Like most members of Spelman’s senior class, Ashley L. Jackson, C’2020, is still processing what it means to finish her final semester away from campus. However after her first day of virtual learning, Jackson said she's feeling encouraged.
On Monday, March 23, Jackson, along with more than 2,000 Spelman students, resumed her spring 2020 semester via remote learning. "I just finished my first ‘virtual’ class session today," she wrote on Facebook last week. "This is our ‘new normal.’" When she received news of the transition, she was concerned about how the shift would manifest.
"I’m so grateful. I think I'm the happiest I've been since we all returned home," she wrote. "Being able to interact with my classmates and my professor was such a gift. It brought some normalcy to this awful situation."
Not only was the class session fulfilling, but the Los Angeles, California native said the care her professor,
Rebecca Kumar, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, showed was also helpful.
"Showing an understanding and care for humanity isn’t the norm in some collegiate settings,"added Jackson, a transfer student and an independent major whose studies focus on African American narratives in cinema and television.
"Through her [Dr. Kumar's] course adjustments and mental health check-ins, a massive weight has been lifted off of our shoulders."
Jackson's future remains bright and shows no sign of slowing down as she and her classmates complete their remaining few weeks of undergraduate school. An actress, songwriter and screenwriter, Jackson hosted an Instagram takeover and took the Spelman community behind the scenes at the Sundance Film festival where her film "Blast Beat" premiered.
Learn More About Jackson and her Sundance Film Festival Experience
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