Prep Community Grows Closer in Pandemic’s Wake
by Abigail Hanosh ’23
Members of Sandia Prep, a school known for its tight-knit community, have begun to heal together after spending a year and a half apart due to COVID-19. In March of 2020, the lockdown against the pandemic began, halting in-person learning and separating communities like ours across the country.
Members of Sandia Prep, a school known for its tight-knit community, have begun to heal together after spending a year and a half apart due to COVID-19. In March of 2020, the lockdown against the pandemic began, halting in-person learning and separating communities like ours across the country.
“To be honest, I think I was in a little bit of shock and disbelief because we were on vacation for spring break when this all started to unfold,” Assistant Head of School for Middle School Susi Hochrein said of the beginning of the lockdown. “When we came back, we felt like we had come back to this alternate universe.”
“The pandemic has taught us, even more so, how important community is,” said Hochrein. “I think our students have a new appreciation for the school and being here, on this campus.”
Hochrein said that learning how to remain connected through online schooling was a big adjustment for everyone. “It was weird because you felt like you’re talking to yourself,” she said. “Everybody felt disconnected.”
Lauren Staples ’24, a rising junior at Prep, agreed. “[My biggest challenges were] not being able to see my friends, having to do virtual school, and having to be at home all the time,” Staples said. “Besides volleyball, I didn’t have a lot of social interaction.”
However, now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and schools have returned to full capacity, students have begun to reunite.
“It took a really long time to get back into the flow of things,” recent graduate Lauren Duncan ’22 said of reacquainting with her fellow students. She said it was awkward to come back to campus and see everybody because there had been no companionship for almost a year. “There was no communication through Zoom unless it was the teacher talking to you.”
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“I even think it’s a little bit closer because everyone has had to be apart for so long, that it kind of brought us together once we were able to be back on campus.”
- Lauren Staples ’24 -
“[I’m grateful for the school] bringing us back. Even though it was only two days a week, [they brought] us back as fast as they possibly could.”
- Lauren Duncan ’22 -
Despite the awkwardness, Hochrein, Staples, and Duncan all agree that the community is on its way to becoming the close-knit family it was before the pandemic.
Hochrein said that in her darker moments during the pandemic, she missed the people here. “When I was at home without the community, I felt like I had nothing…There’s just this different energy about being able to get up every day and go to school.”
Hochrein also expressed her deep gratitude for being employed at Prep. “Every day my key hits the door, I’m not kidding you, I can’t believe I get to work here,” she said. “I’ve had other jobs, but there’s just something about the people here.”
Duncan shares Hochrein’s sense of gratitude. “[I’m grateful for the school] bringing us back. Even though it was only two days a week, [they brought] us back as fast as they possibly could.” Duncan said she struggled especially with online schooling, so coming back to campus was momentous for her education.
“I even think it’s a little bit closer because everyone has had to be apart for so long, that it kind of brought us together once we were able to be back on campus,” said Staples.
Despite not being able to hold full assemblies at first, she believes that, through the course of the last semester, Prep students moved toward being able to enjoy their previous sense of belonging.
“We’re not there yet, though,” Hochrein notes. “We still have a lot of healing to do. And I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to put those [tensions] to rest.”
Despite the difficulties that lie behind and ahead, Hochrein is confident that Sandia Prep will be able to heal. “We’re healing in ways that only a community like Prep can. [We] continue to work through this together, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”