ONE YEAR AFTER COVID-19 CHANGED OUR

One Year of COVID-19: Reflections

In March of 2020, kids were thrilled when they found out spring break would last an extra couple of weeks, thanks to this new coronavirus that everyone was talking about. Twelve months have passed, and many kids have not stepped into a classroom since that day. For some of us, it’s been a year since we’ve eaten at a restaurant, hugged our parents or traveled on a plane. While the year-old COVID-19 pandemic may have exposed divisions in our society, in many ways, it’s also done the opposite. It’s shown us how creativity, compassion and a collective determination to do what’s best for our community can translate into an everyday heroism that allows us to overcome almost anything. We asked some community members to share their thoughts as we come up on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic.

MANNY LETO, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

AND COMMUNICATIONS, TAMPA BAY

HISTORY CENTER

One of the first “From the Collections” videos we produced was a 4-minute look at Tampa’s 19th-century Yellow Fever epidemic. Just a month earlier, on March 14, the History

Center closed to the public as Tampa faced another epidemic: COVID-19. A late-evening phone call with our CEO the night prior was followed by a statement issued to the media from my office. With that came the end of what was projected to be the History Center’s busiest year since 2009, when we opened to the public along Tampa’s almost-completed Riverwalk.

Like most museums, we pivoted quickly to online content. Our mission – “discovering, preserving and learning from our region’s past to inform our common future” – doesn’t stop at our front door (and doesn’t even require a front door, really), so video content replaced in-person lectures and field trips and our social media platforms and website replaced darkened galleries.

The History Center is home to nearly 100,000 artifacts, many of which you’ll likely never see – black and white photographs of buildings that no longer exist, maps to places where people no longer travel, uniforms worn in forgotten wars. Our “From the Collections” series is designed to feature some of these items, including one that has always caught my eye: A “health certificate” issued by Dr. John Wall in 1888. The now-faded and fragile document permitted its owner to travel into Tampa amid what would become one of the city’s deadliest outbreaks of the “Yellow Death.” The city was under quarantine, and many residents had packed up and headed for higher ground. Issued 132 years ago, this thin and brittle slip of paper felt heavy in our hands as we carefully placed it in front of the camera, adjusted the bright lights, and prepared to face our new reality. ADDISON DAVIS, SUPERINTENDENT, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On our one-year anniversary of COVID-19, I can openly say that I have grown so much as an educator, civil leader, husband and father. While I was shutting down 240-plus schools within my first week on the job and transitioning to remote learning, I didn’t know that in a parallel perspective, I would be redefining educational practices for many years to come. Without a doubt, COVID-19 has advanced our way of work and exacerbated the realities surrounding the intellectual, social, emotional and digital divide. However, I am blown away with the fluidity of how our students, teachers, support professionals, leaders, board members and families have reacted during unprecedented times. Our employees have been nothing less than heroic, working tirelessly to provide high quality educational experiences for every student, in every classroom, every day. Collectively, we built the airplane while it is in the air. I am so proud of our community for trusting Hillsborough County Public Schools with our most precious assets: our students. Together, we will “Accelerate Hillsborough.”

KATE WHITE, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS AT GLAZER CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

Like all cultural attractions, the Glazer Children’s Museum has been impacted by the pandemic. But as I reflect on the last year, I’m focused on the positive. I think of how our amazing staff has risen to meet the needs of our community. From creating engaging virtual content to developing our new Family Play Projects, this team has shown flexibility in the face of uncertainty. I also think of how the families we serve have grown and evolved. We’ve seen more caregiver engagement and more time spent playing together, which deepens family connections. Play provides respite and helps children cope with stress. Playing at GCM has given the children in our community a sense of normalcy during a tumultuous year. Most of all, I feel proud that we have been able to provide a clean, safe and fun place for kids to just be kids.

JOSEPH A. COUCEIRO,

PRESIDENT AND CEO,

ZOOTAMPA

We were no exception to the challenges of 2020, but our purpose did not waver—in fact, it became even more important! We stayed focused on our responsibilities as a leading zoological institution: to provide our community with a safe place for families to connect with one another and with nature; to protect and preserve wildlife; and to provide an unwavering level of care to the animals that call ZooTampa home.

After the closure, we reopened with a new “Get Wild Safely” plan and mindset. We remained focused on our mission, but with special precautions for the well-being of our employees, guests and animals to ensure that members of our community could experience the much-needed mental health benefits and comfort that being outdoors and connecting with nature provides. Despite the challenges, we learned and grew in 2020, and are proud of the perseverance our team demonstrated on behalf of our vision: to inspire everyone we touch to join us in taking action to protect and preserve wildlife. BABETTE BAILEY, MSN RN CCRN,

DIRECTOR OF PATIENT CARE

SERVICES AT ST. JOSEPH’S

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

I try to focus on the positive, even amidst the challenges the pandemic brought the world, our community and our hospitals. While this past year has been tough, I continue to be amazed at how our team members across BayCare have risen to the occasion. Each of us had to learn about a new and very contagious virus. From doctors and nurses to the many departments that support our front line, we’ve had to think outside the box as new hurdles came our way. We adapted and we learned, and we lifted each other up in times of uncertainty. It has been a tough road to travel at times, but the outpouring of support we’ve received from our community has been amazing to see. It’s brought me a new perspective on life—and brought our community closer. As we continue to be challenged by this pandemic, I am confident that we will get through it together.

ALICE C. SANTANA, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE STRAZ CENTER

It feels so weird to say that we are one year into this pandemic! Our lives at the Straz Center quickly changed when our theaters went dark to keep everyone safe. Looking back on this year, I am proud to say that we continued to keep the arts alive in new and unique ways through producing virtual content, hosting Patel Conservatory classes in hybrid settings and opening our outdoor Riverwalk Stage in a new socially distant way. I’ve also found a new appreciation for working from home, all while selfishly enjoying having my daughter e-learning here with me.