When COVID-19 first began spreading in early 2020, many were told it was just going to be temporary, and there were only going to be two weeks off of school. However, worldwide, schools closed, hospitals implemented emergency protocols and people’s daily routines slowly began changing as the earth shifted into quarantine.
The pandemic reshaped nearly every aspect of society and left lasting effects on how people learned, worked and responded to uncertainty.
For healthcare workers, the shift from normalcy to crisis happened quickly.
“At first things were pretty busy as usual … Then we were getting our PPE stolen … we had no masks and we had no gowns,” Taylour Champion, a Louisville Nurse who worked in the pediatric emergency department at the time, said.
As hospital staffing began experiencing an increase in shortages because nurses were getting sick, the reality of the situation became unavoidable. Champion remembers being called back into work even though she was still recovering from COVID-19. She was asked if she had a fever. If she did not, she was called in. At the time, there were no COVID-19 tests and no knowledge on COVID-19 or how to treat it, so hospitals had to rely on their prior knowledge and basic precautions.
The emotional weight of the pandemic extended beyond the workplace.
“Everyone was scared. Not only that we were sick, but that we were going to take whatever we had home and that the people we loved were also going to be sick,” Champion said.
Patients were often treated in isolation due to visitor restrictions, forcing families apart during critical or final moments.
“We were watching people come in and we were watching them not walk out,” Champion said.
Even during this hardship though, Champion recalls how supportive the community had been toward healthcare workers.
“I think that the community was aware. They knew how hard we were working. They’d drive by in their little parades and they’d have signs like, healthcare workers we love you guys so much, like keep it up and it felt cheesy but at the time it was everything,” Champion said.
For both educators and students, the disruption took a different form but carried its own impact. Keertana Bangaru (12, MST), now a high school senior, was in sixth grade when schools transitioned to Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI).
“I remember initially thinking that it wasn’t a big deal … I think I was just a little bit more confused on what the future was going to look like,” Bangaru said.
As NTI continued, the original structure became difficult to maintain.
“There wasn’t much studying … I think I was just doing work to get it done,” Bangaru said.
Without the normal routine of a school day, the line between education and home blurred, making it harder for students to stay engaged during online classes. That shift continued to affect how students began approaching school and how they learned.
“I remember prior to COVID being really on top of my homework … now it just feels like I had a better handle on it before,” Bangaru said.
The habits that were formed during lockdown and during NTI did not fully disappear, even after returning to in-person learning; the aftereffects of NTI left an impact on students’ motivation and focus.
Within hospitals themselves, the staff made adjustments beyond frontline care. Letha Curtsinger, a volunteer coordinator, described that the removal of volunteers created gaps in daily operation.
“Nursing assistants had to do it all themselves,” Curtsinger said.
While the essential hospital services continued, staff no longer had volunteers to help fill in those small roles, so they were able to focus more on patient care themselves. Volunteers gradually returned in 2021, but the initial loss highlighted how essential volunteer support systems are.
Years later, perspectives on the pandemic remain divided. Some question the severity of the pandemic, while others carry the weight of what they experienced.
“Until you knew someone that died of COVID, it didn’t really affect you. You didn’t know. You didn’t care because it wasn’t happening to you, and I think that looking back, we did everything that we could,” Champion said.
Although daily life has largely returned to normal, the effects of COVID-19 have not fully disappeared.
“I remember everyone talking about how there was going to be a new normal … but life is as it was before … and that’s been encouraging,” Bangaru said.
Although daily life has slowly returned to normal, the effects of COVID-19 remain. In hospitals, healthcare workers faced shortages, while students experienced what online learning is like and lasting changes in their motivation as classrooms shifted to platforms like Google Docs and Google Classroom. Six years later, the pandemic is no longer an immediate crisis, but its impact continues to shape how people learn, work and adapt to change.
