[This text is machine generated and may contain errors.]

Kylie Willie
Interviewer

Surinder Gill
Interviewee

April 19, 2022
Greenville, North Carolina

KW: (00:00)
It is Tuesday, April 19 2022. We are at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. This is Kylie Willie, interviewing my roommate Surinder Gill. Surinder, What is your affiliation with the university?

SG: (00:15)
I'm a student at East Carolina University.

KW: (00:18)
What is your year and major?

SG: (00:20)
I'm a junior and my major is biology with a minor in psychology.

KW: (00:23)
So what is your plan? Career? Of course, like, what do you want to do?

SG: (00:26)
My planned career course is I'm currently premed and I would aspire to be a physician.

KW: (00:31)
Do you know what specialty you'd like to be in? As a physician?

SG: (00:34)
I'm interested in a lot of things, but mostly I'm leaning towards family medicine.

KW: (00:37)
Okay. How has your experience been at East Carolina? Have you liked it?

SG: (00:42)
It's been pretty positive. Actually, I really liked East Carolina. I like the campus and I've made a lot of good memories and connections here.

KW: (00:48)
So being that you are a junior now you were a freshman when the pandemic started, right?

SG: (00:53)
Yes.

KW: (00:53)
So as a freshman, can you describe what your experience was of like actually having to leave campus when the pandemic started?

SG: (01:00)
it was definitely a big change. And it was not something that I'd expected. Navigating the entire freshman experience itself was confusing enough, but when you have to just leave it in the middle of like, what you thought was just a normal spring break was definitely a big change. A lot of it was just mostly unexpected. Like I didn't expect it to last as long as it did. And I had to, I guess, revoke a lot of the previous freedoms I've had, especially with like, being able to go out as often and like, actually going to class and like, it just changed everything.

KW: (01:29)
Yeah, cuz I think I can see it differently where I was already living off campus, right. So I still had an apartment to return to I could stay there as long as I wanted. You were in a dorm. So you had to actually move out of the dorm. Never went back to it. What was that experience Like? I mean, because you obviously had to return even though we were returning to campus. Was there like a protocol for moving out of dorms?

SG: (01:49)
for moving out? They'd given us different deadlines, I believe. So it was like you could move out in March or you could wait and move out in May. So I actually chose to move out in May just because like, I honestly thought we would go back. I didn't see it as like it was

KW: (02:01)
Yeah, we all thought we were gonna go back in two weeks.

SG: (02:04)
And so it was definitely an experience because I felt like I never really experienced the entire spring semester. So when he moved out, it was like, it might just never gonna come back. Like, this is my experience in the dorms. And that's all I had.

KW: (02:16)
Yeah, I think we're all kind of mentally stuck. And like, yeah, March of 2020. Yeah, like, still in that same spring semester? How did your daily routine change?

SG: (02:26)
it was definitely an adjustment period, I had to retrain myself for a lot of things because it was no longer like you have to get up, go to class do those kinds of things. It was a lot of like, I lost my like schedule I had and the consistency I had with it. So a lot of it was I had to take more accountability and like remember to wake up for my online classes and go to my online classes and do a lot of those kinds of things, rather than what I used to have to do before.

KW: (02:49)
Did you like online classes?

SG: (02:51)
I had mixed feelings, a lot of it I felt was not the same. And a lot of teachers, some teachers I had they tried to make it the same experience. And I think that there is like an adjustment that you have to try to adapt your classes, you can't try to fit a normal class into an online class. There's definitely changes that have to be made. And I feel like that made the transition different.

KW: (03:10)
Do you think that your teachers did a good job handling that transition and being able to accommodate students and you know, all of us trying to figure out NEC navigate like, this weird change that none of us were expecting.

SG: (03:24)
I think a lot of my teachers, I was impressed because definitely when you have that little amount of time to change everything, having to like change your entire schedule, and like the format of your class is definitely not easy. So I really commend my teachers for their efforts, I guess you could say. So I would say they did do a pretty good job. I can't be too harsh, especially knowing how like little time they had and the preparations that did have to go into it. So I would say so.

KW: (03:48)
Do you feel that your professors were like, understanding being a professor of like how students struggled? I can personally say I don't think that might work out, especially the latter.

SG: (03:59)
I actually agree to I think a lot of the professors didn't understand how big of a change it was until I guess later into the pandemic because in the beginning, a lot of the professors are just giving out assignments the same they thought it was the same way. Yes. But and then I felt like a lot of it was like you have to understand not all the assignments will be done the same way they won't be done in the same time. There's definitely a little more understanding that I feel like could have been given to students that than it was received.

