00:00:00SPEAKERS: Camryn Brenan and Lauren Link
LINK: I'm Lauren Link with the COVID Oral History Project at Wells College.
Today's date is April 10, of 2022. I'm in Aurora, New York, in leach hall with
Camryn Brenan. This is an unrehearsed recorded interview. Thank you for joining us today. I'd like to begin by getting to know more about your background. Could you start telling us about yourself so your full name, your date of birth, and where you were born?
BRENAN: My full name is Camryn Lee Brenan. I was born in Wells, New York and my birthday is May 16, 2002.
LINK: Where did you live growing up?
BRENAN: I grew up in Wells New York.
LINK: What was it like there?
BRENAN: It was small town, a little bit smaller than here in Aurora. Everyone
knew everyone and their business.
LINK: So how is it similar or different from Aurora?
BRENAN: It's similar as an it's a small town. Nice sense of community, I guess.
LINK: And how is it different from Aurora?
BRENAN: Aurora is a little bit bigger. It's more people. I'm not really sure.
[inaudible]
LINK: Sorry, so your town. Your town must be really small. [yeah] if this is a
little bit bigger, [yeah]. So who do you consider to be your family?
BRENAN: My mom, my two brothers and my grandmother are pretty much my closest family.
LINK: Could you tell us about your family members?
BRENAN: So I have a pretty big family. I have. So I have two half siblings,
older half siblings. My mom, my dad, two younger brothers, and then step
siblings as well. [mhm] And then I always have I have a bunch of family I don't
really know. I've always grown up with family that weren't really family. But
you always call them family. So like everyone's family.
LINK: Like your honorary cousins? [Yeah] Who did you live with when you were growing up?
BRENAN: My mom and my two brothers mostly.
LINK: Were you specifically close with any of them?
BRENAN: No, not really.
LINK: What were you like, as a child?
BRENAN: I'm gonna be honest, I was kind of a rebel for most of it. And so I hit middle school and realized that I had to figure my life out.
LINK: Yeah. Were you similar or different from your siblings?
BRENAN: Different. [Yeah] Yeah.
LINK: Where are your siblings? A little less rebellious?
BRENAN: Yes, and no. So my two older siblings were raised a little bit
differently because there were four and six years apart, my older siblings. On
their half- on their mother side they were raised a little bit more religious.
In some ways, they were raised a little bit differently, in some aspects. In
certain aspects they were just different than I was and there was just like this
weird boundary [divide?] Yeah.
LINK: Could you -spare- share a special memory about yourself as a child?
BRENAN: No. [laughter] I try to ignore my childhood.
[More laughter]
LINK: Okay! Let's jump ahead in time to when you started thinking about college. When did you first start thinking about going to college?
BRENAN: Somewhere after ninth grade. I didn't really acknowledge this school until, I want to say it was 11th grade, because my friend saw it. They're like 'this really good school, you should look at it.'
LINK: Did you have anybody specific helping you find colleges?
BRENAN: My principal really helped me get on my career path. [mhm] Helped me get my life together. But besides that, no, I kind of got my life together on my own.
LINK: What expectations did you have for what college would be like.
BRENAN: So, my older siblings went to college before me. Kind of from their
experience and just from movies and stuff. But besides that, I didn't really
have anything in mind.
LINK: So when did you first hear about Wells college?
BRENAN: Junior year? I think it was.
LINK: And it was your friend that showed you? What made you decide to come to wells?
BRENAN: It was similar to home, it reminded me of home. And the sense of
connections in humanity was really nice.
LINK: So with that, what was the experience you were hoping to have here?
BRENAN: I was hoping to have a really good experience here. I was hoping that I would learn a lot. And I have. But I also am hoping I can still learn a lot more.
LINK: What did you plan to study when you started college?
BRENAN: Political Science.
LINK: Is that your current major?
BRENAN: Yes.
LINK: And what year are you in?
BRENAN: I am a sophomore.
LINK: Why did you decide on political science?
BRENAN: I've always wanted to go the route of criminal justice and pre law.
[phone chimes] I didn't really know what until junior year where that was until
I went to one CSI program in DC. And so I picked political science because I
want to go pre law. [mhm] And with everything going on in the world, I thought
political science was the way I wanted to go.
LINK: Yeah. So do you have any plans for after college?
