, and 1,015 students responded (15.4% response rate). To provide context and a point of comparison for student responses during COVID-19, we drew on data from previous research conducted at Duke during more typical times[1].

Why Mind Map 

A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts and takes brainstorming to the next level. It is visual thinking tool that helps structure information to better analyze, understand, synthesize, recall and generate new ideas. In a mind map, information is structured in a way that mimics more closely how your brain actually works.

“My brain has way too many tabs open. 4 of them are frozen and I have no idea where the music is coming from!”

The world has thrown yet another wrench into 2020.  As you examine your options for the Fall semester, you may be thinking about taking a gap semester or gap year, until you can be back on campus.  We suggested many of these experiences for the Spring, so it may sound familiar, but there are lots of ways to make best use of a few months leave.

April was supposed to be my time. As someone who had decided to pursue a future career in policy and public sector jobs, I always knew that I wasn’t likely to start getting traction on the job front until late in the Spring semester of my senior year. For those of you who don’t know, for your average policy job, most seniors don’t get hired until April, May, or even later.

If you are a fan of music then you are also (probably) a fan of a music streaming service. While there are many, and many strong opinions about them, I will share from the start (it’s in the title) that I’m a fan of Spotify.

A lot has changed in the past few weeks: classes moved online, in-person events canceled, Duke students all over the world cooped up in their houses. Change can always be hard, especially during a time as unprecedented as COVID-19.

As each week goes by, I am finding positive messages help me get through the day and remind me to slow down and be patient. I thought I would share some of my thoughts in case you could feel a little better!

These are some unprecedented times. In the past month, our students have experienced a lot to be grieving about, from a worldwide pandemic changing their everyday experience to the postponing of so many traditions and expectations on campus in an attempt to keep everyone safe. We continue to make choices on a systems level, which impact the day-to-day experiences that make the Duke community special. Our students are left to navigate the final month of the semester away from community and often feeling very alone. Students are home and surrounded by the love of family, but this is not the college experience for which they prepared. As a result, we are all grieving and longing for our world to return to some bit of normalcy.