Daily Lumina News 032620

By now, everyone expects COVID-19 to derail the plans of prospective college students. One big question is: How many?
Hordes of them, the results of a new survey suggest. One in six high-school seniors who expected to attend a four-year college full time before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus now think that they will choose a different path this fall. Three out of five students, though still intending to enroll in a bachelor’s-degree program, are concerned about their ability to attend their first-choice college.

He is called “The Micro Prof,” and for two weeks now he has served as a voice of calm in a time of uncertainty by providing detailed daily video updates for the public on the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Micro Prof” is Dr. Harry Kestler. For more than three decades, he has studied infectious diseases. He's also a worldwide leader on HIV-AIDS, a community college success story, and a professor of microbiology at Lorain County Community College in Ohio.

Karen Macias had hoped to visit colleges during spring break. Instead, the coronavirus outbreak meant she spent the week picking up extra hours at her Walgreens job.
For seniors like Macias, the wave of school shutdowns has come at a particularly difficult time. It has disrupted college tours and canceled standardized tests. Students planning to enroll at community colleges are in many cases just starting their applications, sometimes without access to the internet at home. And with high schools closed, students can’t get in-person guidance from counselors about financial aid and more.

Kevin Rivera is a senior at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Lately, he's been spending days at a time alone in his apartment.
Rivera, a first-generation college student, pays for his off-campus apartment, groceries, and other bills by himself. Unlike most of his friends who have returned to their hometowns, he’s stuck near campus. He doesn’t have reliable internet at his home in Rosenberg, which would make online instruction difficult.
And while UTSA is continuing to keep its food pantry open, provide health and counseling services, and offer dining options for takeout only, the school can only do so much to help students like Rivera.