As STEP Scholars and Alumni rang in the 2020 New Year, they never expected just how much their lives—and access to educational experiences and opportunities—would change.
COVID-19 impacted everyone, but it impacted low-income students striving to break the chains of generational poverty in unique and challenging ways.
According to the Arizona Department of Education, statewide testing scores have significantly dropped, with just “38% of students taking the AZ Merit test, now known as AzM2, passing the English Language Arts portion and 31% passing the math portion.”
On top of that, “Arizona saw a four percent drop in English Language Arts scores and an 11% drop in math scores compared to 2019. The assessments were not administered in 2020 because of school closures and COVID-19.”
So, it’s clear that virtual learning—despite the efforts of some teachers to provide quality education—is proving to be a struggle, and the problem only becomes more urgent when you look at statistics related to low-income students.
The Helios Education Foundation and College Success Arizona recently released a report stating that colleges and universities in Arizona are “experiencing significant declines in student enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among first generation, low-income, and underserved students.”
To understand the problem first-hand, we reached out to STEP Scholars and Alumni. Here’s how they say COVID-19 impacted their access to education and college-related opportunities.
To protect our STEP Scholars and Alumni, we’ve removed accreditation from the quotes.
It was a low point in my life...
“It was a very low point in my life that I’ve never experienced. I missed my friends, and some of my loved ones passed away. Having to do virtual learning while my mental health wasn’t at its best made things worse. I remember that, by the end of the day, all I wanted to do was throw my laptop across the room.”
I lost learning opportunities.
“My education was challenged by the pandemic because taking courses online was difficult for me. I had to adapt to an entirely new learning format. Our school changed the educational format, so we had to take all of our courses in one singular semester, rather than both semesters in the school year.
It was also very difficult to find motivation to complete homework since there wasn't any social interaction, and clubs were very limited... I lost learning opportunities mainly in my CTE course, as those classes are designed to be hands-on. Overall, I felt like the pandemic limited my education, but I'm glad I was able to overcome the challenges and persevere in my courses, despite the pandemic.”
I almost didn’t go to a four year college…
“I almost didn’t go to a four year college right away because I was counting on my high school counselor to help me apply for more scholarships. I needed more letters of recommendation, but since school shut down, no one was responding to my emails. That’s when I realized, I needed $8,000 more dollars to attend ASU.
Luckily, the amazing founder of STEP Founder Tracy called ASU, and was able to secure more scholarship money for me to attend my dream school!”
I missed out on a significant number of internship opportunities.
“Because of the pandemic, I missed out on a significant number of internship opportunities the summer before my senior year of college. Finding a job after my senior year was extremely difficult as my work experience was minimal.
As for my academics, virtually learning was very difficult. I had to alter the way in which I studied and absorbed information. I also had to drop my senior thesis because mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. Many of us lost loved ones. Identifying my personal and academic priorities has been challenging. It has been and continues to be a difficult situation to navigate.”