As the University of California, Irvine (UCI) settles into its new remote environment, the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning (OVPTL) wishes to highlight some of the student Anteaters who are finding ways to not only survive but thrive amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In this series, we introduce some of the UCI students who are finding success during this unprecedented time.

As a full-time student studying business administration and a student intern at UCI’s OVPTL, third-year Astyr Ko’s life completely revolved around school. Whether it was attending lectures, studying with classmates, or participating in on-campus extracurricular activities, her days were organized by what was happening at UCI.

So, when COVID-19 forced the campus to shut down and move to a remote setting, Astyr was thrown for a loop.

“I wasn’t used to studying at home,” she reflects, “And it was harder for me to concentrate in this environment. I missed studying in group settings with my friends and bouncing ideas off each other.”

Additionally, Astyr struggled to find ways to unwind from the pressures of school when she could no longer rely on her UCI clubs and other extracurricular activities.

While she found all the sudden changes unsettling at first, Astyr quickly developed strategies for adapting to the new remote world. Using her usual school and work schedule to organize her days, Astyr does her best to bring a sense of normalcy to the life that the pandemic had thrown into disarray. She explains:

During this time, setting a specific schedule for myself has been pretty helpful. I’m trying to maintain a lifestyle that is similar to the one I had before. For instance, a lot of my classes are pre-recorded, but I try to watch them and study during the times I’d typically have these classes. This way, I don’t feel like I have so much free time only to end up scrambling at the last minute to get everything done.

Astyr also notes that using her bullet journal and agenda are important for her productivity. According to her, documenting the things she needs to do and prioritizing tasks and assignments by their importance helps her build her schedule and stay on top of things.

For Astyr, placing such an emphasis on creating normalcy means that she also has to be more proactive about scheduling time to connect with friends and other loved ones.

“I’ve always seen myself as a bit on the quiet side,” she reveals, “But in this situation, I’ve kind of surprised myself by stepping up more often and reaching out to my friends to set up social calls.”

This isn’t the only thing that Astyr has discovered about herself; she has also realized that she has the ability to be more independent.
“For a long time, I’ve always relied on my friends and things like the ARC or library to motivate me to work out, study, and be social,” she explains, “ But now, I realize that I can do a lot of these things by myself and I don’t need all these other things to get where I want to be.”

With her newfound confidence, Astyr has been taking steps towards her professional development. For instance, she has made an effort to connect directly with professionals over LinkedIn. She is also maintaining the professional network she has developed as a member of UCI’s Marketing Association. In Astyr’s eyes, being successful during this time means remembering that the world is in a temporary state and taking steps so that she can advance once things return to normal.

She notes, “I’m doing my best to stick to my goals. I’m just making sure that I’m not putting a pause on all these things I’m actively pursuing.”

Despite the challenges that she faced at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Astyr has found ways to cope with the situation. In the process of creating her new normal and learning how to be productive, she has learned a lot about herself and what she’s capable of. 

When asked if there was anything positive she would take away from the COVID-19 pandemic, she explained that she had gained a better understanding of her potential.

“I know if I work hard enough with my different goals in mind, even when everything else in the world seems to have paused and stopped in time, I can still move forward.”

Want to share how you are redefining success in the current pandemic? Then submit your story here. To read more Stories of Resilience During the Pandemic, click here.