Story by Victoria Hernandez, March 17, 2021

 

Many University of Arkansas students have been taking online classes this semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students are learning from their childhood bedrooms, from their dorm rooms and some even from Hawaii.

Out of around 3,000 colleges, 10% have moved to be fully online, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

With this new style of learning, Payton Broyles, junior marketing major at UA, is taking advantage of the remote learning style and moving to Hawaii.

“I’m all online and nothing’s really holding me here, so I thought when am I ever going to be able to do school over there again?” Broyles said.

Broyles has a friend from her hometown of Kansas City, MO who attends Hawaii Pacific University. She will be staying in her apartment on Oahu, she said.

Since her friend has been wanting Broyles to visit, Broyles said she felt like since flights are kind of cheap right now she should go for it.

Most of Broyles’ classes work well with the time zone change, but she is worried about one class.

“On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have a class at 9:30 a.m. so that would be 4:30 a.m. in the morning there,” Broyles said. 

She has contacted that professor specifically to work out an alternate assignment.

“I can watch the lecture later on in the day,” Broyles said. “I’m just worried about those participation points so I’m thinking we could figure something out.”

Other than online lectures, Broyles said she will have to be really flexible when it comes to working on group projects within her classes, as mornings are not a good option.

Broyles is also nervous about the financial change that comes along with her move, she said.

“Hawaii is a bit more expensive in almost every aspect,” Broyles said. “Making sure I don’t spend money all in one place might also be a struggle.”

Broyles is planning to move mid-March and return home in May, giving her about two full months of living there. She plans to finish out the Spring semester in Honolulu.

However, there are still factors from the  COVID-19 virus that Broyles has to be cautious of when making the move.

“In order to even fly there, I have to get tested and get a negative test,” Broyles said. 

She said that Hawaii overall is pretty strict when it comes to their COVID-19 precautions.

Social distancing of at least six feet is required on the beaches, Broyles said.

Currently, Hawaii has a required 10-day quarantine restriction to all visitors, unless they bring proof of a negative COVID-19 test from a state-approved trusted testing center, according to the Hawaii-Guide website.

“I feel like it’ll be safer there honestly than here. I feel like we don’t really take a lot of precautions here [in Arkansas],” Broyles said.

Overall, Broyles says she doesn’t have many fears about moving to Hawaii, but she is mainly anxious and excited to go.