The Life Of A HVCC Student During Finals Week.
By Isabella Smarro, Managing Editor
The Spring 2021 semester is coming to an end with the last day of classes on May 11th. For most students, this may be amazing but the next week and a half will be filled with tons of homework and final projects.
Savannah Tenace, a Fine Arts student says that her schoolwork is tolling on her mental health. “The stress I feel is manageable but is taking a toll on my mental health and sleep.”
“A lot more homework, I’m guessing to make up for in-person class time. It’s a bit overwhelming,” said Taylor Doran, a Theatre Arts student.
To most students, the workload is extreme and the support systems students had in person are highly different on zoom.
Logan Simms, a Business Administration degree student thinks with the lack of physical support systems at HVCC, finals are even more complex than before.
“Normal access to the Library and professors is a huge loss. Couple that with a retention loss due to an online format and finals week becomes rather scary,” Simms said.
Hudson Valley does have resources on its main website that support students with their homework. These include; CAAT and The Reading Center.
While most students can agree that finals can be stressful, some students such as Taylor Doran feel that teachers have lightened the load just a tad due to COVID.
“It’s actually easier! I feel like the classes that I’m in have shortened the final requirements because the professors understand the stress that the pandemic is giving us,” Doran said.
With a mix of emotions during these last days of the Spring semester, students have some tips for others.
Simms suggests, “make finals week, finals month! Take breaks while studying. 30 minutes in the books with a 5-minute reward break, ups your productivity immeasurably.”
“Plan! Try and request some time off of work and just roughly plan out your day and week on paper. Also, make sure you’re eating and drinking water. Taking some time for yourself and taking care of your body will help you manage the stress better,” Tenace said.
In this time of heavy workloads, make sure to ask for help. Hudson Valley will gladly be that support you need, you just need to take the first step.