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This week we interviewed someone from the community, Edith Perry, who expressed to us how difficult it was to obtain a covid vaccine despite the mass vaccination sites working their hardest to ensure that members of the community have equal access to immunization. Edith, like many senior citizens living in the area, is not accustomed to the technology utilized by modern society. Vaccine appointments have been primarily set up via internet, with limited options for in-person or phone set up. This limits the audience pool for vaccine appointments and places a handicap on people like edith who aren't as familiar with technology.

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I'm starting to get in the flow of things and acclimate to the virtual environment better. This class seems to be very engaged with the community and the professor is eager for his students to make an impact in the community and get to know people better. I especially like how he focuses on minority communities, such as those in Prince George's County Maryland--my hometown. he explained how we would be interviewing people from the local community on their experiences with COVID and trying to get the vaccine. It has been very difficult for PG residents to get vaccines because people from surrounding counties have been making appts

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This week was very eventful. I had a few exams and my sister got married this past weekend so the entire week has been a celebration. These past few weeks have been hard to focus and hard to stay motivated because I'm so close to the finish line, the weather is getting warmer, and I'm anxious about life after graduation. I'm exhausted trying to balance school, work, and owning a business but I know it will all pay off in the end.

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This semester has been going pretty well so far. Things have been starting to kick off in full gear.this is my first time in a while taking less than 16 credits so my workload isn’t as excruciating as it usually is and my professors are very fair and accommodating towards the online environment were being forced to work through. so far, this HLSA class has been enjoyable and engaging despite the super long class time. i’m excited to see what this semester bring to me. Professor Thomas shared what happened in previous semesters and his excitement for us to get the fullest experience from this class despite the circumstances. I'm anticipating what the semester will bring and I'm excited to finally receive my degree that I've been working hard for these past 4 years. Everything is so surreal and I'm willing to make the best of this semester, despite the challenges of this pandemic.

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We made it to the last week! very happy and excited to close out this chapter of my life. I've had a great time with this class this past semester and appreciate the opportunities that Dr. Thomas has given me and my classmates. Wish everyone the best and a great rest of the semester.

We spent class going over some details of our project as well as identifying the strengths and weaknesses of our design. Overall, I think our project is a great idea and will be a great service to the community. The technological age is taking over our world as we know it and a lot of things rely on the internet nowadays. However not everyone has the same access or expertise with technology to be able to navigate as much as others, therefore some people are left behind. we saw a result of this when the pandemic first started and families without internet access at home were struggling to log on to online classes. The same aspect has taken place with vaccination sign up where those without reliable internet connection or living in areas where they may not receive information regarding vaccination may often be left behind.

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The semester is coming to a close and i'm still crawling to the finish line. The last week did sneak up on me and I wasn't expecting it to be around the corner. Excited but anxious because I've been in school the past 20 years so I don't know a world outside of it and I'm anxious for what's to come.
Thankfully, i have a job lined up for post-graduation and a plan for the next year or two. As covid taught me, don't marry your plans because anything can happen and interrupt them but I've always been a go with the flow type of individual which is why I'm not phased whenever adversity comes my way. This class taught me alot and I enjoyed engaging with my peers, despite being in an online environment. I wish the best for future classes and hopefully the in-person aspect will help them to appreciate the class so much more and they will get the most out of their experience. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit the barbershop because I had other responsibilities such as work and extracurricular actives but based off of what I've heard from experiences from my classmates it sounds like a great experience. Cheers to Class of 2021!

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This past week was another stressful one. I don't know what came over me but I've been extremely tired, yesterday I could barely get out of bed. On the bright side, more job prospects have opened up so i'm excited about that and I am crawling to the finish line--graduation.
Last weeks class we spent more time working on our design project and also presented to a someone in the community who fit our target audience. We were a little shook when she said our graphics were offensive but I understood where she was coming from. That taught us to keep our audience in mind when creating things and presenting and put ourselves in their shoes. She also told us to keep in mind that other versions of our prototype may already be out there and focus on making our design as unique and original as possible.

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This past week has been very stressful in terms of completing my senior thesis, preparing for graduation, and interviewing for potential jobs. I'm placing a lot of (unnecessary) pressure on myself to find a full time position by graduation and lately, the pressure has been pushing me to invest more time into my self-owned business given that it has made a lot of success this past year. I still am very passionate about healthcare, but given my religious life and what I path I feel like my Creator is sending me on, it involves a little more exploring and self-reflection. However, I look forward to what the future brings me and I'm crawling to the finish line at this point

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Something that was particularly valuable for me this past week was the experience of meeting people from my community and understand their struggles and trying to develop prototypes for fixing their issues. The lady my group spoke with was really sweet and expressed that a lot of senior citizens were struggling with booking vaccine appointments which was discouraging considering that they are a very vulnerable population. We developed a prototype to help make it easier for seniors to book appts by having a call center with a number they can call to set up an appointment since telephones are more universally known amongst large groups of people no matter what age range or demographic.

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this past week we watched a webinar with panelists from the school of public health talking about the vaccine and systemic factors that affect distribution as well as concerns from the general public concerning the vaccine. I analyzed what Dr. Quinn was saying, she said a lot of people were hopeful about the future but still had stipulation but with enough time things will start to look up.
I wonder what life will be like post-coved, how the world will operate in terms of daily living (work, school, social events). I feel like covid opened our eyes to how easy and convenient it is to get things done without being physically present, however it also highlighted the need for human interaction amongst people and how it helps fuel day to day life. the monotonous routine of sitting at a computer all day at home started to grow weary on me, especially in the late summer last year but as things started to open back up and people started opening their shell more with vaccinations, I'm starting to feel a little more alive again.

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Things are definitely kicking up in terms of school. We are coming upon the one-year anniversary of when this whole pandemic started to get out of control. My brain is still processing it all and still can't believe this is our life now. I look back at old family pictures and videos and it looks so strange to see people hugging and engaging without a mask. I really hope things start to get better soon, especially with the rollout of the vaccine.

I'm not particularly excited to take the vaccine but I'm not against it. If the opportunity presents itself to get it I'll gladly raise my arm but until them i'm staying patient and following the same practices I've been for the last year.

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Hi, my name is Marissa Glover and I am a senior majoring in Public Health Science at the University of Maryland College Park. I am passionate about child and maternal health. My hobbies include watching tv, and cooking, as well as doing nails. I own my own nail business and have been practicing for almost two years. I hope to get a 4.0 semester GPA this term as well as graduate with a full-time opportunity. I look forward to what this class has to offer and the lessons that I can takeaway from it.