Rachel Morrell

“BYU requires that all students and staff wear masks in all buildings, classrooms, and on campus.” About 1,850 miles from home, Rachel Morrell is a freshman at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. BYU is a university with about 30,000 undergraduate students.

“I share a room with one other girl, but we share a kitchen, living room, and two bathrooms with four other girls, making six of us total,” Morrell stated. “I was kind of nervous about it at first but at least the girl I am sharing a room with is taking things seriously.”

When it comes to the rigor of classes for Morrell, however, that was something she was prepared for. “NA is a really advanced high school compared to some of the high schools in Utah so I feel a bit ahead of some people, but overall if I just focus and push through it isn’t so bad.”

Morrell’s classes are split half online and half in person. “Most of my classrooms are built like small auditoriums so every other row is blocked off and there are stickers on every third chair.” Even with these accommodations, she seems to be lucky at BYU, because many of her friends have only one or two classes in person.

With having nothing to do, however, Morrell has found a lot of her time is being used to cure her boredom. “ I have so much downtime that I need to be using for schoolwork. I get so bored after sitting at my desk for zoom calls that I don’t want to sit still and start my work.”

The best way to cure college boredom may be to meet new people. However, this year that is not possible. “I try my best to talk to people before class but most of the new people I’ve met have been close friends of my roommates.”

Even though her freshman year of college is not going as expected, Rachel is doing all that she can to make the best of her circumstances.