An international student's experience transitioning to online learning

8 AM lecture on Monday mornings always seemed like the worst part of the week, and all of the sudden having anything to walk to was the most exciting part of my day. The transition of going in-class to fully online in the Spring 2020 semester was tumultuous for me and the millions of college students having to go through the same experience due to Covid-19.

I was skeptical and anxious for the transition going strictly online, especially being an international student and being in such an uncertain state. But we all quickly learned that online classes were fully doable mostly because of our professors' hard work and creativity.

From my experience, SBCC did an amazing job transitioning to online learning, I think the transition was made within only a couple days. With the 5 classes I was enrolled in, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that all of my classes went online with little to no difficulty. The classes were structured better than I expected and the actual workload was pretty much the same as in-person. Group work was done in separate channels, and there were time-spots divided for each group.

Between my five classes, two were mandatory to attend through Zoom, one had lectures posted on YouTube and the other two were transitioned to fully online. I actively kept up with the two that had mandatory attendance in the beginning since we were listening to the lectures through Zoom, which made it easy to ask questions and interact with our classmates. Having so much freedom with structuring my classes was a pleasant surprise as this left more time to focus on studying and more flexibility when handing in assignments. Most of my professors’ office hours were extended significantly in order for them to be more available and flexible to respond to our questions and needs. I also felt like they were very encouraging and understanding if we had difficulties keeping up with the material.

Sunset in East Campus

Although, in the beginning I was struggling with successfully structuring my time-management to succeed. I quickly realized I had to set up a daily schedule and follow a strict timeline to be able to structure the online transition. Some of my most crucial tips that worked for me was to wake up at the same time every day, sit at a desk or table and take notes during class to make it feel like I was attending an in-class lecture. It helped to start early in the morning and to include personal activities during the week such as working out, groceries and hobbies. The most important part of succeeding in online school was definitely discipline and the hardest part was not getting caught up in distractive activities.

SBCC’s efforts to make the hit of the pandemic as pain free for their students as possible was proven successful, especially considering the title of top #10 Community Colleges in the nation. The professors acted quickly and effectively to the transition while the school provided ChromeBooks, hotspots and textbooks for those in need. SBCC Students, including myself, who were affected financially by the pandemic received relief grants to provide for food, housing and child care. On April 1st, SBCC Food Pantry remained open and was operating safely to hand out weekly bags of food to plenty of students including myself. After all their tireless efforts, SBCC was finally able to honor 1,736 Associate Degrees and Certificates at the end of the Spring Semester, and although we had to do a virtual commencement, it was so rewarding to finally graduate after such a tumultuous semester.

Allegra's volunteering experience with the SBCC food pantry!

Hi Guys! My name is Allegra Kabukapua Kalombo, I am 20 years old and I am an international student. I am originally from Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, but I also lived in Belgium, Europe. I am currently a sophomore at SBCC. It is my third semester and I have three more semesters left. I am a Biological Sciences major right now and I want to be transferred to a 4-year university to study pharmacy. 

From the beginning of my journey here in Santa Barbara to now, a lot of things happened. One of the main things that I have been doing is organizing events for the Ambassadors program. The Ambassadors is a program that creates a space of confidence for local and international students on campus. The program does host multiple events on campus in order to bridge a connection between students. Within the program, we have people from different backgrounds and countries. I have been lucky to meet all of those beautiful people from different cultures. 

The ambassadors is not only a program that hosts events, it can also help you to find volunteering opportunities such as helping the food pantry distribution. The food pantry is part of the Center of Equity and Social Justice (CESJ) and is directed by Alondra Gonzalez. Thanks to the ambassadors’ program I have been able to volunteer and therefore help. 

Another great benefit of the food pantry is that I had the opportunity to help people. One of my greatest goals in life is to be able to help others. By joining the volunteering team, I realized how much I loved helping other people. While helping, we could discuss with the people that were coming. And, some other times we would even give advice to help. 

The greatest thing that I have gained from volunteering is family. We started out being unknown to each other. Then step by step we built a strong bond. We have seen each other the entire summer and even after the fall semester started. I met so many people there and I have enjoyed every laugh and fun times that we got. Throughout this pandemic situation, it can be hard to meet new people and have fun. But, thanks to the food pantry, my summer far from home was not that bad at all. We would meet once every week and that would be enough to highlight my week.

I have been very blessed to have the opportunity to volunteer at the food pantry distributions. It even helped me to apply for a job at the CESJ and was hired. If I could give an advice to people who are afraid to get out of their comfort zone, I would say “TRY”. You do not have to apply for the food pantry specifically, but if you have a chance anywhere else then go for it. I had an amazing experience and I am still enjoying it.