Editor’s note: As a challenging year comes to an end, the Post-Tribune re-interviewed the people profiled last year — ranging in age from their teens to their 90s — to see how the year 2020 has impacted their lives.

After Fordham University Lincoln Center in New York City announced it would continue remote learning during the fall semester, Maggie Sablich decided to take a gap year.

Sablich, of Dyer, said Fordham University announced March 9 that it would be shutting down, and that students would finish the semester mostly remote, with a few exceptions for freshmen and certain classes. Sablich, now 20, said she will never forget the atmosphere in the city on that day: It was an unusually warm day — 75 degrees — and it felt like the whole city was at Central Park because people were unsure when they could be out in public again.

Once school closed, Sablich, a sophomore, said she packed a bag and went to Long Island with some of her friends to finish out the semester. But, very quickly, Sablich — who is studying global business — said she realized she did not like remote learning.

“My school is very much hands on. So, they kept us really working hard. I had all classes live. The curriculum was just as rigorous and they expected the same if not more effort,” Sablich said. “Online school was a bit difficult. I made it through, but I knew I didn’t want to do that again.”

Initially, Sablich said she planned on staying in New York City to work over the summer. But, the pandemic forced her to quickly move out of her apartment in May and move back to Indiana, where she worked as a server at a country club — a summer job she previously worked.

In July, after university officials announced that the fall 2020 semester would be mostly remote, Sablich said she decided to take a gap year because she “didn’t want to spend (her) junior year sitting in front of a computer.” But, “what was scary about it,” was that when her year off from school was official, she didn’t have a job or internship lined up.

Two weeks later, Sablich said she was offered a paid internship with eVestment, a Nasdaq company, as a data analyst. The internship, which is remote, was supposed to end at the end of December, but she was recently notified that her internship was extended through April.

The plan is to return to school for the fall 2021 semester, but Sablich said what has surprised her the most about her gap year experience is that she’s still — if not more — connected with her school community.

“I’ve actually become more involved with my school and its community than ever before. I think a huge part of that is having the extra free time and the flexibility with not being in classes … but (also) with the Zoom platform it makes it much easier to find time in your schedule,” Sablich said.

This year has taught her to cast a wider net, Sablich said, and during her gap year she has started exploring new career avenues, like marketing, consulting and data research.

“I think I’m definitely more open minded to different careers. I’m really trying to not pigeonhole myself into a certain field or industry,” Sablich said.

Broadly, Sablich said the year has taught her not to be so hard on herself.

“I never took a break,” Sablich said. “(This year) allowed me to take a step back and put in more time with my relationships with friends and family, but also just reflecting inward.”