KW: (04:24)
I felt like a lot of professors didn't like take into account the loneliness that came with

SG: (04:29)
Yeah, no, I definitely agree

KW: (04:30)
being in a pandemic, not getting to see your friends not having the same routine. And then like for people who actually had to go in isolation.

SG: (04:36)
yeah, it definitely takes a toll on your mental health. And I feel like that directly correlates with your academic success too. And it's hard, I guess, to see how it can be very different and a lot of professors didn't compensate for that or like understand how that could have been a big change.

KW: (04:52)
Do you feel like your routine is still kind of the same as it was in the pandemic like, do you think? Well, part of your routine has changed? Are you still like, are you trying to get back to normalcy? Do you feel like you did before the pandemic?

SG: (05:08)
um, I feel like I am trying to go back to normalcy.A lot of my routine that changed I'm no longer I don't have like synchronous online classes that I have to attend. So it's no longer like zoom or WebEx. And I guess it's more like I actually have to plan to get up like ahead of time, eat food, be able to actually go to class and like, a lot of it's just changes within my actual schedule. So rather than like getting up to be online, I have to get up to actually go to class. And that requires driving the class or taking the bus or doing things like that.

KW: (05:34)
It's a very different than like, because, you know, like, with online classes, you could make breakfast while you were in class. Yeah, you could, you know, do whatever you had to do. But now it's like an extra like, time slot that you have to account for. And it's definitely my brain can't really do that anymore.

SG: (05:49)
No, I understand that time management is a big thing that over the pandemic, I can definitely say I kind of lost control of time management, because a lot of it was like on your own time, you could literally do whatever you want to. But now it's like, I have deadlines. And I have things that I have to remember that things are due. Now instead of like whatever I want them to be due

KW: (06:07)
especially with like, I have some classes that are still online, or like last semester I classes that were both in person and online. And that was like a really hard thing to remember like the deadlines for the in person the deadline for the online. Yeah, because they were very different. And I kind of wish we would just like do one or the other.

SG: (06:22)
No, I agree that was something I struggled with too, is because it's hard to find a balance. Because it's like if you get on top of your classes in person, but then you forget about the classes that are online, or if you can like, sometimes it's hard to find like a way to be able to do both without falling behind in one.

KW: (06:37)
I feel like you can't honestly

SG: (06:39)
no, that's why I'm a big proponent of like, either all your classes should be online, if you have the option, or all your classes should be in person, I don't think that they should be matched together.

KW: (06:47)
I remember when we were going back to in person, there were a lot of people who wanted to stay online. And that never made sense to me, I can't mentally do it.

SG: (06:55)
I agree. A lot of it, I feel like it's just the easiness of like you have your own schedule, you have your own way of doing it. I prefer to be taught in person though, because I feel like I can make more of a connection to the material. And I can retain the material better if I'm actually taught in person.

KW: (07:09)
I also think the drive to go to class Yeah, has really decreased. I mean, because I remember like my freshman and sophomore year, because I was a sophomore when the pandemic started, I didn't really have a problem with going to class like I didn't, yeah, skipping wasn't a huge deal. But now,

SG: (07:25)
I definitely relate on that one

KW: (07:28)
it's very easy to just be like, Oh, I can sleep through this. And I'll be fine. Because now we're used to being able to just get caught up on things because that's what we're used to teaching things to ourselves.

SG: (07:37)
Exactly. And freshman and sophomore year you're so fresh into the college experience, you don't even consider the fact that I shouldn't go to class.

KW: (07:44)
it's a hard thing to manage, there's a lot to try to balance and then you know, you throw in the pandemic and moving back home and dealing with like, family issues being back in a completely different environment. Totally different.

SG: (07:55)
Definitely.

KW: (07:57)
If you could go back to pre pandemic, would you?

SG: (07:59)
I definitely would. I kind of forget about how easy life used to be and how simple it was like I'd never even considered COVID Or like, I might have to wear a mask here, I might have to do these things. I definitely would go back to pre pandemic life just because of the ease of freedom that you kind of forget about.

KW: (08:17)
Do you think your college experience would have been different had it never changed?