BRENAN: Law School.
LINK: Law school. Do you have any specific school?
BRENAN: George Washington University, hopefully.
[laughter]
LINK: Let's turn to the pandemic now. When did you hear about COVID-19 for the first time?
BRENAN: I want to say I was in the senior lounge at my school. It was like the front entry way of my high school. It was a front end through and then the
office- main office was right there. A lot of teachers would come walking. It
would always be students discussing and stuff happening. I want to say we were just- my history teacher came around the corner, and we were talking about it. And I want to say that's when I- one of the main times it really came up.
LINK: What did you think when you heard about COVID-19?
BRENAN: The first time? I didn't think much of it, cause the first time it was
over in China. [mhm] It's not a big deal yet. But then eventually got over here. Yeah.
LINK: Yeah. What were people around you saying at the time? What were you and your history teacher talking about? [phone chimes]
BRENAN: He's had a- he's a history teacher, so he knows. [cat scratching cat
tree]. He was just saying that we really should be cautious and watch this
because it definitely could lead to the next pandemic. [Yeah] But I definitely
wasn't as worried at the beginning. I'm, [cat meow] again from a very small
town. And they still- even when we're in the midst of a pandemic, and it was
really bad. [Yeah] There were still people that- 'this was the government just a
bunch of lies.' It was Yeah, [totally against the government] Yeah.
LINK: How did you feel about those conversations?
BRENAN: I felt like they were very important, especially as a political science
major. I think all discussions like that are important.
LINK: When did you realize and see that COVID was turning into something serious?
BRENAN: Again. I think I was at school. When- so I remember the exact date
school got shut down. COVID never really impacted my town. The day that shut down. That's really when I realized.
LINK: How did you feel when you -felt like- saw school was getting shut down.
BRENAN: Because I was a senior and I already had senioritis, I was like,
'Alright, whatever.'
LINK: And how did you feel when COVID kind of took over?
BRENAN: At that point, it was mentally draining and it was 'Yeah, I'm done with this, like, gonna go back to normal.'
LINK: Were you a student at Wells when the pandemic began?
BRENAN: No.
LINK: You said you were a senior in high school? [Yeah] Where were you
specifically when lockdown started?
BRENAN: When lockdown started, I was in high school. We're supposed to have the play that night. [awee] My high school play.
LINK: What play was it?
BRENAN: We're supposed to do Aladdin. Yeah, and we were- I think it was in
senior lounge again, because it was my study hall. And my out- I think it was
only a third period. My principal was running around. So we knew something was up because he doesn't run unless it's an emergency. [Yeah] We were like 'you okay.' He goes, 'No.' I'm getting like- because he couldn't really tell us, but he's like, 'no.' [Yeah] 'just stay where you are.' Then all sudden, we hear over the intercom 'this is canceled', then five minutes or something else. We're like, 'what are you doing?' He's like 'Trust me, I'm doing the best I can. But it's not in my hands. It's coming from way above me.'
LINK: Yeah. Who did you spend your lockdown with?
BRENAN: My mom and my two brothers.
LINK: How did your life change during lockdown?
BRENAN: Meaning that I had to be home all the time. But I didn't really get to
see my friends or do anything. [mhm] My birthday, which is in May. I had one of those drive by birthdays. [Oh, that's fun] Yeah. Graduation was outdoor
graduations. Things like that.
LINK: We had an outdoor graduation too. Tell us about your daily life and routine.
BRENAN: I honestly, don't even know what it was like. I think. Honestly, I think I was just living day by day. As long as I got up, [mhm] it was a good day. [That's right] I was still a senior. So, I still had- I was still in school. So
that was [mhm] I had work to do. I still have to do that. Doing schoolwork in
the midst of a pandemic when you're a senior. Oh my god, it's awful. [Yeah] You do not- you're just like, 'yeah I graduated.' That was my mentality. I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm done.'
[laughter]
LINK: Schoolwork was definitely a challenge. [Yeah] What other challenges did you face?
BRENAN: I'm want to say just mental, like mentally, wanting to get through it.
Just because your whole way of life is totally changed.
LINK: Was flipped upside down. [Yeah] How did you overcome those challenges?
BRENAN: Take it day by day. Talk through it. [mhm] Have people with you that can be with you.
LINK: Yeah. Did you talk to your mom and your brothers a lot?
