Freshmen typically make their first college connections through their resident assistant (RA) and fellow students on their hall, but when most everyone is off campus, that can be challenging. Kemual (KJ) Jones ’21 (right) is currently working on campus as an RA on the fourth floor of Wireman Hall for the few students who are on campus. He’s charged with connecting with his entire floor, including those studying virtually, once a week. Te new media design major used technology platforms


such as TikTok, RingCentral and RingCentral Breakout Rooms to connect with his floor in various ways. “We use TikTok as an event,” Jones explained. “Everyone creates a video together, and everyone joins in to have fun, anything to keep us engaged.” For students in the dorms, he held socially distant gatherings outdoors—think fun activities like bon fires. Jones also paid attention to everyone’s well-being. “I make sure they are continually feeling social stability. It can get lonely at times.” Despite the challenges of being


virtual, Cendejas continued to grow in her Queens experience, as she widened her lens and


broke out of her bubble. “I was doing so many things on campus, running around all the time. Te pandemic slowed things down. I’ve attended more campus-wide virtual events like deliberative dialogue sessions and trainings.” As a student in Steve Cox’s market research class, the


marketing major was able to present her group’s project about how the global pandemic affected the hospitality industry at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium. Typically the symposium takes place over a weekend, which is difficult for an athlete’s schedule. “I might not have been able to participate because of games, tutoring and workstudy. It’s hard to travel,” she said. “Tis year with everything virtual, including the conference, I could participate. It was accessible for me and many of my classmates who are athletes. Te virtual world has made a lot of cool opportunities accessible for more students.” Other opportunities Cendejas has taken advantage of


virtually include joining the new diversity, equity and inclusion cohort and participating in interfaith leadership training. “Being able to see faculty, deans and different coaches leading sessions,” she explained, “helped me meet people from all different areas of the Queens community.”


Internships are key to planning a future beyond Queens. Last spring, Cendejas was nervous that her internship would get cancelled due to COVID-19. “A lot of my friends at other schools had their internships cancelled,” she explained. “I’m grateful I was able to keep mine.” Cendejas completed a virtual internship in the commercial department of JELD-WEN,


a


manufacturing company based in Charlotte. During her experience, she learned a lot of technical marketing skills, like Google Analytics, the Qualtrics survey platform and how to tailor marketing messages to specific audiences. As a bonus, Gary Michel, CEO of JELD-WEN, virtually sat in on her final project presentation to senior leadership. Cendejas has since secured a marketing job at the company that she will begin after graduation in 2021.


28 MAGAZINE


“A LOT OF MY FRIENDS AT OTHER SCHOOLS HAD THEIR INTERNSHIPS CANCELLED. I’M GRATEFUL I WAS ABLE TO KEEP MINE.”


“As we created our transition plan, we kept our focus on the students and the key outcomes we wanted for them,“ explained Angela Tsuei-Strause, executive director of the Vandiver Center for Career Development. Te center converted as many programs as possible so that students would still have a rich set of skill-building activities and resources. In lieu of the center’s annual


professional networking event, Tsuei- Strause linked arms with UNC Charlotte in a regional event hosted


online with more than 200 employers, virtual breakout rooms and networking sessions. Tis past summer, the school also converted to the Spark Hire platform, where students practiced internship interviews. “We had to pivot quickly,” said Tsuei-Strause,” and fortunately, our business connections made it easy for us to collaborate.”


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