SG: (08:21)
I definitely think it would have been different, I would have been able to have a lot more experiences and probably branch out in a lot of different ways that I haven't been able to now and especially in terms of like academics as well, a lot of things were different during COVID. Like, especially as a pre med student, I have to be able to allow myself to do like shadowing and volunteering and things like that. And a lot of that was changed when you don't have that option during the pandemic.

KW: (08:46)
It's crazy to think like where would I be like, would we still be living together?

SG: (08:50)
Yeah, that's a crazy thing to think about.

KW: (08:52)
So would we be taking the classes that we're taking, like in the schedule that we have them because I've had to, you know, format my classes around some of them being online, or some of them being in person and how that just completely changed the trajectory of [multiple voices]. Yeah. I know a lot of people who are a class of 21 They took an extra semester. Yes. They didn't graduate, like, so to stay with their class. They graduated in the middle of the semester. I don't know why.

SG: (09:19)
Yeah, I wouldn't do that either.

KW: (09:20)
I'd take an extra year, not just one semester, but I know a lot of people that did it that way. And that's

SG: (09:26)
actually there's been a lot of people in my year too who want to either take a fifth semester or fifth year just to compensate for the loss of like one year and that experience which I can definitely say understand because I even feel like I'm kind of stuck in that same mindset that I had before. I'm a junior about to graduate next year yet I still feel like I haven't gotten there. I feel like I haven't really had the entire experience that I've wanted to have.

KW: (09:48)
I mean, I could definitely agree being a senior about to graduate like I can't wrap my head around graduating like it's not gonna like click until I'm probably walking across the stage. You know, shaking the Chancellor's hand or whatever we do, because I lost two years of the experience

SG: (10:07)
It definitely does. Takes away from the time that you've had. Like, I feel like I can't even say I've had a full four years because I still don't even feel like I have. Yeah.

KW: (10:15)
And it's really weird. Like, you had like a little taste of what college was like; I had a year and a half.

SG: (10:20)
Yeah. So when you've actually had that experience, and you've had it, it's because I just have to deal with the unknown, you actually have to deal with the like, I've had this and it's been taken away

KW: (10:27)
I can't even remember what it was like, like I can, like try to imagine like, how it was. But now it was normal to wear masks in class. And I couldn't even remember what it felt like to not wear masks or to, you know, go to a party and share drinks with somebody or just a whole lot of things that are considered you don't do anymore. And that was really crazy to think about. So did you ever get the vaccine?

SG: (10:53)
I did get the vaccine.

KW: (10:54)
Which one did you get?

SG: (10:55)
I actually, so the first dose I had was the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. And then I got my booster as the Pfizer vaccine.

KW: (11:03)
When in the pandemic, did you get the vaccine like in the timeline of when it was created?

SG: (11:08)
I got the vaccine as soon as it came out, actually. So I would say probably around March or April of when it did come out

KW: (11:14)
are you happy with your decision and getting it then?

SG: (11:16)
I think I kind of rushed into the decision, not that I'm against the decision to get the vaccine, I just, I feel like I wasn't as informed as which vaccine to get rather than just the idea to get the vaccine. Because of how long we had been in the pandemic, I felt like it was I kind of just had to make a choice without actually fully thinking about which vaccine I was getting. So I definitely think if I would have waited like a little bit longer to have thought about it, then I think my decision would have been different on which vaccine to start with.

KW: (11:43)
Did you have external pressure for getting the vaccine like anybody in your life, kind of not forcing it upon you, but definitely influencing what you did?

SG: (11:53)
I think a lot of it kind of became like a social thing, too, is like I would see it on people's stories. I'd be like, Oh, I guess like everyone's getting the vaccine. Like I have to get it too like it kind of felt

KW: (12:01)
like it became a peer pressure.

SG: (12:02)
Yeah, it became a peer pressure thing for sure. And not that I don't believe in the effectiveness of it just I was just came so fast that it was like, I feel like you had to get it when you got it. And if you did it, you'd be like judged

KW: (12:13)
rushing to do Yeah, honestly, like people judge you if you didn't have it, or if you didn't have a plan to get it because I know I got it way later into the pandemic just because I wanted to be like informed about it.

SG: (12:24)
Yeah, and I don't think that's a bad decision. If you want to actually take your time and think about it. I don't think that's wrong.

KW: (12:28)
And but I had people you know, saying like, actually I've babysat for a family for many years. And I completely understand this decision. But you know, she didn't want me to babysit until I was vaccinated. And I understand that completely. But it was kind of just like when I saw the text message of her saying like, what, well, are you vaccinated? If not, like, I'm not comfortable with that. I kind of just had to take a second where I was like, wow, this is like what we're living in now. Yeah. And it's a lot of people were like, even like talking to friends are like, Oh, well, I don't want to hang out if you're not vaccinated.