BRENAN: Yeah.
LINK: Were there any unexpected benefits that came from being on lockdown?
BRENAN: You realize who your true friends are? They always say once you
graduate, you'll realize. [Yeah] For me, I realized a little sooner than that.
But besides that, graduating a little bit earlier. [laughter] I did have to miss
a few senior. Major senior- last moments for seniors. [Yeah] That like Yeah, it
not a big deal now, but like looking back, it's a little sad.
LINK: What ways did the pandemic impact you as a college student?
00:03:00
BRENAN: My first year was a little tough [mhm] doing classes because you're
adjusting not only to being a college student, but classes that are remote. My
one first course was asynchronous, which means they just give you the work and you do it. There's no zoom classes. [Yeah] It was a philosophy course. [yikes] That class kicked my butt. [mhm] It was just hard to adapt to that because college classes are a lot different than high school classes.
LINK: What other challenges did you face that weren't academic?
BRENAN: I was always an introvert. But I think I became a lot more introverted. [Yeah] Getting myself to come out more at college. Now that things are like, opening back up, and we have events here. [mhm] I think that.
LINK: Were you able to meet these challenges?
BRENAN: Yeah.
LINK: How'd you do so?
BRENAN: Day by day, slowly. I don't know.
LINK: Were there any unexpected benefits or opportunities as a result of the
pandemic in your college life?
BRENAN: Say that again? Sorry.
LINK: Were there any unexpected benefits or opportunities that emerged as a
result of the pandemic in a college Environment?
BRENAN: I don't think so.
LINK: Do you have any examples in which- how wells have changed has changed over the course of the pandemic? Maybe ones that you've heard from upperclassmen?
BRENAN: It's definitely not as alive as it used to be. Campus used to be a very lifelike, it's very dead. [Yeah] There used to always be stuff going on. Now everyone's to themselves. They're- I don't know. It is just how things are now?
LINK: Yeah. What do you think of those changes?
BRENAN: It's definitely hard to see for the- because it has changed the school a lot. And the school has been affected by it. [Yeah] Just the sheer number of students that come to campus and have left campus. We almost closed.
LINK: Yeah, that was a big thing. I heard about that. Before I came, Wells
closing. Do you notice any differences in perception of the pandemic between the community here and the community back at your house?
BRENAN: Yeah.
LINK: What were those differences?
BRENAN: Back where I'm from, they're still- they never really wanted to believe it was like true. They're very- I don't want to say close minded, but they're stuck in their ways. [Yeah] I'm not saying that's everyone back home, but there's a lot of them that are. For here, we're more open to the world. [yeah] we're more- I don't know. [flexible] Yeah. [yeah] I feel like how Wells had, back home, how we adapted to the pandemic and how we did here, it's totally polar opposites. I don't know.
LINK: Where would you put yourself, more of at home what viewpoint or a-
00:06:00
BRENAN: Definitely here.
LINK: A Wells College viewpoint.
BRENAN: I definitely consider myself a black sheep at home. I do not fit back
there. But it's all good.
LINK: How did those differences impact you?
BRENAN: I was always known as the person who was very opinionated. A lot of times I just kept my mouth closed. But, I took in both accounts, like
considerations. [yeah] I always taken all the factors and make up my mind based on that. [yeah] I knew I think that's what, how I interpreted
LINK: Kind of adapted. [Yeah] Moving on more towards the government responses aspect. As scientists learn more about the virus, government officials began to impose mandates. What did you think of the mask mandate?
BRENAN: I think it was a good idea, I think. I remember, when the mask mandate had- had it forever. I mean, it was just our way of kind of protecting yourself from the virus. [Yeah]
LINK: Are you bothered by wearing masks now?
BRENAN: I think I'm used to. I've been told so many times, I'm still wearing
masks while I'm inside or doing something. I don't have have to, I'm fully
vaccinated, [mhm] and everything. I think I've worn it so long that like, that
just comes like, one of those things that [Yeah] You get used to adapt with?
LINK: Was it frustrating when you came to Wells fully vaccinated and still had
to continue wearing your mask?
BRENAN: I think there was a little bit of frustration and like annoyance at
first, but then I think I realized it just trying to help us. Yeah, this is
still a big thing. Here at Wells, we have one of the highest COVID case rates in New York State. [Yeah] And we have full pandemic.
