HUNTINGTON, Ind. (FDN) At Huntington University, senior film students have the opportunity to study a semester in Los Angeles. This year, due to the massive spread of COVID19, students were send home mid-March instead of at the end of the semester.
Senior Shelby Price was excited about her internship in LA and had been looking forward to the Hollywood experience since she was a freshman. Price described how she felt when she was told she had to leave.
“I was filled with sadness and anger that they only gave us four days to figure out how to pack everything up and how to get home,” Price said.
This virus has effected everyone in a different way but it was mentally, emotionally and physically draining for these HU LA film students. Senior Connor Gates also was studying in LA to round out his senior year. At first, he wasn’t worried about the virus.
“I thought it was just being treated as fuel for meme culture and to give a topic for news anchors and celebrities to talk about,” Gates explained.
But when Gates heard he was to return home, he was both relieved and devastated. Relief from challenging classes and a heavy work load sounded nice but he didn’t get to finish the pilot he was working on in his internship. He was also disappointed that his time to build relationships with his classmates was cut short.
“It was a mix of emotions that left me torn but not completely ripped apart,” Gates said.
If they had the opportunity to do it all again, Gates wishes he would have spent more time building relationships and got to know more people. Price, however, feels she spent her time wisely having fun with roommates, going to premieres, and meeting a good amount of famous people. She felt constantly worn out but was so thankful that she had the experiences while she had the chance.