SG: (12:59)
It has definitely become a thing where if you don't have it, you are kind of considered to be like on the outside, especially now I know some places even have a requirement. You can't travel with the VAX without a vaccination or like things like that to or even certain programs, because my brother, he's in high school, but he's applying for a program. And it's in the United States, it's like to go to California, but he can't join the program if he doesn't have his vaccine, or status of vaccination.

KW: (13:25)
Do you think it's still like a really big social proponent like people still? Because I will say I think a lot of the pandemic has become like, people think there's a right side and a wrong side to be on. And instead of seeing like, it's not that black and white, there's a lot of gray area, do you think people are still very much like, I'm not going to be accepting of your views? And you know, whether you have the vaccine or not?

SG: (13:50)
I think it's all about perception. You know because before I would say that it was very black and white. And like, there was very little gray area. Now I feel like a lot of people have like found their own way to perceive it. And that's kind of influenced their perceptions of it, because now I feel like it's about how you perceive it is how you expect others to perceive it as well, which is that causes some [unintelligible] miscommunications. Yeah. But I still believe there is a lot of gray area that people don't account for which I don't think that it should be black and white. There's definitely space where I can see both sides and see that there's also an impartial side as well, which I think is an important thing to account for.

KW: (14:27)
I mean, we're also at a point where in our society, it's kind of like COVID just stopped existing.

SG: (14:34)
Yeah, it's crazy to think about, we were in a pandemic, and we technically still are, I guess. [multiple voices]

KW: (14:41)
Yeah, like there are still death rates that are equivalent to a plane crashing. Yeah. But nobody knows that. We don't talk about that. But we don't really I mean, there is talk of world war three and then COVID was just like, oh, a memory.

SG: (14:54)
Yeah, exactly. And it's also interesting is like, you're currently sick with I think, we think it is the flu

KW: (15:02)
the flu, or mono or something weird

SG: (15:04)
But they didn't even think to test you for COVID because of how like, it's no longer as prevalent and common to think about

KW: (15:11)
I only got tested for COVID at FastMed because I asked to be tested. But it was listed, like my appointment was listed as a COVID testing just because they're including all like respiratory. Yeah, makes sense instances with COVID. But a student health seems like oh, you don't have a cough, you should be good, I guess have a sense of smell, you're fine. Like, didn't even think about it.

SG: (15:31)
Right. And that's crazy how things have changed. Because like, if this was March 2020, that probably would have been the first thing I would have had like at least three COVID tests by now for you.

KW: (15:40)
I mean, I remember when the pandemic started, somebody said, to like, be able to self test if you can hold your breath for 10 seconds. And like do like slow controlled breathing of like blowing it out. You didn't have COVID Because you have lung capacity. So every morning, I would test if I could breathe. They're like, hold my breath for 10 seconds. And I look back on that now. I'm like that this is ridiculous. Yeah, there are so many other factors of COVID.

SG: (16:05)
That also brings up the dry cough versus wet cough. I remember I used to get so conscious about my cough. I was like, it's just allergies. Like it was spring like it wasn't even about

KW: (16:14)
like part of society now is I don't feel like I can like sneeze or cough in it. Because somebody's gonna look at me be like, Oh my god,

SG: (16:22)
I agree.

KW: (16:22)
You have COVID

SG: (16:23)
Yeah, it's definitely you can't really be sick anymore without it being like,

KW: (16:27)
everything. Everything because no no longer mono, the flu, the common colds, sinus allergies, sinus infections, or anything. It was all Oh, you got COVID.

SG: (16:36)
Yeah. And it became like a thing where it's like, if you're coughing Why are you coughing or sneezing? And like, people can still be sick. I feel like that's acceptable.

KW: (16:44)
I mean, yeah, like COVID was not the only pathogen. it was not. And it never will be

SG: (16:49)
and the worst part is it was during spring, so a lot of people just had allergies or things related to that. So it was hard to like, understand that it's not COVID It could just be allergies. It could be pollen, it could be anything.

