As Mercer University moved classes online and promoted social distancing on campus, some students were able to find companionship in isolation.

For junior Nadia Pressley, companionship came from her ‘isolation squad,’ a group of friends who agreed to see only each other to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Pressley said, “There were about four of us, or five of us. We saw each other every day. We were the only people who were around each other. So we knew it was safe.”

Pressley says isolating as a group brought some fun into daily life in a pandemic.

“We obviously understood how drastic the situation is. But being around each other kind of helped keep us sane and keep us preoccupied with other things to do,” said Pressley. “We would go to the park, and we’d cook dinner together. We had movie nights.”

Once shelter-in-place orders began taking effect, Pressley’s squad had to disband. As her friends began leaving, Pressley had to leave among mounting pressures from online classes.

“Leaving school was kind of a nightmare. I had to make the decision to pack up my entire apartment and move out on the same day I had a big exam to take,” she said.

Now back home, Pressley and her squad are finding new ways to stay connected.

“The little things we used to do, like send each other DMs on Twitter, we just do it more frequently. A couple of my friends had birthdays last week, so we got on Zoom to celebrate, because that’s the only responsible way to do it right now,” Pressley said.

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