COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has touched us all, but its individual impacts vary by our own unique life circumstances. And for some, those circumstances present truly daunting challenges.
For graduate student Ronald Johnson, those challenges included not only the stress that comes along with the news of loved ones falling ill, but also serious financial and technological hurdles that made the spring semester a struggle. The only computer Ronald had during those challenging spring months was so outdated and slow, he said, that he sometimes resorted to using his phone instead.
"I'm someone who has very limited financial resources. So, let's say, being able to connect to ... and then having quick stable internet access, was difficult. … I would be in Zoom sessions, and it would be pretty bad on my part, because I would not be able to communicate adequately.”
Lehigh stepped in to help address some of his most pressing challenges. Faculty, he said, were supportive as he worked through the spring semester, and LTS has since lended him a laptop. But even as he moved forward with his studies, Johnson carried the burden of worrying about loved ones back home in his country of birth, Peru. Multiple members of his family were infected with the virus, and his mother’s beloved Uncle Felix died from it. The virus’ spread only made life more difficult for a population already ravaged by financial inequities.
“In the city where my mom is from [Chiclayo] has been one of the areas most hit by the pandemic in Peru. It’s a city that has historically lacked resources … the people have literally nothing. What they say is … that they ‘don’t even have a place to die in.’”
As an historian in training, Johnson says he hopes his work can help inform the behaviors of the present and better outcomes for the future. “The purpose that I personally study history is so that I can hopefully ... play a small part in advising people to not repeat the same mistakes as we have [made] in the past.”