9 minute read
Heroes of the Mount
THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC CHANGED LIFE FOR NEARLY EVERYONE. Thank you to all our Mount alumni, staff, faculty, administration, students and friends for providing essential care, supplies and services within your communities. If you delivered food, made masks, stayed at home, donated blood, prayed for peace, called a friend or cared for a family member—thank you.
health care workers first responders grocery store clerks gas station attendants postal employees delivery drivers auto mechanics essential workers You make us #MountProud and we salute you.
Heroes of the Mount
By Nicole Patterson
THROUGH THE MOUNT SAFE INITIATIVE, more than 100 faculty, administrators and staff have devoted thousands of hours to devising and implementing an excellent plan to reopen campus. President Timothy E. Trainor, Ph.D., and the entire Mount community will be forever grateful to these individuals for their tremendous efforts. Guided by five principles, with the health and safety of our community and student success at the forefront, we carefully and thoroughly prepared for Fall 2020—and were ready to deliver on our mission.
5 Guiding Principles
1 First and foremost is the health and safety of our community. No decisions will be made without first considering the health and safety of our community, informed by guidance from federal and state public health authorities.
2 We will emphasize student success as we fulfill our Mount mission to graduate ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and lead lives of significance in service to God and others.
3 We will be flexible in responding to the uncertainty caused by this pandemic, and we will continue responding with innovative solutions to tough problems.
4 We will treat our students and employees with respect, emphasizing empathy and compassion as they re-socialize physically into the Mount community as we know this pandemic has seriously impacted some in our community more than others. We are committed to helping our community members in keeping with the traditions of Catholic social justice.
5 We will steward our financial resources to ensure the university’s strength and stability for the long term. Our decisions must consider the future as well as the present so we are positioned to enjoy another 212 years.
Food Service
JAMIE EVERETT CATERING DIRECTOR FOR ARAMARK, 4 YEARS
THE MOUNT AND ITS FOOD SERVICE provider Aramark have reimagined dining services to provide more eateries as well as increased seating options to accommodate physical distancing. To limit contact, a reservation system through the TRANSACT Mobile Ordering app is used for meals in Patriot and Mount Café. Emmit’s Street Eats, a mobile food trailer, offers upscale lunch and dinner options. Students can also eat at outdoor tables and forthcoming four-seasons dining pavilion.
Designed the Mount Café renovation
Planned and monitored occupancy and density system in Patriot
Worked on tech integrations to build mobile ordering app
Prioritized research, compliance and innovation for touchless food service
Contact Tracers
Front row, left to right: Matthew Dechant, Assistant Athletic Trainer, 2 years, Anna Fagan, Assistant Athletic Trainer, 4 months, Rhonda Myers, IT Business Manager, 1.5 years, Kris Bernardo, Assistant Athletic Trainer, 2 years, Brent Johnson, Assistant Director of Residence Life, 2 years
THE MOUNT’S CONTACT TRACING TEAM includes student and employee volunteers who successfully completed a Johns Hopkins tracing course. Contact tracing can help prevent further transmission of the virus by quickly identifying and informing close contacts who may be infected or contagious—so they can take steps to stop the spread.
MATTHEW DECHANT ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER, 2 YEARS
“I wanted to help. We learned what a contract tracer does, what questions to ask and how you may be able to help them. Everyone will handle it differently but we learned how to handle it calmly, get them through each question and get the information you need.”
ANNA FAGAN ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER, 4 MONTHS
“I want to be part of the greater good that’s happening right now. It’s a hard situation for incoming freshmen. This is a whole new world and they have a whole new set of responsibilities. I try and make sure they're doing OK.”
The Mailroom
Left to right: Jean Rosensteel, Purchasing Mail Clerk, 7 years, Maria Topper, Purchasing Director, 43 years, Allen Miskel, Receiving Clerk, 15 years, Kenny Stonebraker, Warehouse Clerk, 7 years
STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO send and receive letters, care packages and election ballots. In August and September the mailroom safely distributed more than 7,800 packages to students who were happy to open everything from essentials like food and water to books, monitors and bed linens. Over the summer, the mailroom continued operation so administration could receive packages, use the print shop, send and pay bills and deliver timely communications.
MARIA TOPPER PURCHASING DIRECTOR, 43 YEARS
“Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles all send packages to their kids because they know they’re here until Thanksgiving. We helped several students who have their own businesses mail their products. We receive and mail out ballots every day and we did several COVID-19 mailings to students who received funds through the CARES Act.”
Sacred Spaces
Campus Ministry
Theresa Maag, Campus Ministry Coordinator, 2 years
BALTIMORE ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI has provided a dispensation for Masses are held in the Immaculate Conception Chapel or outside at the Terrace Plaza.
Executed an 18-point plan, in accordance with the Archdiocese of Baltimore, to reopen our chapels
Provided music for live stream Masses (from her home in Pennsylvania)
Organized Holy Hours outdoors so more people could attend
Managed health surveys for weddings at the IC Chapel
National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
Left to right: Marian Kortisses, Shoppe Clerk, Sister Peace, Visitor Relations Associate, Dawn Walsh, C'83, National Shrine Grotto Director, Sister Thalassa, Visitor Relations Associate, Keenan Aungst, MAT'18, Manager Gift Shoppe, Lisa Rush, Assistant Shoppe Manager, Mother Asterone, C'10, Cantor/Organist (Not photographed: Chris Coli, Operation Manager and Matthew Ma
Live streamed Masses to stay connected to pilgrims
Set up access points and counted visitors to manage safe social distancing
Sisters prayed the rosary, walked the Stations of the Cross with Fr. Ted and sang at all Masses
Communicated with patrons through emails and social media
Seminary
Jacob George, 2nd Theology Seminarian
Jacob organized and leads the "stream team": a group of seminarians who take care of all in-house streaming for seminary classes and events, allowing faculty to focus just on teaching. He is also a member of the Community of Grace, an association with the mission of evangelization, and has served in the communication office in his home diocese in the United Arab Emirates where he helped coordinate media for Pope Francis’ visit there in 2019.
