After a last-minute change in their entire presentation and research, seven mass communications students gave insight on telecommunications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students Joey Brovont, Alyssa Emmett, Cameron Graham, Matthew Leemann, Marion Mealor, Garrett Stafford and Cameron Verona, along with their Professor Melissa Jackson, delivered a presentation at the 2020 Piedmont Symposium that gave insight on how coronavirus is affecting the telecommunications world. 

“Millions of people around the world use apps like Zoom to continue to work and go to school.” said junior Garrett Stafford

Before coronavirus put society to a halt, the group had planned on discussing what they thought the future would look like in 25 years. They had planned to do a skit of them landing on Mars. Normally, the Symposium takes place on a stage in front of all attendees, not virtually.

Senior Marion Mealor noted how everyone relies on technology from the time people wake up.

“Technology has become a big part of my daily routine, and I am not alone in that.”

Professor Jackson echoes that same idea and commends senior Marion Mealor for starting off the presentation reminding everyone that our daily lives heavily involve technology.

“At the very beginning Marion Mealor did a wonderful introduction about how technology has become such a vital part of our daily lives,” Jackson said. “She related to the audience immediately and made that transition on into the pandemic and how it has changed our daily lives.”

Jackson continued talking about other group members and how they focused on different aspects of the presentation and research to bring to life this idea of a thorough look into what the Coronavirus is doing in the telecommunications world. 

“The other class members went from there. Each one picking up a different element,” she said.

With COVID-19 presenting itself as an obstacle, Piedmont students had to quickly evolve all future classes and events, such as the second annual Symposium. However, the group did find light in having to unexpectedly and quickly transitioning to using Zoom.“The fact that no one had ever presented on Zoom before made it fun,” Stafford said. “It was like we were all in this together learning something new.”