April 2, 2020 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Written by Lourdes Hurtado, Communications Intern and Rose Tanaye, King’s Master of Social Work Student

With King’s moving to a largely virtual campus, students, faculty and staff have had to adjust to the new normal, with classes and study converting from the classroom to online learning.

Recently, Rose Tanaye, a foundation year student in the Master of Social Work program at King’s who is also an intern with King’s Accessibility, Counselling, and Student Development, contacted King’s Communications. While she admits to having some fear of the unknown, “the updates from King’s reassured me that despite all this, things will be okay,” she says.

At the same time, Rose has passed along some recommendations on how to deal with this new normal:

Check in with friends and family:
  • I check in everyday with friends and family, on the phone, through email and text messages.
Exercise and relaxation:
  • I make sure to exercise everyday by either going for a quick walk or doing an online workout.
  • I take time to do what I enjoy. I make a cup of tea or coffee, watch “Friends,” knit, and color.
Resources:
  • I connect with my classmates through Facebook, where we share links to different resources useful for placement and educational purposes.
  • Zoom is another good platform for catching up.
  • Instagram for sharing recipes and catching up on King’s updates.
  • https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditations/ - Mindfulness practices.
  • https://www.moodgym.com.au – coping with anxiety.
Sleep and diet:
  • I maintain my sleep schedule, balancing healthy eating with occasional junk food. It is easy to snack all day, so I try and make at least two healthy meals a day.
We are in this together:
  • I encourage us not to give into our fears but stand together because we are in this together. In the spirit of “ubuntu” (a Nguni Bantu term I am because we are), let us become my sister’s keeper and show each other compassion, humility, and love.
Reach out for assistance
  • When times get tough, King’s Accessibility, Counselling and Student Development is available. Please reach out and we will be happy to assist. The link to King’s call back feature is: www.kings.uwo.ca/callback.