The sudden onset of the Pandemic due to COVID-19 required universities to quickly transfer face-to-face courses to the online learning environment. Many students found this new learning environment stressful and struggled to successfully complete course work. To identify factors that may have allowed students to succeed, a research study was conducted using a mixed methods design to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data with a focus on impact of the pandemic, impact of broadband access, perceived stress and persistence of students, and grit scores. The findings from this study may help guide future online course development.