Keeping #WuhanStrong

By Emma Dion // February 29, 2020 // Revised March 27, 2020

WASHINGTON – Kristen Xiao was celebrating the holidays with her family at her home in Wuhan, China when the coronavirus uprooted her plans of traveling to Northern Virginia for school. 

The high school student, along with 11 million other Wuhan residents, has been under lockdown since January 23. 

“We stay at home every day,” explained Xiao, “and the government has issued a pass that every family has the chance to go out every three days.”

The 18-year-old spends most of her time cooped up in the apartment. No one in Xiao’s family has contracted the coronavirus, but she does know a few people who are being affected by it in her community.

Despite being under government lockdown, Xiao has managed to keep up with her classes at Veritas Collegiate Academy in Springfield, Virginia with the help of a video technology device called Swivel. It allows the school’s iPad to follow a teacher around the room, filming lessons and essentially transporting Xiao into the classroom. Sean Elgut said that device was a huge need since Chinese officials weren’t sure how much longer the lockdown may continue.

Xiao uses Swivel to virtually attend all her classes, even though students in Virginia are 13 hours ahead. She puts on her school uniform every day and learns alongside her classmates into the early morning hours from her living room in Wuhan.

“I think I’m very lucky for this situation because now I’m synchronizing video lessons with my classmates on the American campus and so I adjust my life, day and night, upside down,” said Xiao. “My parents and teachers are very supportive, and they have always supported me.”

Maria Elgut explained how Xiao has come out of her situation as a stronger individual, “and that’s kind of the gist what classical education is all about.” According to Maria Elgut, Veritas Collegiate Academy’s classical education “allows students to think globally before they even get to college.”

There are three campuses in Virginia, as well as three others in China. Like Xiao, Chinese students are typically encouraged to study in Virginia at some point during their four years at school. 

Each of the Chinese-based campuses have been shut down in the wake of the coronavirus. Students and faculty in China were away from campus on vacation when the virus caused initial shutdowns back in January.

When news broke of the lack of medical equipment at Wuhan area hospitals, Xiao sounded the alarm for her peers across the world at Veritas to help raise money for relief aid. So far, the school has raised over $30,000. 

Xiao is part of a leadership group at Veritas Collegiate Academy and figured that if they organized something, her school could make an impact in Wuhan. She pitched the idea of a Wuhan Relief project because “as a student leader who is temporarily trapped in Wuhan, I think the best thing I can do now is to show up and call for more people’s support.” 

Sean Elgut and Maria Elgut said that the Veritas community has sprung to action since then. Most donors have been from the close-knit school community- parents, teachers and many students themselves.

According to Sean Elgut, the spread of the coronavirus has “really unified the students on our various campuses,” which is why the school community has been able to raise so much money. “We’re really one big family. And so, when one of us is being, you know, hurt, we all want to be able to be part of the healing process.”

After Xiao suggested starting the project, students Asiimwe Kamuntu and Joanbry Santos began fundraising efforts back in Virginia. The two created a GoFundMe page for the project, which has found much success. Kamuntu and Santos also designed a bracelet for the cause, with the hashtag #WuhanStrong written across the front. The hashtag has become increasingly popular worldwide since the coronavirus outbreak began. 

“Red is just sort of a color that people associate with relief projects, and the Red Cross, so we thought red is a good color here. And then we did the hashtag #WuhanStrong because we wanted to be able to kind of spread it around. We want people to post on Instagram, post on Facebook, Twitter, hashtag #WuhanStrong,” said Santos. 

Kamuntu said that her association with Veritas’ Chinese campuses has grown a lot since fundraising began, even though her and Santos have never met Xiao or most of the other Chinese students in person. 

“People have lost hope, and we want to, like, rebuild that because there’s a connection that you build when you just feel someone battling with something else,” said Kamuntu.

Santos added that he is more in tune with news coming from China now more than ever before, thanks to their relief project. 

“I’m more concerned with what’s happening with Chinese people, what’s happening with China in general. Before I was a bit more neutral on it. But now since I’m actually you know, researching and seeing the effects of the coronavirus, what it’s having on people, I do feel more connected with it.”

For the entire Veritas Community, it is about much more than just fundraising. Students say they want to educate their communities about the needs in Wuhan, but also about the coronavirus in general. 

As for the student-led fundraising, Xiao hopes that “after we finish this Wuhan Relief Project, we will also have the opportunity to do other projects.” Xiao’s classmates agree that once the coronavirus has come and gone, they hope to someday concentrate on sending aid to other areas of the world in need. 

Perhaps the most important thing to remember, according to Xiao, is that the project’s goal is bigger than battling the coronavirus in China. “We are here to express our solidarity with the people of the world who are suffering from disasters, and I hope to provide them with help as much as we can.”

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