Welcome to the Taylor University COVID-19 Community Archive Initiative, organized by the Ringenberg Archives & Special Collections. The goal of this project is to create a community archive that will collect, preserve, and make accessible the story of Taylor University during this unprecedented time.
Learn more about this initiative by visiting https://library.taylor.edu/archives/pandemic-community-archive
Submit work by completing the Content Submission Form: https://taylor.libwizard.com/f/submission-permission-form-pandemi
Submissions from 2021
Dear Future Researcher: Reflections on COVID-19, Benjamin Wetzel - Faculty
Dear Future Researcher: A Reflection on How COVID has Most Impacted my College Life at Taylor University, Tesia Juraschek - Student (Senior)
A reflection on how COVID has most impacted my college life at Taylor University.
Taylor University's Isolation Experience: Life in the Dome, Logan Lockhart - Student (Junior)
This is a first-hand account of my experience in the dome during my isolation period, detailing the physical structure, happenings, the atmosphere, and my own reflection. I thought that there were historically significant happenings that needed to be recorded for posterity to better understand this interesting time in Taylor's history.
Submissions from 2020
You've Been Here Before, Abby Wilson - Student (Junior)
This is a poem about what it felt like to leave campus after having spent the last semester abroad. I compare getting to come back to campus after studying abroad to what I hoped it would be like to come back to campus after the spring semester was abruptly moved online.
Pandemic 2020 in Myndsight, Shawn D. Denny - Faculty
A poem, or rhapsodic reflection if you like, on the experience of being isolated due to the stay-at-home restrictions invoked by the pandemic. As my context is largely influenced by my involvement as a faculty and community member of Taylor University, the thoughts encapsulated also reflect that context.
The Last Mile, Michael Hammond - Staff/Administrator
My desire was to encourage the community as we head into Finals Week.
The Wedge, Jonathan Knippenberg - Student (Senior)
This poem is fueled by the emotions of a senior year cut short and living at home again.
Strange April, Joe Ricke - Faculty
It's an essay about saying goodbye to my isolated April.
Some of my Journal Entries During COVID-19, Brooke Studnicki - Student (Sophomore)
These are some journal entries that I was looking back on while we were sent home in quarantine. They began during the period of time when the coronavirus first seemed to effect my life. I believe they are able to show some of the ways God was working amidst the uncertainty.
Senior Night, Aleyah Rastetter - Incoming Student, Fall 2020
This is a letter regarding the loss of my senior year of high school.
Home, Rachel L. Knight - Student (Junior)
I wrote this poem as a way of reflecting on my feelings about being “home” due to COVID-19. The accompanying photograph is my desk in my bedroom at “home” as it was a few weeks ago (it’s messier now).
What am I actually missing?, Jeff Aupperle - Faculty
I wrote this after seeing other faculty share things they were missing. It prompted me to ask the question: What am I really missing?
Letter to the Student Body, Carey Collins - Graduate Student
Encouragement to students, staff and faculty for thriving and finding meaning during difficult times.
Even Sammy is Complying with CDC Guidelines, Nancy Dayton - Faculty
Samuel Morris statue on campus with quarantine mask
Letter to Taylor Students During COVD-19, Maribel Magallanes - Graduate Student
This is a letter I wrote for students during COVID-19 to encourage Taylor Students to remain strong in the midst of these trials.
COVID-19: Change of Plans - A Photojournal, Tim Swanson - Student (Sophomore)
This photo journal was an assignment for one of my classes. From March 20 to April 12 I photographed scenes from my life as it now was due to the Coronavirus, and wrote statements reflecting on the context in which they were taken.
Invest Daily, Impact Eternity, Jacob Gerding - Graduate Student
We were asked for a class assignment to write a letter of encouragement to the Taylor student body in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
Letter to Taylor Students, Josh Meredith - Graduate Student
Letter of encouragement, inspired by CS Lewis' "Learning In War Time"
A Letter to the Graduating Class of 2020, Ryan Kristofek - Graduate Student
As a hall director in Wolgemuth overseeing seniors, I wrote a letter to these seniors as they navigate finishing their Taylor experience remotely.
Tradition, Rachel Gist - Student (Senior)
I wrote in hope that people could relate to the feelings I had during this time. Having Taylor time cut short is hard but also helped me to reflect and be even more grateful.
Old Habits—A Semester at Home in 2020, Hannah Tienvieri - Student (Sophomore)
This is a poem I wrote after the student body was sent home for the remainder of the spring semester. This piece is an expression of the isolation and unique feeling of regression that came in the early days of the pandemic, particularly caused by being confined to my childhood bedroom.
My Story, Tesia Juraschek - Student (Junior)
My first reactions to COVID as we learned that it would affect our schooling.
Senior Year Cut Short, Caleb Amick - Student
This is my story of what happened to me during the last week of school before we left campus.
Holding My Hand, Marylou Habecker - Former First Lady of Taylor University
This is a piece that I have written to try to give HOPE to others in the middle of this crisis. A story I witnessed taken from another part of the world during a horrendous time of war gave me HOPE. He is Holding My Hand.
Nothing Wasted, Adina Shabe - Student
As our world is facing unprecedented interruptions to our sense of "normal" I have been pressing in to receive God's perspective for myself during this time. He is a God who wastes nothing, He uses everything.
Day 10, Elise Wixtrom - Student (Freshman)
This is a poem I wrote after visiting the supermarket right after classes closed on Taylor's campus.
Uprooted, Grace Meharg - Student (Sophomore)
I wrote this piece on March 31, 2020 reflecting on being home at such an odd time and without closure.
48 Hours, Olivia Winn - Student (Senior)
This is a reflection, two weeks after leaving TU for (maybe) the last time.
Spiraling, Grace Meharg - Student (Sophomore)
This is a personal piece written late at night reflecting on feeling weariness and hopelessness in this situation.Then also considering those who are far less fortunate and those who are at the front lines.
Letter to the Student Body, Amber Stanley - Graduate Student
This is a letter I wrote to the student body in response to the COVID pandemic. This was a class assignment.
Suddenly, Grace Meharg - Student (Sophomore)
This is a piece I wrote on March 18, 2020 reflecting on the last week of Taylor and all of the rapid changes that occurred which brought all of us to scatter.
Learning in Pandemic, Noah Huseman - Student (Junior)
This is an essay written reflecting on C. S. Lewis’ address to Oxford students during World War II.