A Positive Of The Pandemic: The Chance to Accomplish Goals

Little did Lauren Poillon know that working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic would allow her to accomplish a lifelong dream. With coworker Katie Humphrey in the passenger seat, Poillon hit the road in a rented campervan for the following five months.

When Poillon learned in late April that she wouldn’t be returning to Apple’s San Francisco office in the foreseeable future, she began looking for available van rentals. When she found the website for Travellers Autobarn, she deemed the $55 daily fee affordable for the two to split.

“I’ve always said that I wanted to quit working in my 20s and travel in a van,” said Poillon. “The pandemic was an optimal time to try it out because I didn’t need to quit my job, so I still was getting paid.”

Poillon and Humphrey first met while studying supply chain at Penn State before accepting positions at Apple. As global supply managers, they work with suppliers overseas to buy parts for iPhones and Apple Watches. They are among millions who have begun to work remotely in light of COVID-19. Research conducted at Stanford University recently revealed that 42% of the American workforce now works from home full time.

With help from Google searches and advice from travel blogs, they packed their 6- by-18-foot vehicle with what Poillon described to be “essentials for van living.” Given the space available, this included a wardrobe consisting of one pair of jeans, one sweatshirt, and a couple pairs of shorts and tops each, a small set of pots and pans to use on the van’s two-burner stove, and other camping-related items such as coolers, headlamps, and portable charging devices.

By the end of May, they had each left their apartments in San Francisco for what was originally planned to be a 30-day trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. En route to their destination, they visited national forests throughout Oregon and Washington that allowed them to stay overnight in their van for free.

“We expected it to be really hard to work from the van,” said Poillon. “Apple is pretty demanding, and we’d start in the early morning and go until odd hours at night because we work with technology suppliers from China.”

To prepare for video calls and phone conferences, they also bought an inverter charger and Verizon jetpack device that offered Wi-Fi to multiple devices. Poillon said that Apple paid for mobile hotspots, but that their laptops could only be connected when the cellular signal was strong. She said that they’d drive to nearby towns to use free Wi-Fi at coffee shops if all else failed.

When their excursion to Glacier National Park was almost over, Poillon realized that she didn’t want the experience to end.

“We agreed that working from the van had been mostly feasible so far,” she said. “So we extended our rental another week, and then again for the following two weeks. In early July, we made the decision to extend all the way until November 1.”

Unbeknownst to Poillon and Humphrey at the time, Peter Burke, CEO and founder of Travellers Autobarn, later told the pair that they had set a record for the company’s longest-ever United States rental period at 150 days.

“Travellers Autobarn was almost completely shutdown until May,” said Cody Mundy, a Travellers Autobarn sales manager. “We ended up having more United States rentals later that summer than in the previous year.”

As the summer continued and they headed east, Poillon was surprised by the kindness of others they met at national parks and campsites. She said that they were often confronted by strangers who were intrigued by their van.

“We made friends with these people in Bozeman, Montana,” she said. “Three months later, we were in their hometown of Charleston, South Carolina and we stayed with them for a full week in their homes.”

Poillon and Humphrey had just finished whitewater rafting on the Gallatin River in Bozeman when they noticed a group of strangers drinking beer outside of the car beside them. After introducing themselves, Poillon and Humphrey learned that the Hosteler and Mackara families had been vacationing in Bozeman.

“I used to travel a lot when I was younger, so I immediately loved their story,” said Mandy Hosteler. “My husband and I were totally inquisitive as they showed us the van.”

They chatted in the parking lot for about an hour before parting ways. Poillon said they jokingly promised to visit the family in their hometown, but didn’t expect to make it that far at the time. Many miles and rental extensions later, the two finally reached the east coast in August.

“We told them that they were going to melt in the Charleston heat if they slept in their van,” said Hosteler. “They stayed at our home with us and we went kayaking, out to eat, and showed them the beach.”

Even after returning to California, Poillon said they have stayed in touch with the two families and often text back and forth. The group has a running joke that the adults are now like aunts and uncles to Poillon and Humphrey.

“Especially during COVID-19, it was so special to connect with others,” Poillon. “Those experiences were so valuable. I would’ve never met them had I not lived in a van.”

A lack of human connection is what has made the past several months difficult for many, according to licensed psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Shirey. During periods of isolation, she has observed that her happiest clients tend to be ones that can recognize positives that come out of the situation.

“The pandemic has presented an opportunity to learn new things,” she said. “It is a survival skill, in fact, to take up new hobbies or expand on current ones during this time.”

Stacy Everett is another example of someone who used the pandemic as a chance for pursuing personal interests. Everett, a senior studying interior design and marketing at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, began a photography business on the side after moving off campus and switching to virtual learning in mid-March.

Though Everett said her interest in photography started at a young age, it wasn’t until COVID-19 hit that she decided to take the hobby more seriously.

“I was still busy with online classes, but I found myself with a lot more free time that I wanted to pour into photography,” she said. “So I deleted my personal Instagram account and posted solely on a page that was dedicated to more professional photos that I was taking instead.”

Within months, the Stacy Eileen Photography account she created on Instagram and Facebook grew to hundreds of followers each. Since returning to Indiana in the fall, she has continued to do photo shoots, mainly working with clients she meets through mutual connections or word-of-mouth referrals.

Upon Everett’s graduation in May 2021, she doesn’t anticipate that photography will be her full-time job, but said that she intends to continue the business on the side anyway.

For Penn State immunology and infectious disease senior William Lee, quarantining at his home in Philadelphia made him consider becoming an EMT. He said that always wanted to receive his certification, and that the pandemic gave him what he felt was enough time to start the process.

“I planned to enroll in a four-credit training course through Penn State during the fall semester,” he said. “With a limited amount of seats in the class, I had to look at options elsewhere.”

As a result, Lee registered for a program at the Emergency Training Academy, where he is required to complete a hybrid of online and in-person classes. Due to COVID-19, he said that only three in-person sessions are held at the academy in Thorndale, around an hour away from where he lives in the city. After four months of completing coursework, Lee hopes to pass his state certification exam in January.

“I don’t know what the job market is going to look like after I graduate,” he said. “Having the certification will strengthen my resume and allow me to gain experience as a volunteer.”

Poillon also expressed uncertainty regarding her plans for the future, as she said that Apple has not yet announced when its employees will be returning to the office. However, she remains certain of one goal for now: buying her own van once it becomes an expense that she can afford.

“I feel like I could relive that cross-country experience forever,” she said. “It was so eye-opening to see everything that Katie and I were able to accomplish in five months, especially during a pandemic.”