COVID Fall 2020 and Academic Assistant Intro: Wyatt Gillette

Saludos GAC SPA Comunidad!

Hola!
My name is Wyatt Gillette, and I am a Senior this year double majoring in Financial Economics and Spanish. This semester I am one of the Academic Assistants for the Spanish section in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. In addition to this role on campus, I am an E/M Academic Assistant and involved in GAC Finance Club, Sigma Delta Pi, Curriculum Committee student rep., and I coach wrestling throughout the Winter season. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music or podcasts, exercising, being outdoors, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

One of my greatest passions in life is to travel and experience different cultures and ways of life. Through Spanish and the help of CICE, I was allowed to teach in Ecuador for nearly six weeks for an affordable and impactful experience. This experience was a great opportunity for applying what I had learned in courses, and using Spanish for something more than myself. My host family offered me a fantastic immersion and I look forward to returning there to the many welcoming families & friends when the current chaos settles.

FALL 2020: Online Classes

Wishing everyone the best of luck throughout this 2020-2021 Academic year as we progress through this unique year. As we work to do the best we can, given the circumstances, it is important to focus also on the luck we have to be able to continue to stay collaborative and social in an environment such as now. I can honestly say that I have improved my digital skills during the past six months of the rigorous COVID course. However, times do feel relaxed, and as things begin to open up and our knowledge regarding the virus improves, life will begin to reflect something of general normalcy, which would be a much-welcomed change. Thanks to all the research efforts in the medical industry and the work by healthcare professionals, the future is starting to look more promising.
This semester I am taking the course “Spanish through Linguistics”, with Profesora María Isabel Kalbermatten and we are in an all-online environment. Linguistics is my first class with la profe, and it has been nice being online; I get some extra time in my day, and the class has been a rather productive environment. In spite of these advantages for online courses, I do miss the small in-person interactions throughout the day and I do feel it is important to separate from the screen time to time and take place in a face to face conversation, when possible. It is great for those back in class to be on campus and bring together the Gustavus community.

Tips for online:
– Schedule remote office hours with your professors
– Dual monitor setup
– Use a calendar/schedule
– Adjust settings to preference on Web services such as Zoom or Google Hangouts
– Stay organized using Google Shared Drives / Folders for classes
– Contact GTS for help
– Engage in class conversations & take risks!
– Enjoy the experience