KW: (16:59)
Yeah, I was at Target the other day getting Mucinex And I wanted to take my time to look for like what I was gonna get, right. But there was a woman restocking. And she asked me, she was like, Are you just do you need help with what you're looking for? Or like, are you just kind of trying to decide? And I was like, oh, yeah, you know, I'm just trying to decide. After a couple of minutes. She showed me the Mucinex, which is actually the one I got. And she was like, if it's like an upper respiratory thing like a head cold. You should really try this one. This is what I got. When, you know, I thought I just had a cold, but it actually turned into walking pneumonia. Oh, and I was like, Oh, wow. I mean, I just went to student health and they told me a viral upper respiratory infection. And those few words, she literally just like stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at me. Because Because of that, and it's because viral upper respiratory is associated with COVID. Now it's like, I don't think it's COVID. And she's wearing a mask but it's under her nose. Yeah. So it's like if you're really concerned about COVID

KW: (17:53)
Why aren't you wearing a mask? Yeah. [unintelligible]

KW: (17:57)
So it was, I don't know, it was just a thing to me that I haven't had to have experience often because I, you know, we're trying to get back to this normalcy. We're like, nobody's wearing masks, Well, you know, going back to what we usually do, but then like people still hold that prejudice of Oh, you have COVID. Yeah, I can't be around you.

SG: (18:16)
Right.

KW: (18:18)
I mean, at the end of the day, it's I don't know it's something you get immunity to know not to discount from people you know, who died from it, who are immunocompromised. But I think at the point we're at people should be a lot more understanding and not hold it as such a high pedestal as it was.

SG: (18:36)
Yeah, I definitely think that it shouldn't be something that people hold against other people, which I feel like it used to be, and it kind of still is, I guess you could say,

KW: (18:43)
like, saw people as lepers.

SG: (18:45)
Yeah. Or saw people as different just because they had COVID. Which I don't think that's the case. I do think it is just like a normal disease. And like, Yes, I guess it can be it is contagious, and like you should quarantine appropriately. But it's not something that you should discount or hold against somebody because of something else.

KW: (19:03)
I mean, you had it when we were living in

SG: (19:06)
Yeah, I actually did have COVID.

KW: (19:07)
And nobody treated you any differently other than our other roommate would just put your food outside your door. Yeah. Yeah. And in my other apartment, my other roommate had it. And we didn't know she had it. We had actually just rescued a cat at the time, so we thought she was just allergic to the cat. But it turned out that she had COVID And none of us were like, Oh my God, you are banished to your room. You can never step foot out here. We hate you. You're the worst person in the world.

SG: (19:36)
Right? Because at the end of the day, it was like, I hope you're okay.

KW: (19:40)
Every time somebody I know gets COVID Like they felt the need to like profusely apologize. I'm like there's nothing you could have done. Yeah, you know, your immune system is going to do it, It's gonna it's gonna do right you can take all the proper precautions and preventative measures and still get

SG: (19:54)
still get it Yeah, that's another big thing is I feel like it's under represented how like a lot of people can get it even when It's taking all the proper precautions

KW: (20:01)
you can do everything right and still get it. That's not, you know, anything against anyone. It's just how it goes. And so like, she told us, she was like, if I go out, you know, obviously I need to eat. So I'm going to go out into the kitchen. I'll text you guys before I go out there. So you're going out there, I'll you know clean on every surface, I'll wear a mask out there. And we're all like this is your home like,

SG: (20:22)
yeah, it's not [multiple voices]

KW: (20:23)
It's I don't know, I can't believe how much society has changed. In regards to it.

SG: (20:26)
I definitely agree.

KW: (20:31)
Do you think we'll ever get back to a normal society?

SG: (20:34)
I think there's a possibility for sure. It's just going to take a while because of how like adapted society has become to pandemic life. I feel like it's hard for people to imagine a life without it. Because I know even now, a lot of people are still very much in the same mindset as when you're very fresh into the pandemic. And so it's hard to get, I guess, everybody back to that original, like normalcy phase.

KW: (20:58)
Like in that same aspect, a lot of people kind of, not cut off, or maybe cut off was the right word, they ended friendships or relationships, even with like, people in their family during that time, because Black Lives Matter was also a big deal at the time. They're both to like, huge social changes happening at the same time, which is overwhelming for everybody. Like it was a lot to process. I think we're all still like dealing with the trauma of that.

SG: (21:29)
No, definitely.

KW: (21:31)
But you know, if you had a different perception or view or belief, whatever, you know, I'm not going to be in your life anymore. We're not going to be friends, even like, family members, like you're my dad, but you see things differently. So you know, I'm not talking to you anymore. Yeah, did you have any relationships like that?

