The freshman class is just about halfway through their first year at GW, but most haven’t laid a foot on campus.

Instead, the Class of 2024 embarked on their college careers from childhood bedrooms, Airbnbs around the country and apartments with other first-year students they met on social media.

Many students have yet to meet them in person, but here’s a glimpse of some of the University’s freshman class.

Eliana Pierotti

Pierotti, 18, is a psychology major from Minneapolis. Pierotti is living in a garage-turned-apartment attached to her aunt and uncle’s home with another freshman from American University.

“Overall, it’s been good. I’m in GW’s Women’s Leadership Program, which is supposed to be a living and learning community. And I was really excited about going into school doing that, to have this community of lots of amazing women. A big part of it is going to see things around D.C. with this cohort. And because COVID had different plans, I wasn’t able to do that, which kind of threw a wrench in that whole thing.”

Karishma Pandya

Pandya, 19, from Belleair Beach, Florida, is on track to study biology and political science.

“Most of my notes I take by hand, so I was nervous about being online. Also, now you don’t even have a chance to meet the professor or give anybody an impression or anything like that. All things considered, it was better than I expected it to be.”

Zori Angelova

Angelova, 18, is an international business major from Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

“A lot of people I feel like in our grade wouldn’t maybe join an organization just because there is no point to it, which I do agree with but don’t care – I just join whatever. But it’s still hard to get acclimated to [school].”

Joseph Decilos

Decilos, 18, plans to major in communications and is from Harlingen, Texas.

“It has been something to get used to, but once [I’m} in the swing of things it’s not too bad. We all are equally trying to do our part to get over this hump and get students back on campus just so everything is sort of normal again.”

Jianna Durand

Durand, 18, from Danvers, Massachusetts, is on a pre-med track. Durand lived in the District with three freshmen last semester.

“It was really weird, but we just had to grow up very quickly. I loved it though, we were very independent. We would do school Monday through Friday, and on the weekends we would try to find something to do. We watched a lot of TV together.”

Nicholas Tomasi

Tomasi, 18, from San Diego, plans to major in philosophy.

“I think my math class made sense for it to be online since it was a very large class. So I took Math and Politics…I had a lot of fun in that class, it was really interesting. But since it was pretty much just straightforward lectures, I feel like it would almost be easier just to take classes like that online.”

Anna Shah

Shah, 19, from Wilmette, Illinois, is majoring in international business.

“On campus, I would have study groups and be surrounded by my peers in my classes that would motivate me, but it is hard to stay motivated when you are all alone at home. It has also been hard to make friends. I have gotten very involved already, which has helped me make friends, but [online school] is not the natural process of going to class and making friends with the other girl in your class with fabulous earrings.”

Kristen Rodrigues

Rodrigues, 18, from Clinton, New Jersey, is double majoring in public health and psychology with a pre-med track.

“It’s really weird, not going to lie. I was really hoping to get the full college experience but things change and we just have to adapt and grow, but it was not that bad.”