Sophie Spielman: I am a 21-year old college student, living in New England in fall semester, 2020, during the COVID19 pandemic. I am from Maine and I attend Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. This semester, all my courses have been online due to the pandemic and because few of my professors are on campus. I and my peers are trying to make the situation work as best as we can.
I interviewed Daiane Lopes-Smith, a Brazilian born immigrant. She came to the United States through her college abroad program. While working as an au pair and attending college, she met and married my older brother, James Smith. Since moving to the US, Daiane has worked in childcare or as a caregiver. Before the pandemic, her work had been so slow that she had started to seek other professions. Since quarantine, Daiane’s field of work is now in high demand due to parents needing help with childcare and schooling while they are working remotely from home.
Reflection: Overall, the COVID19 oral history interview project went fairly smoothly and achieved all desired results. Daiane answered all my interview questions and throughout the interview, Daiane clearly defined and described the ways in which the childcare industry has been affected and changed dramatically by the “stay-at-home” orders resulting from the pandemic. It’s interesting to hear a bit of a success story coming out of the COVID19 pandemic year of 2020, and it just goes to show that the human experience is a constant fluctuation and will never be experienced the same way by every person.