For Colin Garmon, life is definitely better today than it was four years ago.

“Four years ago, I was about to start online classes and shortly thereafter I heard the news that I would never be going back to my high school again as a student,” said Garmon, a senior Mathematics and Applied Statistics major. “There was no prom, no more extracurriculars, no sports to watch on TV, no ‘nonessential’ business and the fear of us or a loved one dying from COVID-19.

“We were all just stuck,” he said.

But the pandemic was not the only event that affected Garmon.

“When online high school finished, it was around that time that George Floyd was murdered, and the polarization that followed made me almost depressed,” he said. “I did not want to be thrown out of high school into a world like this.”

Garmon said the challenges he faces today are different from four years ago. 

“I will soon be a graduate student and will transition from living with my family to living on my own for the first time,” he said. “The fear of living on my own is the largest reason why I chose to attend PNW, but after having certain life experiences, I feel ready. 

“I made great connections here, learned a lot about myself and have decided to pursue a career as a math professor,” he said. 

Garmon said he is nervous about the fall election, but generally feels more positive than he did four years ago.

”We are past the pandemic and things are as normal as they have been in four years,” he said. “I feel much more optimistic and ready to face these challenges than I did years ago, but I also know things can worsen much faster than they can get better.”