COVID 19

What a surreal and inimaginable twist that this semester has taken. I would have never imagined that a coronavirus, of this magnitude and mystery, would be sweeping through, continent after continent, wreaking havoc on thousands of people’s lives. As I wake each morning, over these past couple weeks, I find myself taking longer to bask in the gentle morning sunlight coming through my curtains. As my eyes loosen to cat like slits in my face, and I’m greeted by puppy breath and the repetitive thud of a happily wagging dog tail. I have a moment of feeling like the world is whole again. But as more sunlight pulls my eyelids open, my mind realizes that the world waiting outside of my front door, is one where we need to Clorox every surface in a gesture of life and death diligence.

Each day that passes, since this virus entered the US borders, carries with it Presidential press conferences, new COVID tracking websites, and an onslaught of dismal facts every moment of the day on social media. We are being inundated with fact and fiction, orders and recommendations, urgency and stress. How do we defeat this thing that has turned our world upside down? Working at a large University makes you hyper aware of your surroundings. During a normal day, you are expected to know how to do the duties of your job, how to maneuver across campus and give those who are lost, viable instructions to one of many buildings across campus. You are expected to attend numerous meetings each day, and be safety aware, in the event of a shooter, a fire, and a tornado. But nowhere were we trained for this. We are suddenly thrust into a world here Clorox wipes are either sold out, or selling for $25 per package. Each morning starts with a diligent run of disinfectant across every door handle, stapler, public pen, desk surface, keyboard, xerox machine, sink faucet, cabinet doors, office doors, etc. The echoes of empty parking lots and buildings is an eerie sight to behold, and never in my 14 year history on campus, have I ever seen anything like this.

I feel fortunate that this academic program is online, which brings me a sense of comfort. This is one aspect of my life that isn’t suddenly changed. It also brings me a great sense of urgency, that there is a need for this training in the world and I want to be part of the solutions in our country’s’ future. Classes that were face to face, are now converting to an online format, and I believe that we’ve entered a threshold of a great transition in higher education courses. The opportunity for programs to discover new ways of teaching online forces change and evolution, and this has certainly pushed every one of us out of our comfort zones. I find myself seeking out innovative ways to transition how things were done, to how they could be done. This academic program is one area of my life that is currently bringing me excitement about the future, once we find post COVID-normal again.