Amal

Amal is a DJ in Washington, D.C., who grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland. “At first, I was kinda like bummed out. I mean like every other musician just kinda saw their gigs just kinda drop like flies. Like within – I kid you not- within 72 hours my gigs from now until September had…

Liz

Liz is a second-year undergraduate student. She is the daughter of an immigrant and a refugee. “I was really frustrated with the university, because I felt they made their decision based on the assumption that everyone has a stable home to go to, a home they wanna go to, which is definitely not true.” Interview…

LaShae

LaShae is a frontline grocery-store worker who lives in Crofton, Maryland. She is twenty-eight years old. “I get a lot of “thank you’s” for what we’re doing. We are at an equal risk to nurses with coming into [contact] with more than 100 people a day. I think it is good to be viewed as…

Natasha

Natasha is a mental health therapist licensed in the state of Maryland. She currently works under Choice Clinical Services, a women-led mental health practice with two locations in College Park and one in Greenbelt. As a therapist, a lot of clients think you have everything together, and it’s so not true—like, nobody does. I’ve never…

Sandy

Sandy works at the National Organization for Women. “We have been fighting for the rights of, y’know, women and poor families for years and so we’re just … still doing that. Of course, right now it’s so much more important because you have all these people without health care and… paid leave, and so they’re…

Dezmond

Dezmond Ouzts is a frontline worker who lives in Waldorf, MD. He is twenty-six years old. “I believe the company will view me and fellow co-workers, as they always should have, with more respect, dignity, appreciation, and concern going forward. Death and loss has a defining impression on human beings. It is humbling to understand…

Anya

Anya* is an international student who graduated from her master’s program in fall 2019. “So I am in College Park and everybody is home. So it’s kind of become a ghost town here. I just moved into a new place and I barely know my roommate…” *Pseudonym provided by the interviewee. Content warning for brief…

Mel

Mel is the founder of Posh Cycling and Fitness, a fitness studio located in College Park, Maryland. She has been a fitness instructor for over a decade, and has dreamed of starting her own chain of fitness studios for years. In 2018, she finally opened her first studio, which has since held hundreds of fitness…

Andrea

Andrea is a high school art teacher and senior advisor. “I don’t always hear from these kids. And it’s scary. It is very scary, even their artwork. I can’t display all the artwork that they’re doing right now on this website I’m doing because a lot of it is starting to get really dark.” Interview…

Keelyn

Keelyn is a grocery store employee. “There are two types of people you might encounter. There are always angry people who are upset. Then you have the other people, we have had customers bring in Chick-fil-A platters, sweets from piece-of-cake. People will bring in notes to thank us.” Interview highlight: “There are two types of…