Central’s Unsung Heroes

the quarantine and isolation process, and then the follow-up with active and new cases,” Kirkendoll said. “I think at this point, I have met everyone on campus, many times over.”

Though the longevity of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, students at Central can expect a continuation of the expert health care they’ve encountered from Kirkendoll and team thus far. Regularly scheduled surveillance testing will continue, students will be asked to adhere to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and all members of the campus community will continue to adjust to an ever-evolving “new normal.”

The late nights of questions from students and parents, contact tracing, meal delivery processing, and virtual student accommodations are only a fraction of the work that goes into keeping Central open. But without Kirkendoll, the current environment would be very different.

“We are not where we are today if she’s not here,” Dixon said. “Period.”

UNSUNG HEROES SOME OF CENTRAL’S

Schwellenbach Steps Up, Saves The Day When a crying mother found out her daughter’s roommate had tested positive for coronavirus, she was worried about her daughter entering the dorm room. She called Central Methodist University and expressed her worry. But the cleaning crew was occupied, and sanitizing the room wasn’t going to happen for several hours, until Jordan Schwellenbach stepped in. Jordan is CMU’s coordinator of residential life. He felt the mom’s pain, and he made the 9 p.m. entrance to plant operations and procured the special “robogun,” or Protexus sanitizing spray gun, and sanitized the room immediately.

The daughter was safer, and mom’s anxiety leveled off.

That is just one of the stories that demonstrates Jordan’s commitment to CMU and it’s students. His countless hours and middle-of-the-night texts and phone calls are truly appreciated.

Waner Gives Her All For Eagle School Four-year-old Henry Waner is so excited to see his mother at the end of each day. And, he tries his best to be patient when, after dinner and his bath, Mom ends up getting on the phone for the next couple of hours helping students at ‘The Eagle School.” Mom is Andrea Waner, and the “Eagle School” is Central Methodist University. Andrea’s day job is in the Advancement Office, but her past public health training and her Johns Hopkins contact training certification made her an ideal candidate to pitch in and help with contact tracing at Central. She was happy to help.

Central is one of just two schools in Missouri testing its students multiple times, and when the positive tests come back, Waner’s phone calls and emails begin. She tirelessly traces CMU students’ contacts and is the bearer of bad news when a student must be quarantined.

Her efforts to slow the spread and keep “The Eagle School” safe are invaluable.

Resident Hall Directors Keep Hustling One of the new sounds of Central is not necessarily pleasing, but it is welcome. It often happens around 8 a.m., then again at noon and 5 p.m. too. It’s the sound of a golf cart accelerating across campus. And, because of the pandemic, the trips are frequent.

The golf carts share the sidewalks with students and are driven by CMU’s honored resident hall directors – Nikole Walker, Rose Bennett, Marco Blanchard, Darren Jones, ’16, and Adrian Sias, ’19. They race carefully packed hot meals from the cafeteria to individual dorm rooms to serve students who are in quarantine.

Not only do the RHDs handle meal delivery, but they also have the honor of “moving” students who test positive to isolation facilities for recovery.

Frink Masterminds Meal Delivery When Central Methodist University created its plan to have in-person classes for the 2019-2020 year, feeding students – particularly those who are isolated/quarantined – required significant discussion. But, it also required some special people, like Cassie Frink, ‘11. She is one of the institution’s quarterbacks--a planner who takes charge and direct the troops when quarantine meals are delivered. Much happens behind the scenes before the RHDs drive the meals across campus. That’s where Cassie comes in.

She is the liaison with the cafeteria. The number of meal deliveries at Central changes almost hourly as students get out of or enter quarantine. Cassie coordinates not only the meal deliveries but the student and staff volunteers to help the RHDs.

Her “regular” CMU job is director of civic engagement, so coordinating the efforts of lots of people is what she does best. This new mom also managed to assemble an amazing CMU yearbook in her “spare” time.