Jordan Knape is a pretty regular on-campus student, but like his fellow classmates, this term has turned his world upside down. Spring term has come with immense changes, especially for on-campus students who were prepared to be doing face-to-face classes with their peers and professors. This year, Knape is completing his capstone project in the midst of the crisis, working as an essential employee, juggling other classes, and trying to stay productive in the “stay home” era in which we live now.
A well-rounded person, Knape is a senior here at EOU, studying history and minoring in english/writing. He is an avid gym go-er, frequenting Grande Ronde Fitness on an average of six hours per week, at about two hours each session. He also has made a home in the library and spent a lot of Winter term working from there. An employee at Safeway, he works weekly while also juggling his coursework. Even though he is considered an essential employee now, he is still focusing on his school work. Luckily, the managers understand that school work is his priority, according to Knape, and he is thankful for that. He says about Safeway, “their leadership has helped the store react in ways that have been gentle with employees who may be at risk as well as serving the community as best as the store can.”
Despite the big change in his daily life because of the gym closing, Knape is also figuring out how his remote classes are going to work. He’s learned that in order to be successful he has to be “establishing priorities and keeping to them.” He went on to say, “I need to keep to a planner, or at worst setting goals for the schoolwork I need to accomplish in a day.” Not being able to be face-to-face with his classmates and professor during his capstone process will most likely make the term more problematic, but for how much it will change the construction of his project is hard to say. He still does plan to do work in the library throughout the term.
As for his home life, he lives with his parents, who are both still working. His mother works at EOU in admissions and is working remotely where possible, while his father is a medical taxi driver who has only seen a slight reduction in business. When they are not working, Knape says that the household is practicing “social distancing directives” in order to try to stop the spread of this virus. “This year feels like such an anomaly,” says Knape.
