At the height of pandemic, Katharine Czech and her brother decided to fulfill their longtime goal of teaching English to their Polish-speaking dad. They managed to make a game of it, bringing in their mom to help find some levity in grammatical conjugations.
Despite their best efforts, their dad eventually grew frustrated and finally quit in disgust, returning to his native tongue.
“When I look back on it, it was a difficult moment that made us close, gave us a bond,” said Katharine. “Even though we were unsuccessful, we still look back on it and have very fond memories of it.”
Katharine was one of a dozen students at Richards High School in Oak Lawn who won an essay contest on “How has COVID Positively Affected your Life.” The graduating seniors received a total of $6,000 in scholarship money.
“While the world was confused and afraid, I noted that I took comfort with my family,” Czech wrote in her essay, noting before last year they “didn’t even eat dinner together because one was at work, the other was out with a friend, and so on.”
The pandemic found them “honestly sitting and laughing at our dusty unused dining room table.”
She and her brother also had a chance to get through the isolation to start painting together. And they all started a family movie night.
For fellow senior Mike Borowiak, the pandemic brought an easier way to focus on his studies. As a teen with an autoimmune disease, he’d sometimes felt anxious in classes and especially giving presentations, fearing he would become sick and be unable to complete his work. That also meant it was difficult to get to know classmates.
But while learning at home, much of that anxiety dissipated.
“It makes me feel more comfortable when I’m doing public speaking,” said Borowiak. “I have the option to turn off the camera.”
There also wasn’t the pressure of assignments stacking up because of the way teachers had to structure remote learning classes.
“It gives me time to work on one class on Monday and another on Tuesday,” Borowiak said.
His family bonded, too.
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“I can definitely say it’s an experience for us because it’s something we really never experienced before in life,” said Borowiak. “Because of the whole staying home thing, it kind of brings people together, at least for me.”
Remote learning was a challenge for students, but after a few missteps, Anna Corsiatto learned to make it work to her advantage.
“I’m more disciplined about putting my phone away and making sure I’m doing the work,” Corsiatto said. “I would complete a task and take small breaks between each class. … It kept me on the right path.”
That meant avoiding longer breaks but making sure she stepped away from each class for one short breather. It also meant keeping a planner and writing down everything she would need to do each day.
“Before, I felt like I had so much to do I couldn’t keep track of everything,” said Corsiatto.
While she initially missed the softball practice and games she adores, Corsiatto started practicing regularly with her dad and on her own.
Corsiatto describes her appreciation in her essay titled “The Silver Lining.”‘
“I am most grateful for how the challenge of constant uncertainty has prepared me for my future in college and as an adult,” she wrote. “I’m also very appreciative for the reality check that life is short and nothing is guaranteed.”
Jean Attig, president of the Booster Club at Richards, which administered the essay contest, said the parents, teachers, faculty and staff were impressed with the essays. Attig said she thought the judges scored essays higher when they found students “talking from the heart.”
“The senior class has lost out on a lot and we wanted them to see there was some positive that did come from this experience,” Attig said.
The Booster Club gives scholarships yearly, also funding equipment coaches and club sponsors might need and trips to state and national competitions.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.