“There’s a lot less people going out, going to parties, meeting each other and doing different things.”

Alex Olson, 21, is a full-time student at UW-Milwaukee. He started his journey at UWM in the fall of 2018 and, like many other students, faced challenges throughout the pandemic. Bennett Vance sat down with Olson to understand more about UW-Milwaukee’s campus life and social scene.

Bennett Vance: What was it that drew you to UW-Milwaukee, originally?

Alex Olson: One thing that drew me to UW-Milwaukee would be location. I grew up in a smaller town and I was looking for a bigger city to live in and go to school and have the ability to meet a lot of new people. I also liked a lot of the programs that Milwaukee had and I applied and got in. It was one of my top two schools.

Q: Did campus life and the social aspect of UWM influence your decision?

A: It absolutely did. I knew that a lot of the other options for schools in Wisconsin, such as Whitewater and Oshkosh have a more relaxed social life; not as many places to go out and do stuff. And I would say Milwaukee is a big city; lots of things to do, lots of new people to meet. I was really looking forward to that.

Q: Coming into college, what were your biggest goals?

A: I wanted to make sure that I graduate on time, fail zero classes, get at least a 3.0 GPA. I’m going to finish up this semester and then graduate with all of those in mind. My goal for post-college. I just wanted to have an education that would set me up to be able to find jobs that I was interested in.

Q: Did the pandemic force you to change any of your goals?

A: I wouldn’t say I changed any of those goals, but it definitely made it harder for me to achieve them. I’m more of a visual learner, so being forced to take an entire semester online was definitely a struggle, but I was able to overcome it. I think I’m a better person because of it.

Q: What has been the biggest change in your life since the beginning of the pandemic?

A: The ways that we had to learn as students changed a lot. Throughout high school and my first year and a half at UWM, it was all in person. I didn’t take any online classes. Then once the pandemic hit, almost all of my classes were online. There’s more of an independent type of learning where you kind of have to direct yourself with pretty much everything. Professors just give you the information and it’s up to you to learn it and do all your homework on time.

Q: What changes did you notice around campus throughout the pandemic?

A: There was a large decrease in the amount of students that I would see walking around on campus, which is understandable because a lot of people are nervous about getting COVID or transferring it to other people. Besides that there’s a lot less people going out, going to parties, meeting each other and doing different things. The social aspect of college and just life in general slowed down for a lot of people during that time

Q: Who were the most important people in your life during the pandemic?

A: My family. My family helps me out a lot as well as my friends. I think without any of my friends, I probably would have gone insane during the pandemic. I wouldn’t have had anything to do or anyone to talk to. I would’ve just been alone. Having family and friends to lean on when you’re going through hard times is definitely important.

Q: If you could go back in time to before the pandemic, what’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself?

A: Buy NFTs.