A 2021 photo of students walking through the Colorado State University campus in face masks. Photo by John Eisele/CSU Photography
It’s no secret that COVID-19 had a lasting impression at Colorado State University, significantly impacting the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of many.
Students in particular felt the impact as they changed how they learned, worked and lived during the pandemic. The Ram Stories Symposium will offer CSU students and employees an opportunity to reflect on the pandemic’s impact, foster connections and share experiences.
The event will take place on Friday, April 7, from 8 a.m. to noon in the Longs Peak Room of the Lory Student Center. This is a hybrid event, so you can register to attend in-person or online.
The agenda will feature a catered breakfast, followed by reflections on CSU’s response to the pandemic, lessons learned from this project and the implications for responding to future challenges and crises.
The symposium will also feature commentary by Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Jody Donovan, Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Shannon Archibeque-Engle and Assistant Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Bridgette Johnson.
The symposium will feature reflections from student interviewees on key and diverse aspects of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a roundtable discussion of critical issues facilitated by campus leaders and Ram Stories researchers.
About the Ram Stories COVID-19 Oral History Project
Ram Stories is a project that seeks to illuminate the profound, long-standing impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on students at CSU and how the university sought to prioritize the needs of those affected. A team of graduate student researchers are in the process of interviewing students and alumni to gain a more diverse understanding of how these events affected students’ mental health, families, communities, values and identities. By empowering student voices, we can better understand how the pandemic influenced the lives of people university-wide and create a community bonded by shared experience.
Ram Stories is a partnership of the CSU Libraries and the Department of History, with funding from the Office of the President.
