Maive Prieur, August 15th, 2024

Title

Maive Prieur, August 15th, 2024

Description

Maive Prieur discusses graduating from high school and beginning college at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Publisher

Detroit Historical Society

Rights

Detroit Historical Society

Language

en-US

Narrator/Interviewee's Name

Maive Prieur

Brief Biography

Maive Prieur was born in 2002 and has lived in Lincoln Park for most of her life. She studied business at Wayne State University and currently works for Ryder Logistics as a global supply chain associate.

Interviewer's Name

Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo

Date

08/15/2024

Interview Length

12:47

Transcription

Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo: I'm Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo, it's August 15th, 2024, and I'm here with. Please say your name.

Maive Prieur: Maive Prieur. M a i v e P r i e u r.

DLT: And where do you live?

MP: I live in Lincoln Park, Michigan.

DLT: How long have you lived there?

MP: I've lived there my whole life.

DLT: Have you lived elsewhere in Metro Detroit at any point?

MP: I have very briefly moved to about Greenfield Village. And then in Bloomfield Hills. Both for about a year before returning back to Lincoln Park.

DLT: And what do you do for work?

MP: I am currently a global supply chain associate for Ryder Logistics.

DLT: When did you first hear about Covid-19?

MP: I first heard about it in 2019. My mother was a nurse, so I was beginning to get worried about it. My aunt is in the pathological control and disease in California, so she was also hearing a good deal. And so my mom began to tell me about it, beginning to ask if I had any masks and preparing to buy some. It wasn't until about early 2020 when it really became more apparent, when it started to actually come up in everyday conversation with others.

DLT: And so would you say you knew more initially than many of your peers?

MP: I would say a possibly small amount. It was more just me thinking my mom was worrying about random things. It never really fully occurred to me that this would be something that came over. I mean, we talked about the Ebola virus way early and that never actually made it over to the States in a large capacity. So I figured this would be about the same, maybe. You know, something that will affect other countries, but probably not us, largely.

DLT: And if you weren't initially worried about it, when did that start to change?

MP: Probably around January and December when more and more cases started popping up in the United States. I mean, again, as it just slowly started spreading and people started talking about it more and more of the news and daily occurrences of how it's not stopping. It became pretty frightening at the time. You hear that it stops your tastes, changes your ability to breathe, things like that.

DLT: And did you take any steps in response in those early days?

MP: I’d say— My mom made sure we had a ton of masks and air purifiers. As more time went on— Me, the first time I heard {Audio cut out} in Michigan began having it, I was still working at a store. I ended up quitting that job because I didn't want to get Covid in a big grocery store, people walking around, not a lot of care and caution. This was around March at the time, 2020.

DLT: And so you left your job at the time because of Covid.

MP: That's correct. I mean, I also hated the job, but it was more just I did not want to get Covid working a shitty job for barely any money. It wasn't worth it.

DLT: And were you in school at that point?

MP: I was not yet in school. Well, I was in high school at the time. About to say, our senior year ended up being mostly canceled for the last half. Pretty much, they didn't know how to deal with Covid. They didn't want to risk students coming in. So we kind of all just said, fuck it. We got to graduate early. I was going to be starting college in the fall semester.

DLT: And besides most of senior year being canceled how did Covid immediately affect your schooling?

MP: I mean, I guess, got me a great grade. Didn't have to worry about doing all the work. I mean, I was at the very end of high school. Truthfully, I didn't do much work on average. I only had like three hours of actual classes. For college, I mean, fuck, that just went terrible. I don't know, going from going into class everyday to it being all online, it being college now. It definitely didn't go great for me.

DLT: And did things improve in college as classes started to be hybrid or in-person over time?

MP: Definitely. But that might just be attributed to me being more used to college itself. I mean, I'd like to think it got better, you know, a bit of social as well as schooling. It's much happier actually being able to see people and meet up and hang out, versus college just being some doomed thing I have to do where there is no benefits, no good sides, just straight class and then that’s it.

DLT: And did you personally contract Covid-19?

MP: I have yet to get Covid, I believe. I may have gotten it once earlier this year, but not any year beforehand.

DLT: And were a lot of family members or friends getting Covid or was it similar to you?

MP: My dad got it at least four times. He did not take it as seriously as me and my mother, and so kept just going out and trying to do the same things he does. To this day, I wouldn't be surprised if he got Covid tomorrow.