Physical Plant
Front row, left to right: George Staley, 3 years, Magnolia Rivera, 5 years, Missy Hagan, 3 months, Sherry Vincion, 3.5 years, Sherry Cregger, 29 years, Kevin Fitzgerald, 37 years Back row, left to right: Shawn Redding, 1.5 years, Cory Reed, 4 years, Sandra Berry, 2 weeks, Sabrina Reaver, 3 years
CUSTODIAL STAFF HAVE BEEN VITAL during this time and were on campus while others were home during shelter in place. All classrooms and public areas are cleaned daily by our custodial staff in accordance with CDC guidelines and are being electrostatically disinfected with the EnviroShield® application system. Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed throughout all buildings. Plexiglass shields were installed in areas where physical distancing is not possible. In residence halls, shared bathrooms are cleaned daily using CDC guidelines. They also partnered with Information Technology Support Center and Center for Instructional Design and Delivery to construct and assemble 42 Zoom rooms on main campus.
Public Safety
Left to right: Lt. Brian Koenig, 17 years, Dispatcher Becky Andrew, 14 years, Captain Carol Mcintosh, 20 years, Officer John Kempisty, 6 years, Officer Steven C. Girard, 7 years
WHEN CAMPUS WAS CLOSED, lieutenants and officers were walking up to 10 miles a night patrolling the grounds. Currently, all community members and visitors are required to complete a daily temperature check and complete a daily health questionnaire to verify that they are permitted on campus. Off-campus visitors are not allowed in residence halls, and only family members are permitted on campus for visits.
Mount Athletics
Left to right: Winston Moore, C'24, Marleigh Beck, C'23, Quinton Mincey, C'24
CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE ARCC’S FACILITIES, operations, guidelines and procedures to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission within the ARCC as a result of participating in our programs and services. All changes were developed using the CDC guidelines, the “Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery” and the university’s Mount Safe Initiative.
Ethan Pham, C'21
Reservation-based system implemented for workout space and time through the App IMLeagues
Modified hours of operation and timed workouts
Required mask wearing at all times, including while exercising
Restricted use of the ARCC to the Mount community
Residence Life
Scott Kachmarik, Assistant Director, 1 year
A number of rooms are set aside as quarantine/isolation rooms to separate students who are exposed to and/ or contract COVID-19 from the student population. To reduce the density in the residence halls, no more than two students are housed per room. Masks are required to be worn in all hallways, classrooms, restrooms and common areas. All students signed the Mount Safe Pledge and committed to making choices to keep the Mount community safe and healthy.
Create and manage logistical plans for bringing students back to campus
Manage assignments and logistics of COVID-19 quarantine and isolation spaces
Safely transport students and their belongings in and out of quarantine/isolation rooms
Deliver essentials such as textbooks, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and mail
Around the clock checkins to assure wellbeing
Social Justice
Left to right: Caitlin Besche, C'20, MBA'22, Graduate Assistant in the Office of Social Justice, 3 months, Brendan Johnson, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry & Social Justice, 8 years
THE OFFICE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE provides students, faculty and staff the opportunity to put social justice education into action. By participating in local service experiences, participants are able to be agents of positive social change.
Coordinate meal selection and delivery seven days a week
Work with the Office of Residence Life and Dining Services to ensure confidentiality and safety
36 students volunteered to deliver meals to those in quarantine
Students delivered meals in pairs, 21 times per week
Wastewater Analysis
Left to right: Dhane Schmelyun, C'21, Will Wood, Environmental Health & Safety Officer/Lab Manager, 2.5 years
OUR WASTEWATER ANALYSIS PROGRAM aids us in identifying asymptomatic cases. Testing wastewater for the novel coronavirus’ genetic signature provides communities like ours a faster way to spot a possible increase in cases and potentially prevent a hotspot or outbreak.
"We test the residence hall wastewater twice a week; John Davis drives the samples to the lab. I'm thankful for Maryland Environmental Services and the Frederick County Health Department for their work. We have discovered cases we wouldn't have otherwise found— and had the opportunity to stop the spread."
Researched a non-invasive testing method and discovered possibility of wastewater testing
Forged partnership with Maryland Environmental Services—contractor for running wastewater treatment on campus
Performed walkthrough square-foot analysis across campus to determine safe social distancing protocols and reduce occupancy rates by nearly 50% in classrooms, common areas and academic buildings
Worked as a contact tracer and analyzed contact tracing data as related to wastewater sampling to pinpoint the potential development of cases and how that might show up in the wastewater.
Thank you to the Heroes of the Mount
Protecting the health of the Mount community will require a long-term effort and commitment, cooperation, teamwork and understanding from every member of the Mount community. Thank you for being part of the team and making us #MountProud.
Visit msmary.edu/mountsafe for more about the Mount’s COVID-19 response and compliance.
