NEW YORK - Claire Quigley would have spent a lot of time playing field hockey this semester, but nothing about her senior year at Wagner College has gone the way she thought it would.

"I understand why we're not playing, so like that's fine, and it's really nice because I had so many good memories here," said Quigley.

The student athlete is taking it in stride that her season was canceled because of COVID-19.  It's an attitude she'll need to keep as she prepares to head back to her native Virginia for Thanksgiving, and for a holiday season in quarantine.

"I'm really just staying home," said Quigley, "I'll probably try and work a little bit."

What You Need To Know

  • Some students are trying to follow the CDC's guidelines to avoid travel if possible and limit holiday gatherings to only household members

  • Health officials advise extra vigilance as families gather for Thanksgiving

  • Some students expect to quarantine when they return home after COVID testing on campus

She's among the college students trying to heed the advice from the Centers for Disease Control to limit the virus's spread:  avoid Thanksgiving travel if you can and spend the holidays only with the people in your household.

"My family basically lives at home. We're not traveling anywhere and if we do it's going to be isolated just because we understand that things are different and we can't travel,” she said.

Health officials say you can't be too vigilant at Thanksgiving gatherings, even advising that there may be instances that call for a mask indoors.

"Now, obviously common sense. You're sitting at a table, particularly over the next couple of days when you're dealing with the Thanksgiving holiday, you can't have a mask on as you're eating and drinking.  But in other areas at other times, when you're in the house, if you have people in your home that are not members of the immediate household, and you're not really sure as to their level of exposure, then to the extent possible you should wear the mask indoors,"  said Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases.

Quigley says Wagner's recent announcement that students would be tested before they leave campus is reassuring, "because it's really hard to go home and hope that you don't have it and not really know."

For her and many other students, it's been a very different college experience during COVID, but to her the sacrifices are worth it.

"We don't get to go to bars and everything but you get to keep everyone around you safe" said Quigley.