One Week Into Fall Semester, MDC Reports Increased Traffic On-Campus

Amid a global pandemic, Alex Ferrer spent his first year at Miami Dade College in isolation.

He took online classes but struggled to grasp the material. Ferrer found the modality rigid and yearned for a more social environment. 

So when he got the opportunity to register for in-person classes this fall semester, he seized the moment.  

On the first day of school, Ferrer found himself in unfamiliar territory—at Eduardo J. Padrón Campus in Little Havana. Three of his five classes—anatomy and physiology, a lab and trigonometry—this fall are in-person.

“I missed being in-person so much,” said Ferrer, who is a pre-physical therapy major. “I missed the atmosphere a classroom created for students, being with my friends and seeing new faces.”

Ferrer is part of a growing cluster of MDC students who have found their way back on-campus in the fall semester.  

More than 21,140 students are taking in-person courses college-wide this semester compared to the same period last year when only 4,300 students were on-campus, according to numbers provided by the College. 

“I got lost a little bit and there were a lot of people, but it was good,” said Aurora Batista, a second-year student in the Honors College at Kendall Campus, who admitted to being a tad bit nervous.

Students at all eight campuses were greeted with a healthy amount of activities to keep their energy flowing. Among the festivities, a welcome back breakfast and dinner with Finn at North Campus, a club rush at Wolfson Campus and a Frosty First Day event that filled students’ bellies with an ice cream of their choice at Homestead Campus.

The North Campus Student Government Association hosted a tour of the campus that was attended by more than 20 people and Homestead SGA organized a meet and greet event that featured more than 60 guests.  

“There’s definitely been a heightened level of student engagement since we’ve returned to campus,” said Nicole Bryant, the student life director at Homestead. “Students haven’t had on-campus engagement for the most part in the past year and a half. So they’re just very active and engaged and want to get involved in more and more activities.”

A wide-range of events happened during the first few weeks to keep students’ social calendars filled. Here are a few:

• On Sept. 1, each campus celebrated I AM MDC Day—which is on Sept. 6 (Labor Day)—with activities, food, music, games and more.
• On Sept. 3, Padrón Campus hosted a BBQ in building 6, student life breezeway.
• On Sept. 7, West Campus President Beverly Moore-Garcia had coffee and donuts with students in the rotunda area.
• On Sept. 15, North Campus held an in-person club rush in the building 4000 breezeway.

“It makes me happy to see students on campus,” said Cristy Calderon, the student life director at West.  

On-campus, masks and vaccines are not required but highly encouraged. Most visitors have been wearing masks. Enhanced cleaning protocols are conducted daily in classrooms, libraries and high-touch areas, physical barriers like sneeze guards and plexiglass are in place and stands with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are available. 

During the first week of fall semester, the College hosted pop-up vaccination sites at their campuses to continue encouraging students to get vaccinated.

Students who are taking in-person classes are doing the best they can to adjust. 

“My experience has been exceptional,” said Angeline Thelemaque, a sophomore studying environmental science at North Campus. “The campus is big but after a while, it gets less intimidating because the MDC staff are friendly and helpful.” 

Staff writers Carolina Soto and Elizabeth Pomares contributed to this story.