Welcome to “People of Durango,” a new column from the Independent. Our very first profile of the term is featuring Patrick Langlois, a non-traditional student here at Fort Lewis College.

In 2020 there were a lot of things that I was afraid of, like testing positive for COVID-19 and losing friends and family. In 2021, both of these things happened.  This is a journal about being exposed, experiencing symptoms, testing positive for COVID-19 and how my view of Fort Lewis College, San Juan Basin Public Health and my community changed.

After a frenzy of dizzying digits, totals tallied, integers imputed and decimals dotted, purchasing shares on the popular stock trading and investment app, Robin Hood, was abruptly halted.

The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team experienced a 21-day pause to their season due to contracting the virus when they returned to campus after going home for winter break.

Following a summer of protests for lost black lives and racial inequality, illustrating a grand resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, Fort Lewis College’s Black Student Union brought events to campus to honor Black History Month.