Atharv Agrawal is from Mumbai, India. He is a student at the University of Toronto in the Munk One program, a special cohort of 25 students from all over the world, including Singapore, Malaysia, Peru, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates. Atharv is studying economics, data analytics, and peace, conflict and justice studies.

Where were you when you heard about the Covid-19 pandemic?

Dear students

Being on the cusp of a new university term, especially the summer term, is a delicious, nervy business. For some students, there is excitement about what lies ahead – new ideas to encounter, people to come back to, unmet challenges to meet. Alongside, there is the inevitable trepidation: the unknown quantities of exams, fears of under-performance, self-doubt.

The coronavirus outbreak has been a wake-up call for many countries on how they deliver their education. And it has presented particular challenges for most sub-Saharan African countries where higher education has long operated under the traditional classroom model, owing to limited online resources.

I certainly did not expect to end my year abroad crying in Newark Airport wearing latex gloves and a surgical mask, trying to avoid human contact by staying at least two metres away from other passengers (which is surprisingly difficult when you’re on a plane).

This felt so wrong. I was meant to be in America for at least another two months, studying and travelling with friends. Instead coronavirus has come along and ruined everything. It cut my year abroad short and I am beyond devastated.