June 15, 2021 noon
(WGTD)---As the pandemic eases, some aspects of life are indeed returning to normal, but the trauma suffered by many as the result of COVID, the death of George Floyd and the 2020 civil unrest may be hard to shake, according to Gateway Technical College Student Support Specialists Nicole Gustafson and Katie Lohre.
Gustafson and Lorhe appeared on Saturday’s Generation NOW on WGTD hosted by Troy McDonald. The two first spoke on the air in 2020 just one week before the death of George Floyd.
Gustafson believes that no one came out of the pandemic or 2020 unscathed. "We for a variety of different reasons have really been tested and we've really been put through the trauma ringer," Gustafson said. "And that changes people. Your brain isn't even going to be the same after that," she said, adding that the effects and the levels of exposure obviously differ from person to person.
At Gateway, Gustafson and Lohre witnessed firsthand the challenges that students faced in dealing with such things as lack of internet access and child care for their kids, among other stressors.
Gustafson said it's important to make a special effort to practice kindness. "We really need to be kind to ourselves and we really need to be kind to others--within reason," she said.
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