The Aug. 24 start to the fall semester felt familiar, even though it wasn’t. Students walking across campus to their 8 a.m. classes on a Monday, the neighborhood that surrounds Adams State University feeling more full and busy than a typical summer day.
“It feels good to be back,” said Kaitlyn Kelley, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz. She will graduate in May 2021 when Adams State celebrates its 100-year anniversary and plans to add extra glitz to the spring 2021 commencement ceremony.
For everyone associated with Adams State it felt good to have students back on campus, attending in-person classes and moving across the University from building to building. Health and safety standards adopted to combat COVID-19 are prevalent, with students, staff and faculty in masks and the campus set up to practice safe distancing.
“I am liking it so far,” said Eric Sandoval, a freshman nursing major from Trinidad. He said there are some things to get used to, like having one class in-person and then another online.
“It is important to have classes face-to-face,” said Noemi Hernandez, a freshman from Colorado Springs. “I am glad we have the opportunity to be in a classroom, not just online.”
Both Sandoval and Hernandez said that while wearing masks can be a challenge, the protocols Adams State put in place to help minimize the risk to COVID-19 are important.
“It is important to follow and listen to the rules so we can all stay in classes and be safe,” Hernandez said.
Adams State’s fall semester will go through November 24 for regular undergraduate classes. Students then break for Thanksgiving and will take their final exams Nov. 30 through Dec. 3. remotely via Adams State’s Blackboard system.
