As the 2020 fall semester gets underway, LCU students, faculty, and staff are settling into their rhythms—some familiar, but some new—as they face the uncertainties that await them in this new semester during an international pandemic.

Among many changes made to ensure the safety of everyone in the campus community are mandatory masks in buildings, social distancing measures, and enhanced sanitation efforts across the board.

One student, Jessica Muller, shared how she believes the key to making this year a success lies in taking it simply for what it is.

“I’m so excited, and I know most of us students are, to get back and get going—but I’m worried that comparison is going to ruin all of that excitement, if we let it,” she explained. “Comparisons to what we did last year and the year before that; comparison that we don’t get to do this activity, or we have to do something differently. If we talk about things only in the way that they’re different, I think we’re going to ruin a lot of the potential and possibility for this coming year.”

Abby Langford also wants to define her senior year at LCU by more than the pandemic. “I want this year to be about more than just COVID-19,” she said. “I want to settle into the new routines that I need to settle into, but I don’t need to be reminded all the time that things might not go back to normal for a while.”

Cade Killough, another returning LCU student, hopes that safety precautions won’t hinder the LCU sense of community that has made his college experience special. “I think that we should work as hard as we can to keep student life and the extracurriculars at LCU as normal as possible,” he said, even as he understands the need for the safety precautions in place. “I know that’s going to be super tough, but those are some of the things that make the world of LCU go around.”

Even more than his own experience, though, Cade knows that it will take a group effort to make the 2020-21 school year a good one. “I think we should put extra effort into making sure that our new students—freshmen, transfer students, whomever—get involved on campus to let them know what LCU is really about,” he emphasized—a sentiment backed up by Andrew Luna, one of Cade’s classmates, who added, “I’m still going to invest all of my time and energy into making this a great experience for everyone around me.”