The COVID-19 pandemic, as a major unexpected event, had an important impact on the student experience of the Hannah Arendt Promotion. From one day to another, the typically vibrant Natolin student life was limited by the necessary applicable health and safety restrictions. With a number of students leaving the campus, followed by a complete shift into online teaching, the campus community dynamics required a sudden and thorough adaptation to the new reality of physical distancing. We were extremely proud to witness that in these extraordinary circumstances, our students truly embodied the values of solidarity, cooperation and responsibility. Our student representatives stayed connected and engaged throughout the whole academic year. A special task force was proposed to be created on campus under the leadership of one of the student representatives, Eugenia Del Rosario, the VP for Academic Affairs and Languages. In response, students showed an outstanding level of support and engagement, creating four teams which additionally contributed to a safer community life on the Natolin campus.
In order to keep the whole student body up-to-date with the dynamically changing news in the media, Jakub Sypiański and Tomasz Zając actively engaged into media monitoring and were ready to answer any questions of fellow students about the current state of events. Additionally, an additional channel of communication with the canteen staff was established to facilitate contactless delivery of meals to individual student rooms and keep the process as safe and environmentally-friendly as possible. To balance the sedentary lifestyle imposed by the quarantine, Niklas Mayer offered sport trainings to the students, while Lidya Başağan coordinated online yoga classes. Helena Hayman and Rose Woolhouse assisted in numerous consultations with the Students Affairs Office and together with Eugenia provided other students with reliable answers to numerous questions. While regularly checking out on everyone’s well-being and attitude, Elisa Schiavini and Celia Zayas Espinosa were in charge of the organisation of various online cultural and creative activities which truly allowed to elevate the mood during the quarantine.
The past months proved that for the majority of the students, the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge but also an important and developing experience. The wonderful cooperation, personal initiatives and the sense of mutual responsibility we witnessed deserve not only attention and praise, but first and foremost gratitude:
Dear Students, thank you for embodying the true essence of the Natolin spirit in such a challenging time!
