Herff College of Engineering
Students return to campus after historic winter storm
Students returned to campus on Wednesday after an ice storm forced the University of Memphis to implement modified campus operations, including remote learning, for nine days.
The snow and ice, which left many people stranded in their homes for more than a week, fell just four days into the new semester.
Students like Mechanical Engineering Sophomore Emma Grace (far right above) enjoyed spending time with their peers while away from the classroom, but acknowledged the challenges presented by the early-semester snow days.
“We were holed up for like a week, over a week. So, I’d say we had a lot of fun… but I know that I’m going to have to brace myself later (in the semester),” Grace said.
Grace’s neighbor at the Shirley C. Raines Centennial Place, William Surbrook (far left, above), said the Herff community helped students get through the forced isolation and shared excitement about a return to in-person learning.
“We were all basically trapped in the Centennial Place. So, it was kind of fun, just hanging out for a week, but academically it’s definitely put a hurt on learning… I learn better face-to-face. Coming back to classes, I have a lot to catch up on, homework-wise and learning-wise,” Surbrook said.
With only the barest introduction to new professors and classes, Mechanical Engineering Sophomore Aidan Fitzhugh (second from left above) said he was forced to navigate the early semester with a limited grasp of his new courses.
“With it being as early in the semester as it was, we didn’t have a really great opportunity to develop our understanding of the professors’ expectations. It’s hard to gain a grasp of what they actually expect when everything is online, and you can’t physically talk to them,” Fitzhugh said.
Thanks to the University of Memphis’ centralized online system and remote learning procedures already in place, faculty and staff were able to soften the icy blow delivered by the historic winter storm, but with campus now back to normal operations, Herff students eagerly look forward to resuming a semester of in-person learning.