Isolation U: A podcast about living and learning in the time of COVID

It’s been a year of living remotely, and for many, a year of living lonely.

In the final episode Isolation U, hosts Hannah Rudderham and Aaron Sousa ask students what helped them get through this annus horribilis, and we even give you a surprise guest appearance at the end. This is an episode you won't want to miss.

COVID-19 may have taken away in-person classes and the social lives of students, but it couldn’t take away their political voices. On this episode of Isolation U, hosts Ariana Calvachi and Dylan Kennedy explore how the pandemic has helped incubate student activism.

Has online learning exposed the shortcomings of a university education compared to even YouTube offerings? On this episode of Isolation U, hosts Jayme Humphrey and Jessica Saulnier ask whether Covid-19  has exhausted a university past its prime. They also explore whether the pandemic has affected high school students' decision of coming to university, talk to a specialist in learning technologies and much more.

Online classes posed a challenge for students this year, but what about their jobs? While still trying to pay for school, layoffs, internship uncertainties and taking one multiple jobs stared students in the face.  

Hosts Shannon Nickerson and Laura MacDonald tell us how students are how students are coping with job uncertainty in 2020.

What does online learning mean for those who struggle with depression, isolation or concentration? On this latest episode of Isolation U, hosts Dylan Kennedy and Declan Ryan explore coping through creativity.

Isolation U is a partnership between the Digital Journalism class at St. Thomas University and The Aquinian. It's available on all streaming platforms.

In Episode 5, Isolation U asks the question: Can there be a campus social life without a campus? Hosts Lars Schwarz and Morgan Bell explore everything from classes to keggers, from study groups to gaming alternatives. 

Isolation U is a partnership between the Digital Journalism class at St. Thomas University and The Aquinian, the campus newspaper.

In Episode 4: hosts Diana Chávez and Sofia Paura take a deep dive into the love lives of students during COVID-19. Are some students still hooking up even with COVID-19 going on? How has the pandemic strained relationships during the lockdown? All will be answered in this episode of Isolation U.

Isolation U is a partnership between St. Thomas Journalism and The Aquinian.

In Episode 3, hosts Sam Blackmore and Itza Mendoza explore the challenges of international students, who not only have to worry about online learning but visa renewals and family, and sometimes themselves, living in virus hotspots – all while paying close to 20K in tuition. 

Warning: Because of the challenges of recording during a time of isolation, this episode has some sound issues.

In this week's episode of Isolation U, hosts Summer Arsenault and Peter Jewett talk to professors about their take of online learning. Do professors like it or hate it? Isolation U is a partnership between the Digital Journalism class at St. Thomas University and the campus newspaper, The Aquinian.

In this episode, our hosts discuss the highs and lows of online learning. Isolation U reporters talked to students about their biggest tech disasters this semester, hosted a panel with students that either like online learning or hate it and talked to St. Thomas University's IT crew.