LINK: What were your initial thoughts when the vaccine was announced?
BRENAN: I'm going to be honest, I felt like it was kind of rushed. And that made me a little worrisome, worrisome yeah. But I think the vaccine is a good idea. I was just worried that they were rushing it with no real science behind it, or like, like, it wasn't ready to be- I get it was needed. And we needed it to be rushed. I was worried it was rushed without it being ready to be
LINK: like properly, yes, with science and everything. So what did you think
when they were mandated? Kind of the same app previously, you thought they were rushed, like no science?
BRENAN: I get the vaccines can be mandatory. And I feel like in this case, with COVID, it is a pandemic and maybe it should be, but because it was rushed, and we don't- we didn't know a lot about vaccine. I was very hesitant to say, 'yes, it should be mandatory.' And for a lot of people. I can't make that decision for them. [yeah] I got it just because there's reasons in my life why I should get it. I don't know.
LINK: What did you make of the controversy that appeared because of the mandates?
BRENAN: I thought a lot of the controversy was necessary discussions, but at the same time, I think some of it was just people causing problems and they- like I said, there's a lot of people wanting to just blame the government. [yeah] So I don't know. It all depends on how you look at it.
LINK: What did you think of the government's decision to provide stimulus checks?
BRENAN: Honestly, at first, I didn't really look- pay any attention to stimulus
00:09:00checks, at first, I didn't really know anything about it. Until my- I think my
mom said something about a stimulus check in going out and I'm like, 'what is
that?' At first, me being like political science-based and all that, I was
thinking about long-run 'how we're going to like pay this back.' I'm like, why
am I thinking about this? But I think it was a good idea because so many people were laid off or unemployed, and especially with the cost of living nowadays, [it's crazy] people were having trouble paying for food, and even getting kicked out of their houses. So I think it was needed for sure. But honestly, I can't say.
LINK: Was your family affected by stimulus checks?
BRENAN: No, I don't think so.
LINK: Through this time, there were multiple political protests. Many had to do with COVID. But others were associated with Black Lives Matter and other social movements. Did you or anyone around you participate in those protests?
BRENAN: No. I'm from a really small town. And the closest protests I had near me was in Albany and that's like an hour and a half. I didn't really follow the protests. The only part of the protests I saw was the aftermath of the protests, which was violence and all that. [Yeah] I tried to keep up with it. But.
LINK: Did you have any involvement in those protests? Did you promote it in any way? Did you promote Black Lives Matter in any way?
BRENAN: Not really. No.
LINK: Was it ever important to you to get involved?
BRENAN: I think so. Yes. But I'm from a town where like, you're not really meant to speak up, so I think I was afraid to. So I just stayed silent. I wanted to, but I figured, there's already people out there doing it. What's one less person gonna do?
LINK: What would have been safer in your hometown for you not to speak up?
BRENAN: I don't think it really would have mattered if I did or didn't.
LINK: Did the pandemic factor into your decision in any way to not be a part of any protests?
BRENAN: No.
LINK: Okay. Now, I'd like to get a little bit personal with your experience with
COVID. So these questions will focus on illness and possibly bring up grief and challenging topics. So please remember that we can skip any questions that you're uncomfortable talking about. Did illness impact you or your family?
BRENAN: Not up until recently. So I went the whole pandemic and so did the rest of my family, perfectly fine. In my town- no one really in my town at all, which my town isn't very big. Did it have in many cases, if at all, any, until a year or so ago, and my mom didn't get COVID till a few months ago, and got really really sick, and she's still having long term effects from it.
LINK: Would you mind sharing that experience?
BRENAN: We were all vaccinated, and we thought we were good to go on vacation. And on our way back, she thinks she got it from the airport. So we were home for a few days and then after her- my brother and her got really sick. And we were originally really worried about my brother because he's got asthma and lung issues, so he was fine. He was better within a few weeks. My mom however, she was bed bound on all sorts of medications, in and out of the hospital. And I think she was down with COVID for a month or so. [Wow] Yeah. [I'm sorry to you.] It was it was tough. And I had to come back to college. So I couldn't be there for any of it.
LINK: how did that make you feel?
BRENAN: It was scary. It just recently she got- so her immune systems are bad right now because of it. So currently, she's sick again. We think it's the flu, but just got to go to a pulmonologist and all that.
