Amidst of what would be one of the busiest times of the school year, Alma Mater looks out over the University of Illinois campus with arms wide-open, but no students in sight. Throughout the chaos of the current COVID-19 pandemic, students across the country are quickly adjusting to a different lifestyle: online schooling. No longer do students walk across the busy Main Quad to attend lecture in Foellinger Auditorium or to spend time studying in Grainger. Now attending online lectures, students are communicating with classmates through technologies like Zoom and FaceTime.

Recently, during my ACES 399 seminar, Dr. Sarah Refi Hind, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences, discussed the topic of crop genetic improvement. Dr. Hind examines how the plant immune system detects pathogenic bacteria that cause disease on tomato and other vegetable crops. Her research contributes to the understanding of plant-microbe interactions and aids in the development of plants with enhanced resistance to infection.

For the entire campus community, the unprecedented and rapid rise of a global COVID-19 outbreak required sweeping adjustments and instantaneous shifts to a new normal. In this time of challenge, uncertainty, and unpredictability, students who were studying abroad over the spring 2020 semester have to display resilience and adaptability on multiple levels. 

So, online school and quarantine is the “new normal?” Nothing about this situation is normal. My entire education lives inside of my laptop now. When I wake up to go to class, I have to go no further than the desk on the other side of my room. The connections and relationships I have with people have become strictly virtual. I can attend class, talk to a friend, and have office hours with a professor just by connecting through a link in Zoom. Modern technology can make this quarantine seem so simple.

Recently, Rob Chappell, assistant to the Honors Dean, presented for ACES 399 class. The focus of his presentation was “The Year 2050 and the Phoenix Generation.” Before his presentation, I had no idea what the “Phoenix Generation” was or why he decided to talk to us about it. 

Before classes wrapped up, Dawn Bohn, a food science and human nutrition teaching assistant professor had a food safety week in her FSHN 101 class. With students being at home, and for extra credit, Bohn challenged her students to submit photos of themselves engaged in good food safety behaviors.

Her students delivered on the challenge!

In the lecture, students were first introduced to the "Fight Bac" campaign, including the four main steps of practicing food safety in the kitchen.

Students in ACES 399 “Vision 2050 – Grand Challenges of the Millenium” were asked to watch three videos about a topic of their own choosing, and write a blog post reflecting on the topic. The Voices of ACES blog will feature several of those blog posts in the next weeks.

As a natural resources and environmental sciences major with a concentration in fish, wildlife, and conservation biology, I’m very interested in working with wildlife in the future. During a TED talk I watched, Jane Goodall discussed the importance of ecology in the field. However, it’s also important to look at peoples issues as well. Something that we talk about in NRES is that people don’t generally care much about the environment unless their basic needs are met.

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) is happy to announce this year’s recipients of the Hugh Morrison Scholarship, Warren K. Wessels Achievement Award, and Robert M. Harrison Leadership Awards. These annual awards are provided by generous gifts from individuals and organizations.

Hugh Morrison Scholarship

As we head into a new school year full of change, uncertainty and new opportunity, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on a summer full of personal and professional development. A summer that has taught me to embrace all of what life has to offer: Unpredictability and Unknowns.