This year, many students have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but some have been put in difficult financial situations.. With some companies finding it challenging to make a profit this year, they have been forced to make budget cuts, resulting in the loss of jobs for many Americans.
This year, Addi Steele, a PV senior, experienced a big change. Her father was laid off from his job of 10 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This changed a lot for her family, as they are moving across the country.
Steele explained the changes that are to come. “Because of my dad losing his job, my family has decided to move to Arizona because my grandpa lives there and is sick with dementia and it was a change that we always knew would happen,” Steele said. “Him losing his job sped up the process by a couple years.” While Steele finishes high school at PV she will not be able to see her family. “I will stay in Iowa with my grandma here until I finish my senior year and then join the rest of my family when they’re in Arizona,” she stated.
This has also affected Steele’s college plans.“I’ve always wanted to go to UNI and cheer there, but part of the reason I wanted to go there was because it was in-state and I could come home when I wanted to,”Steele shared. “So I had to look into colleges in Arizona instead and now I am considering OUAZ to also cheer there.”
Moving is no easy task either, it can be very stressful packing everything and hard to make new friends, at your new place to call home. Gautham Suresh is a senior that has experienced the challenges accompanying moving. “I was kind [of] nervous about moving,” Suresh explained. “I had built a stable life in Cedar Rapids and I wasn’t sure if [I] could do that here.”Moving is a very nerve racking thing for many people. Making friends can be especially difficult when one is the new kid.
Suresh elaborated. “Fortunately I didn’t struggle to make friends,” Suresh stated. “There are plenty of outgoing people at this school that welcomed me.” This is the treatment many wish to receive when they have just made a major move.
This is just one person’s story about job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are many people going through similar situations.
