We’ve heard enough bad news surrounding COVID-19. What are the positive impacts of the pandemic, and what lessons can we take away? writtetn by Julia Gralki, photo direction by Niina Amanuma, images by Mason Sauikie, Talia Sullivan and Valentina Garcia Ruiz
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n January 2020, when the first news about a COVID-19 outbreak spread around the world, we didn’t expect the virus to spread almost equally as fast. Since then, there hasn’t been a day without the pandemic on the news. And since then, many have lost family members to the virus, faced financial crises or health problems — on the physical and mental level. There’s no doubt that this pandemic has been a time of transformation in many ways. But despite all the not-sowelcome changes, there have also been positive effects.
Valentina Garcia Ruiz “I was supposed to go to Lacoste in March,” said Valentina Garcia Ruiz, a third-year student pursuing a B.F.A. in industrial design. But instead of catching a flight to France, she boarded a plane to Bogota, Colombia — her hometown. “And when I was back home,
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we got quarantined for about five months.” she realized that our personal choices Although being stuck at home with her family shape the world around us. was the flip-side situation of what she had planned, quarantine was also a good time to “Sometimes we think that what we do is not rediscover herself. “I was thinking more about relevant but when people ask you why you are what I was doing and how I was approaching doing this and you know what you’re doing, life, like the impact I have and what my then it has a greater impact,” she said. That’s career goals are.” why she started replacing animal products with plant-based alternatives and includes The pandemic has shown that we can’t more sustainability in her designs now. continue like we did before. We can’t go back to the normal we used to know. “Normal has When quarantine lifted, she decided to go to change,” Valentina said. “It’s been a great to the United States to stay with her uncle, damage to our planet and in some ways also an industrial designer. “I thought it would be to ourselves.” more convenient for my career because I have more resources here than at home,” she said. During lockdown, when the world came to a halt, she started educating herself For her, 2020 ended with an outlook towards about how she can have a more positive an industrial design internship at a car impact on the environment. While listening company in Shanghai. “I’ve never been to to podcasts about the climate crisis, Asia but I’m excited to get to know another veganism and sustainable design, said part of the world,” she said.
