BYU journalism student, Cassidy Wixom, had a change of plans when her study abroad trip got canceled due to COVID. However, she was still able to find the silver lining despite her challenges.
Last year, Wixom was hopeful that the Global Diplomacy and Journalism study abroad would still happen despite the way things were unfolding. When the news hit she said she wasn’t too surprised, but was still disappointed. This drastically changed her summer plans. Instead of traveling around Europe she stayed in Utah as a research assistant.
“I was able to actually find a good job that I really liked. I was able to be a research assistant for Professor Carter, and so that was super fun and a great experience and it helped me get a TA job for the fall,” Wixom said.
She also tried to make the best out of the unique summer. She got to spend a lot of quality time with friends and family. Although a lot of activities were closed, it allowed her to be creative and find new things to do with people.
“I felt like I was able to deepen relationships with other people, which helped me feel not as sad, because even though I wasn't in Europe, I still had people and I wasn't alone,” Wixom said.
Looking in hindsight, Wixom said this difficult experience has made her a stronger person. She said she is more resilient and has hope that things will get better eventually.
“It's made me a lot more patient, and trust that whatever is supposed to happen will happen. If I'm not supposed to go to Europe right now, then that’s okay, I'm supposed to be here,” Wixom said.
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