SALT LAKE CITY — As the University of Utah's fall semester approaches its end, more and more students are seeking support from the university's counseling and student wellness centers.
"At the counseling center, we are definitely seeing students who are impacted by COVID in lots of different ways. I think it particularly impacts motivation, feelings of loneliness or social isolation. And I think, just more generally, it impacts mental health," said Dr. Lauren Weitzman, Director, University of Utah Counseling Center.
Ireland Kearns, a student in the university's medical laboratory science program, spoke with FOX 13 about the struggles she's facing as a university student in the age of COVID-19.
"The best way I can explain it is it kind of feels like you're running a race with all of your energy as fast as you can, but the finish line keeps moving farther away," Kearns said.
Part of the problem, Kearns says, is that she and other students did not get the usual fall semester break this year. The school is offering a longer holiday break before beginning classes again in January, but the current schedule also eliminates a spring break.
U of U students who are struggling with burnout or other issues are invited to make use of the Center for Student Wellness and the University Counseling Center.
