This year has been tough on everyone. The transition to online has brought a lot of challenges, requiring many of us to become technology aficionados. Aside from the clear challenges with technology, we also face the weight of isolation and lack of socialization that we were all used to. From an academic life perspective, we lack the social benefits of working in an office. We miss sharing intellectual conversations and having colleagues acting as our sounding boards for ideas. Needless to say, it has been hard to keep a sense of community while being online. Without this community of support it is easy to find ourselves with slumped motivation and low productivity. 

Here at OPTIC Lab we are continuing to find new ways to stay connected and be productive. The newest adventure our members created this year, in a quest for a sense of normalcy, is the Virtual Working Group. Our members, along with other graduate students in the department, have created a biweekly virtual meeting to capture the campus office experience online. This group is helping fight the negative consequences of working from home. 

Within the online workgroup the members engaged in a variety of activities.  Any type of work is welcome. Often workgroup members prepare for class, work on writing, practice presentations, and study. As conference season approaches many members help one another to create the best submissions possible. They also share their experience of comprehensive exams and registering for classes as graduate students. In addition to the clear academic benefits of working together, this group has also created a space where they can just stay up to date with one another’s lives. This helps foster the members’ sense of belonging within the program despite being so far away from one another.  

We all hope to be back on campus and in person soon. Till then, the Virtual Working Group will be our new normal and it is going great!