SG: (21:48)
I didn't have any relationships change, per se, it was all about I guess, perception. Because a lot of it you didn't really know, you were not really aware of because it wasn't a commonly talked about topic, until it kind of came up. Because 2020 had a lot of, I guess, a lot of change. It was definitely social, political. There was a lot of there was a lot of stuff, there was a lot. And so I feel like a lot of it was just you, you didn't know now you became aware. So I wouldn't say a lot of my relationships didn't change, but it was just I now know, things that I didn't know before.

KW: (22:18)
Do you feel differently about anybody in your life because of like, knowing how they see things?

SG: (22:22)
Not exactly. a lot of it is I don't hold things against other people based on their beliefs, because I think you can have different beliefs from somebody and still support them and still respect them as a person. So it's more of like, I wouldn't say anything's changed. It's just I know this about you.

SG: (22:37)
You respect the person.

SG: (22:38)
Yeah.

KW: (22:38)
Yeah. Did COVID alter your perception of wanting to go into healthcare in any way?

SG: (22:45)
I think that actually strengthened my perspective about going into healthcare. Because before it was kind of like a material idea of like, I want to go into healthcare, and then it kind of like, once I saw how necessary doctors were in the changes, and like everything that happened, because of how many doctors we had. Yeah, it had a purpose.

KW: (23:03)
I agree.

SG: (23:04)
So it was like, now I see a reason for what I want to do. And I'm more motivated to do it.

KW: (23:08)
How do you feel about like, there was that brief time period, which it could still be an issue that I don't really know, it's not really talked about, where nurses and doctors and anybody in the profession would be fired if they didn't get the vaccine, even though, you know, at the start of the pandemic, it was all you know, this is the frontline of the pandemic. How does that make you feel going into healthcare knowing that like, they could easily be disregarded that way?

SG: (23:38)
I just think it kind of like brings up the idea of like, if you want to go into healthcare, you have to understand, you're going into healthcare, knowing that you have to accept the science you have to accept the facts is like, if you are going into a career that is motivated by medicine, that means you do have to support the

KW: (23:54)
ideals of medicine.

SG: (23:55)
Yes. So I think that's kind of thing where it's like, you can't, you can no longer I guess differentiate your ideals from medicine, if you do plan to go into the healthcare field based on that.

KW: (24:06)
I mean, I thought of it as like, when I worked for a primary care physician, you know, she told us, I'm not getting the vaccine until I know more about it. She told patients the same thing, because like, when they asked her, do you think I should get it? She said, This is what I'm going to do. You can make up your own decision about that. I'm not going to sway you in any way. But, you know, it personally bothered me that people, you know, saw nurses and everybody in healthcare, you know, in high regard because they were the frontline. They were sacrificing everything. But when it came to getting this single vaccine, they weren't given the time to actually think, is this what I want to do? Is this what I want to do right now, it was either, you know, you do this, you're fired.

SG: (24:49)
Right. But yeah, that definitely brings apart brings up I guess you could say a lot of the issues where it's like you felt like you can't distinguish your ideals from what you have to do.

KW: (24:58)
Like it's definitely not an identity outside of it.

SG: (25:01)
I agree. Yeah. It's very much you do this or you don't. And then if you don't you risk your job.

KW: (25:07)
This brings up like there are politics and things that politics shouldn't be a part of.

SG: (25:10)
Yeah. A lot of the pandemic, I can definitely say it was, became politicized in a way that it shouldn't have

KW: (25:16)
we also had an election. Yeah, during it, which was, you know, the last thing anybody needed.

SG: (25:21)
Yeah.

KW: (25:24)
All right, well, is there anything else that you'd like to, you know, talk about with your experience with COVID or any other thoughts you have,

SG: (25:31)
um, I guess you can just end on the note. While COVID did take a lot away from me, I also gained a lot I was able to develop a new perspective and kind of learn new things about myself that I guess I would not have been able to learn otherwise. So while COVID I guess you could say was not a totally negative experience for me. So we can

KW: (25:49)
new strength and passion for the career you want to go into

SG: (25:52)
Yes. Which is very different from a lot of people in healthcare. They're, you know, burned out from it and quit. But I do hope that you know, a lot of us going into healthcare can have that same kind of mindset so we can rebuild what crumbled.

KW: (26:06)
I agree. But thank you.

SG: (26:08)
All right. Well, thank you.

[End of Recording]