Most of my time at Hollins was positive and uplifting, but one semester a classmate, Donna Patterson, and I found ourselves in an uncomfortable predicament. At the time, we decided to keep it to ourselves and never speak of it. Recently, she and I decided it’s time to share our story, omitting names, of course.

     Donna and I were nearly done with our coursework, and we signed up for one of two required tutorials in which we would submit sections from our creative and/or critical theses for feedback and guidance. In an ideal world, we’d also be given the opportunity to revise for more feedback.

     This class was online. The professor divided us into groups, and there were three or four students in each. We were given a calendar, and each week the assigned members of each group would submit work on the online platform, and we responded on a rotating basis.

     Donna and I were in different groups, but after only a few weeks into the semester, we noticed no one was posting except the two of us. It was like something out of Agatha Christie—And then there were two. No one explained anything to us. The students just disappeared. Even worse, at some point around Thanksgiving, our professor ghosted us. No explanation—simply silence.

     Donna and I didn’t know what to do, but we continued to post our work. Having taken two other classes with this professor, I knew this to be out of character. We thought about reporting the problem to the director of the program, but we didn’t want the professor to get in trouble, and more importantly, we worried we’d have to repeat the course, preventing us from graduating with our class.

     Since the professor wasn’t giving us feedback, Donna and I stepped up and rallied for one another. We discussed work over the phone in addition to posting into the abyss.

     Just before the end of the semester, the professor began commenting on our work in a manner of someone trying to get a job done before the finish line. Unfortunately, the time frame gave us no opportunity to revise, but at least we got a grade and graduated on time.

     The only good thing that came out of this class was the strong bond of friendship Donna and I have forged. We laugh about it now, but at the time we felt as though we were drowning in overwhelming feelings of dismay and anxiety. We paid a lot of money only to be treated as an afterthought. Luckily, Donna and I are self-motivated, and we accepted the challenge of doing our best in what we dubbed The Semester of Crickets.

Donna continues to write, vlog, conduct workshops, and she pursues her passions as a writer, editor, and now a mother. 

Update: On 11 November 2024, Donna and I met with the current director of the Children’s Literature program at Hollins, and she is going to work on setting up some type of protocol so that nothing like this happens again. This is just one more reason Hollins is a magical place.