Adaptability During COVID-19 with Madeline

Transcript

Okay, so let’s head downtown and head over to ASU’s law library at it’s Downtown Phoenix Campus. Here, we’re gonna meet up with Madeline. She’s a junior studying business law with a minor in criminal justice, and she has an awesome story touching on the subject of adaptability here at ASU. You’re gonna wanna watch this. Madeline, it’s all yours.

Hey everybody, my name is Madeline. And in order to tell you about adaptability, I need to tell you a really crazy personal story. My whole life I’ve dreamed of studying abroad, and last year I did exactly that. I lived on a ship and took classes at sea on the Semester at Sea program as an ASU student. Then came COVID-19. Within days of mainland China going into lockdown in January, 2020, the ship diverted its course. This was the beginning of several different itinerary changes as the ship tried to outrun the virus.

Thankfully, no one on board was sick, but there were times when we didn’t know when or where we’d be on land again. And my experience studying abroad during the pandemic taught me the importance of embracing every possibility. Even though there were only a few other ASU students on my study abroad program, ASU supported us. ASU has shown immense adaptability during the pandemic. I mean, what would you expect from the most innovative university in the country?

Since the COVID outbreak, ASU has been a pioneer in developing a saliva-based COVID test, which is easier to administer and less painful than traditional nasal swabs. The ASU Biodesign COVID Testing Laboratory has the capacity to test thousands of students a day and deliver results in just 24 hours. Anyone at ASU is eligible for unlimited free saliva-based COVID tests. As an ASU student, that makes me feel super safe. COVID-19 created a lot of challenges, but it also created a lot of opportunities. I went from seeing COVID take over the planet as I sailed from Asia to Africa, to now studying COVID testing laws for my thesis.

At ASU, we are all about learning to thrive, and this unique time has given us all extra opportunities to learn how to be creative, embrace every possibility, and adapt so that we’re always moving forward. And that’s adaptability at ASU. Back to you, Alex

Madeline, great job. What a story. It’s so impressive to see how you and the university pressed through a challenging time. That was great. By the way, you have a future in TV if you want one. Great job. Cheers, Madeline.