DLT: Do you know anyone who was seriously affected by Covid?

MP: Yeah, I mean my dad {Audio cut out}. He was sent to the hospital after a while, just coughing and being unable to really control his breathing. He's recovered. It's not something that was too permanent. Plus, he has bronchitis every year anyway. So it really was just a combination of the two. But besides that, not quite, no. I guess the person who was living in my dad's house died. But truth be told, I wasn't very close with him and he was kind of dying anyways.

DLT: And how did you feel about the shelter-in-place orders and has that changed over time?

MP: I mean, at the time it was great. It was sit at home, play video games with friends. It was like, hey, I'm not missing out on much here. Everyone I would talk to in school was pretty much just on Xbox. It was like, hey, we're all having a good time. I mean, of course it was a bit isolating, but it's not the worst thing ever. I’d just gotten a car, so I wasn't used to really going out and doing a ton of stuff beforehand. It wasn't too bad, I would say.

DLT: And did you pick up any new activities at the time that you did at home that you didn't do prior to the pandemic?

MP: To be honest, not really, no. I kind of just sat around, lazed about most days until I got a job again.

DLT: And was this job hybrid, online, in-person?

MP: It was in-person at a nearby Target. It was as a cart-getter. And when the carts were full, I was just meant to stand at the door and limit how many people could go in. You just had to count how many were waiting, how many were leaving, and then send in more groups the second it was enough free slots.

DLT: So it was a job kind of related to the pandemic.

MP: You could say. Definitely had a, you know, pandemic definitely had changed what I was supposed to actually do.

DLT: And how did you feel about the masking and vaccination requirements and has that opinion changed over time?

MP: Pretty good. Yeah, if we can prevent sick {Audio cut out} have always been a thing. Nothing new. Mostly just trying to, what's it called? Pray people actually did it. A lot of the time people just ignore it and be like [Dismissive sounds]. Shit, even at my job now, it's kind of like, no one really masks. They were talking about how Covid is going around and someone had it. Like, he’d be wearing a mask when he came in. I mean, they just said, yeah, he has Covid and he'll be coming into a workplace where we all work, but he'll have a mask, so it's okay. So it's like, fuck. I don't know. I feel like sometimes we {Unclear} not serious enough, but hey, personal freedoms and all that.

DLT: So you feel that people have gotten a little too relaxed about the pandemic at this point.

MP: Yeah. I mean, I’m not going to act like I haven’t, too. I definitely don’t wear a mask as much as I should. I won’t be as careful, but. Yeah, I mean, the fact that if you get Covid your job can still call you in and you don't just get automatic days off is just, I don't know, not a great sign, but that's kind of always been how it is with sickness. You get a cold, you don't just get paid while you're off. You have to, you know, still lose a day's work or and get paid. A lot of people will just work through any minor sickness. I guess this isn’t anything that different.

DLT: And what do you feel have been the lasting impacts of Covid on your life, on Metro Detroit, or even on the world?

MP: Truthfully, lasting impacts, I wouldn't say too much. A decent bit of parties and social gatherings I go to you have to end up wearing a mask and everyone there {Audio cut out} Getting food, all the restaurants used to be open much later. All the fast food chains would either be 24 hours or just really late. Can’t really get food at that time. {Audio cut out} Just gets in the way. Besides that, again, I was just turning eighteen when Covid hit, so I didn't miss out on too many things. Not much really changed.

DLT: And are there any lessons that you hope were learned through this crisis?

MP: Don't trust your neighbor. Shit, I don’t know. I don’t feel like we really responded greatly as a nation to this. I mean, it literally became a huge divide on if you should or shouldn't have to wear a mask. Not just if you have to, but if you should or shouldn't wear a mask in general, I mean. I don’t know. I guess, I know the American spirit’s huge and all, but when it came time for people to actually care for each other, kind of just got thrown out the window for it being a political thing instead. Weird to think that somehow happened, but hey, just how life is, I guess.

DLT: Now, was there anything else regarding your experience with Covid or your thoughts on the pandemic that you'd want to share that none of my questions have brought up?

MP: Truthfully, not that I can think of, no.

DLT: All right. Then that was all the questions I had for you today. Thank you for your time.

MP: Thank you very much.

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Citation

“Maive Prieur, August 15th, 2024,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed February 15, 2025, https://detroit1967.detroithistorical.org/items/show/1084.

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