LINK: How did that experience impact your look on the pandemic.
BRENAN: Every time something happens. When someone gets really sick or
something, it shows- it shows you how real it really is because I think when
things go by long enough- where it doesn't- its just like 'yeah its a cold'
[yeah] or its not that big of a deal. Then someone gets sick or you know, or you hear of a really bad case that it puts it in perspective. Going back- I
actually did get it in- it was my freshman year in February/March. About a year ago.
LINK: Freshman year of college?
BRENAN: Yeah. And we all thought we were fine. We went out to dinner with a group, my friends and I. And I didn't have it at first, but I had to quarantine
because my roommate got it. They had to quarantine on the fourth floor of Dodge. I ended up quarantining with two other friends on the first floor of Dodge. We- like I said, we thought we were fine. Most of us felt fine, but some of them had a really bad experience. Then again, it puts it in perspective that it can happen to anyone. We all had a very different experience with it.
LINK: You said this was after your mom got sick or before?
BRENAN: Before. I just forget I had it sometimes [laughs] It was long ago.
LINK: Did you think because you didn't get as sick that your mom would be fine?
BRENAN: I think so, but again, I've seen how everyone reacts differently to it,
that at the same time I honestly think I told her- she could've reacted any way
because she saw how my brother was and he was fine. Just because he is that way doesn't mean you are going to be. [yeah] There was five of us who quarantined together. We all had different reactions. One of us had no taste. The other one didn't lose any taste at all. Nothing. One of us was nauseous, we all reacted differently.
LINK: Which is kind of scary.
BRENAN: Yeah.
LINK: Looking back on that experience, what did you take away. What lessons did you take away?
00:12:00
BRENAN: You can never be too cautious. [true] And just because you think it
won't happen to you, doesn't mean it wont. [laughs] Because we went in- I
remember when we got the call too. We were all hanging out in our one friends room and the one friend called us and goes 'guess what', and we though he was just pulling a prank on us and he goes 'Nah I got tested. I tested positive for COVID', and I- we were like 'you're lying', and he goes 'no I'm serious.' He didn't say he was with half of us, so the one friend had to call the dean and be like 'yea you have to retest like four of us because we weren't put on the list, but we all had dinner last night, together.' [yeah] Yeah, we all had to quarantine.
LINK: Do you think it would be as serious- do you think it would feel as
seriously towards it if you got it now, then you did now than when he first told you?
BRENAN: I don't know. I mean probably, but its- this pandemic has been so long that- honestly every day it's something different. You adapt to it and your
minds always changing with every new encounter with it.
LINK: Now that the vaccines are available and cases seem to be decreasing, we're slowly going back to how things are prior to the pandemic. How do you think that transition is going?
BRENAN: I think it's going well, but at the same time I don't think we'll ever
go back to the way things were. I think there will always be a sense of pandemic in our lives. I feel like there will always be people that choose to wear their masks now. I feel like, I don't know, I just feel like there's going to be these lasting impacts [yeah] that are going to- I don't think we're going to be as- society as we were.
LINK: Yeah. How do you feel about the transition back to our 'so called normal'?
BRENAN: I feel like we're in a standstill, really. I mean, I think we're as
normal as we're going to get, currently.
LINK: Are you happy about going back to normal?
BRENAN: Yeah.
LINK: How will you make decisions about masks when the mandates lift? Will you continue to wear your mask?
BRENAN: I think it all depends on the factors presented and the environment.
COVID cases in the county or where I am or stuff like that.
LINK: Yeah. Kind of more towards our future. What lessons or knowledge have you gained over the past three years, from the pandemic, that you'll take with you into the future?
BRENAN: I've always lived by 'Everything happens for a reason.' So still that.
You can never be too cautious. [laughs] You'll get through it, I guess. Yea it's
tough right now, but it will get better.
LINK: Life is kind of like a scale.
BRENAN: Yea that's what I was kind of thinking. What goes down must come back up.
LINK: As we conclude this interview, are there any topics you expected or hoped that we would cover, but we haven't addressed today?
BRENAN: I don't think so.
LINK: Are there any topics in our conversation that you would like to revisit?
BRENAN: I don't think so.
LINK: Okay, thank you for sharing your experience with us.
TRANSCRIPT: Lauren Link 04-12-2022
