Dear Reader,

It gives me great pleasure to present our latest volume of Continuum, which is the Capital Scholars Honors Journal. Through a collaborative process between students and faculty on our journal’s editorial board, we chose to focus on a relevant, timely issue that affected all individuals locally, nationally, and globally: the COVID-19 pandemic. Our theme, titled “Snapshots from the Pandemic,” allowed our students to express themselves both creatively and academically in a way that shed light on life during the pandemic.

Our eighth volume begins with two essays written by Erol Ikiz: “Infectious Diseases in Correctional Facilities” and “Springfield Supportive Living Mental Health Services.” The first examines how and why infectious diseases (like COVID-19) are especially worrisome and dangerous for incarcerated populations, while the latter focuses on another vulnerable group—the elderly. In his second essay, Erol explores how senior assisted living facilities can improve and optimize the mental wellbeing of their patients. These two essays are followed by Dhara Patel’s “Coming Together During the Pandemic”, which discusses how mutual aid organizations have helped strengthen communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Salomé Wortman chimes in with an introspective letter titled “Dear Continuum”, which details how the pandemic has marked their transition into adulthood. Matthew Thomann concludes with a poem titled “Stimulus” that raises awareness on how the pandemic has not affected everyone equally, especially those who lack power. As a collection, these pieces showcase the breadth of experiences and responses to the pandemic.

As always, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who worked on this volume, including the contributors and our wonderful peer editors—Damir Temir, Keely Hodgson, Madison Hollinshead, Bre Scott, Rachel Bernstein, Charlotte Medina, Molly Harms, and Dhara Patel. Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to Erica Mooney, the CAP Peer-Tutoring Teaching Assistant, for her careful and diligent work in coordinating the review process and formatting the final manuscript. This could not have been possible without all of your hard work and dedication!

In closing, the editorial team would like to wish you, dear reader, a wonderful experience in exploring our latest volume of Continuum!

Happy reading,

Diana I. Dabek
Managing Editor, Continuum
Coordinator and Instructor of Honors Composition
UIS Capital Scholars Honors Program

Academic Essays

Infectious Diseases in Correctional Facilities by Erol Ikiz

​Springfield Supportive Living Mental Health Services by Erol Ikiz

Coming Together During the Pandemic by Dhara Patel

Dear Continuum by Salomé Wortman

Stimulus by Matthew Thomann