Cellphones are precious possessions in the best of times, keeping us connected, informed and entertained.

During spring semester at Yavapai College, Kailey McDonald’s cellphone became her education lifeline.  The mobile device enabled her to stay home for weeks, thereby protecting her immuno-compromised grandparents and mother from exposure to the coronavirus. It ensured the 19-year-old’s success when YC closed and classes transitioned online.

A third-generation rancher, Kailey lives in a remote part of Yavapai County where the closest pings of cell service exist six miles from her home along a dirt road. That’s where, mid-March through early May,  Kailey drove, parked and used her cellphone to access her classes, submit homework assignments, take tests, conduct research and even write papers.

“Depending on how many assignments I have, I try to drive out two times a week and just submit it all,” Kailey said during a finals-week interview on her cellphone parked in her usual internet hot spot. The trips off ranch often were “solid sittings” of several hours or more, Kailey said. “It’s not bad. But it does take a chunk out my day,” she said.

 Kailey acknowledged using a cellphone as a “mini laptop” isn’t ideal Often, cell service would be spotty, forcing her to submit assignments via email instead of through the college’s online learning management system called Canvas. She said her teachers were understanding and supportive, letting her turn things in when technology cooperated.

“I guess you just make the most of what you have. If you don’t have certain things, you learn to use your resources wisely,” Kailey said of the logistical issues wrought by the coronavirus.

Before COVID-19 closed the YC campus, Kailey would make 60 to 90-minute commutes into town to attend classes, then spend time at her other grandmother’s internet-supplied Prescott home. During the pandemic shutdown, she sheltered at the ranch where, when she wasn’t fulfilling her college responsibilities down a dirt road, Kailey filled her quarantine days with chores, caring for her beloved goats, ferret and fish, reading, crafting and music.

“I’ve grown up without access to the internet so I learned to entertain myself,” she said, adding, “My friends know if they text me not to expect a reply right away.”

Kailey was one of a number of YC Associate English Professor Sandi Van Lieu’s spring-semester students who prevailed in a remote learning environment despite technology deficiencies. “Kailey could have easily given up,” Van Lieu said. “I was really impressed by her and  my other students and their determination.”

Quitting school never occurred to Kailey. As a student in YC’s Promise Program she needs to earn an associate’s degree in a  timely manner to qualify for tuition reimbursement. And she is anxious to pursue veterinary studies at an Arizona university, ultimately bringing her knowledge and skills back to the ranch.

Kailey credits innate cheerfulness and optimism for overriding her distaste for lengthy homework sessions in a sometimes-sweltering car and all-too-frequent internet glitches. “Nothing was going to come from me sulking about what I was able to do and not do,” she said.

She hopes by summer to be tackling summer classes in internet-accessible Prescott and resuming her volunteer gig as a “professional princess -- ” transforming herself into beloved Disney characters to bring smiles to hospitalized children, Make A Wish Foundation recipients and audiences at charity events.

Until the coronavirus threat subsides, however, Kailey is content to stay put and rely on her cellphone to keep her college journey on track. “I’m more than happy to keep doing what I’m doing now if it keeps my family safe,” she said.