New York Times: What Covid Taught Us. We look at how the world changed — and what studies revealed about how we live.

How Covid Changed the Lives of These 29 Americans.

Malik Shelton, Emergency Room RN. Malik attended an HBCU where he attained his Nursing degree. Malik is a US Navy veteran. He’s been an Aya traveler since May 2020 and has worked in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Georgia and is currently on assignment in Indiana. When he is not working, he volunteers at local chapters of his fraternity.

Malik Shelton, 33, Augusta, GA.

“A lot of nurses would tell you, in some ways, we miss Covid — the way people treated you then. The country was going through a hard time, and everyone was being hit, so you didn’t have so many situations with nurses being called names, or patients saying they don’t want anyone with an accent. Those things, now? They happen every day.”

Asia Santos, Cath Lab RN. Asia was born in the Philippines and moved to California when she was seven years old. She’s been an Aya travel nurse since April 2020. She went to New York at the start of the pandemic, specifically to help patients in need. After New York, she’s worked in several cities, up and down the state of California. She didn’t want to come home until the pandemic subsided. She returned to her hometown in the summer of 2023 and took a permanent position at a local San Diego hospital.

Asia Santos, 39, San Diego

She volunteered to travel as a nurse to New York City in April 2020.

“You were faced with these huge questions every day: What is a good death? What is a bad death? My thing was, no one is allowed to die alone. It was the only way I could get up the next day. You can make trauma work negatively for you, or positively.”

Read the full story here. (Note: You must have a subscription.)