{"id":1698,"date":"2021-01-29T16:12:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T16:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/?p=1698"},"modified":"2023-04-26T17:16:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T17:16:10","slug":"grad-school-during-a-pandemic-how-students-navigate-online-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/2021\/01\/29\/grad-school-during-a-pandemic-how-students-navigate-online-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Grad School During A Pandemic: How Students Navigate Online Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The past year has been nerve-wracking as our campus family has been embracing lion pride from afar. Despite the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to connect, collaborate, and generate ideas to fulfill our call to action in the ever-changing spaces around us.\u00a0We sat down with two grad school students to discuss navigating school during a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To maintain our close-knit community, we asked graduate students for advice on all things Emerson, grad life, and adjusting to city-living in the historic town of Boston. From making friends to learning the MBTA system<\/a>; from managing a full course load; from landing internships<\/a> to sharing our favorite hang-out spots<\/a>, we\u2019ve got you covered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Courtney<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Name<\/strong>: Courtney Burness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program of Study<\/strong>: \u201820 Writing for Film and Television MFA Alum<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location<\/strong>: Los Angeles, Californi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently living in sunny Los Angeles, Courtney gave us the inside scoop on her experience as a low residency alum of the Writing for Film and Television MFA program<\/a> at Emerson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was really great getting to know my classmates in person so that I felt comfortable sharing all this material with them in sort of our first little intensive week.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0As a 100% online degree<\/a>, all coursework is asynchronous with interwoven synchronous workshops to fit students’ schedules, which Courtney explained is helpful due to the current remote environment the world is living in with the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Courtney
Pictured: Courtney and her coworkers on a Zoom call<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLiving in this new world where everything is online, learning how to run a mock writers room or give and take notes  virtually has been incredibly invaluable in the job I have now<\/em> [in talent management].\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Most aspects of her job have fully transitioned to Zoom calls and other virtual methods of clientele interaction, but because of Courtney\u2019s Emerson experience, she handles her job with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we asked Courtney how she\u2019ll be able to use these skills in the future, she smiled brightly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will be [so] valuable in my next job in a writers room as a writer’s assistant or show writer\u2019s assistant.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Learning how to do my job in a place that is much harder virtually makes it all the much easier when we do go back to being in person. Definitely the most valuable skill that I learned outside of obvious writing skills has been how to collaborate virtually.<\/em>“<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n