Rural Pathway Students Stay Connected While Sheltering in Place

Students in Northeast Ohio Medical University’s Rural Pathway (RMED) program have also been staying connected while taking all classwork from home for the remainder of the semester. RMED Students meet for a virtual coffee breaks most days along with their instructor, Michael Appleman, M.A. Ed. The students even like to give their instructor a hard time about his penchant for flannel shirts during the laid-back sessions, telling him that he looks like he’s spent the morning listening to Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

Despite calling it a virtual coffee break, it’s common for most of the group not to be partaking in a cup of java. Instead, the students’ pets seem to the main attraction.

“We’ve shared funny stories, learned how far behind we are in studying, and occasionally we’ve done group studying together,” said Jamie Pandey, first-year medicine student, who has two cats, Wesley and Geordi. “But we basically let the cats and dogs run the show for our chats because that’s what work-from-home is like.”