Before the 2022 Spring semester began, some classes were announced that they will be taking a hybrid approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These classes will have the option to have their students show up in person on selected days and then do their assignments or catch up with what they missed from the in person class via Canvas.

Between the semester while the pandemic has cooled off in cases, something else has begun to plague the county; gas prices have reached an all time high due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

Current LMC student Aman Singh is a part time worker and full time student. 

“I work about 27 hours a week on average, and I currently take 4 classes, 1 in person and 3 online,” he said.

When asked about how he feels about hybrid classes, he had a positive response to it. 

“To be honest, I prefer hybrid classes now. Classes in person are more lab based than it is teaching, and I feel when it comes to lab or work in general, we could do those online,” said Signh.

Singh also feels that having hybrid classes helps out when it comes to the online portion and saving gas.

 “I feel that if classes aren’t requiring you to be there, it helps to not need to commute to campus. Gas prices have definitely been expensive, so having most of my classes online is a big help.”

Singh did feel that since the beginning of the pandemic, school transitioning to just online wasn’t easy.

“I’ll admit school adjusting to Zoom was tough. A lot of teachers didn’t know what to do and weren’t prepared, so it was hard to transition to it at first, especially if you don’t have the equipment for these types of things to transition to online in the first place,” he said.

On the other side of the spectrum is fellow student Fernando Mendoza, who works full time while being a full time student. 

“I work over 45 hours a week and I’m currently taking 4 classes this semester,” Mendoza said. “Between how long these classes are and the assignments, I dedicate another 20 hours a week to these classes.”

Gas prices have also impacted his commute between his home in Oakley, work at Livermore, and school here in Pittsburg. 

“It’s really tough with gas prices, to fill up can be around $100. My Wednesday classes have a gap of 4 p.m.  to 5:30 p.m., and then from 6:40 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. So in between these classes, I just chill in my truck to either eat, do homework, or even sleep,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza did admit that having classes back to being on campus was a big help for him after how his classes were impacted by the pandemic in 2020. 

“I was enrolled full time for the first few weeks of the pandemic. Since these classes weren’t able to transfer over to online, these classes were canceled and wiped off my transcript,” He said. 

When asked about how it impacted him, he added “I planned to graduate during the Summer of 2021, but because of these classes being wiped off my transcript, it delayed me graduating and transferring.I retook a welding class last year during the summer when it was available online, but since my teacher is a welder, he wasn’t tech savvy. So when it came to teaching and communicating, it became difficult and I couldn’t keep up. So taking this class again this semester in person, I am honestly glad to have classes again in person, especially when it comes to learning.”

Classes being hybrid during the times that we are living in has proven to be helpful for students. When it comes to either learning, commuting and graduating, students are feeling fortunate to have their classes being both in person and online.