8 minute read
COEHD Through COVID
2020 was a momentous year full of tragedy and triumph. Professors and students from the College of Education and Human Development reflect back on the last year and discuss some of the challenges they faced, successes they made, and lessons they learned.
Stacy Speedlin Gonzalez is an assistant professor of practice of counseling and a graduate of UTSA. She earned her M.S. in 2010 and her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision in 2015. Speedlin Gonzalez teaches with the Department of Counseling and serves as the interim director of the Sarabia Family Counseling Center. Mark S. Giles is a professor with the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He has served UTSA for the last ten years and was formerly the director of the AAS program. The Cincinnati native enjoys the Texas weather and is active in UTSA campus life and highly engaged at the university. His number one priority is helping his students achieve success.
WHAT WAS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE WHEN THE PANDEMIC STARTED?
I recall the email on that Wednesday during spring break, when everyone else did, that we were not coming back and so of course my initial thought was, ‘Oh my God. I’ve never done anything virtually, I don’t know how we’re going to do this.’ I didn’t even know that Zoom existed at that point. So, with several days without sleep, staying up all night thinking about how to support the students and to assure them that we were going to get through this.
In my personal life, my wife, Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, actually was the first court to have someone come in who reported that they were exposed to COVID-19, so she had to lock her court down which meant we had to go home; we were actually quarantined before anyone else was quarantined, which was a very frightening thing at the time – all we knew was that people were dying of COVID-19 and so I didn’t know if we were going to go home and die. So, you know, aside from that, things were going okay academically; I continued to teach my classes, I continued to try to be available for my students.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE OVER THE LAST YEAR?
On a personal level I think it’s just checking in with family, being concerned and being at a disadvantage – you couldn’t visit people. You had to learn new ways to communicate and stay in touch. Worrying about things like getting a haircut or not; those kinds of things seem very silly or mundane, but those became issues.
On a professional level, I think there has been consistency because we all suffered through this together and I think the students have really helped me by staying focused and staying dedicated to doing well, continuing to pursue their degrees. That students see the value in getting their education, and that a pandemic was not going to stop them from achieving their goals is, to me, very inspiring. I shouldn’t have any complaints. If they can do what’s necessary, I can do what’s necessary. Angie Watts is a fifth-year doctoral student working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Originally from Reliance, TN, she currently works at UT Health San Antonio full-time, for one of the Ph.D. programs in biomedical science.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL WAS YOUR GREATEST SUCCESS IN THE LAST YEAR?
I finished up my classes in the spring of 2020 and then, over the course of the summer and last fall, I passed my qualifying exam, I advanced to candidacy, and I had my research proposal approved. Those were all huge steps towards my degree, so that felt like a huge accomplishment to be able to get those things done.
WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS THAT YOU FEEL YOU CAN DRAW FROM THESE SUCCESSES AND APPLY AS YOU GO FORWARD IN 2021?
I think I’ve definitely learned to give myself grace and to listen to body and my mind. Rather than just sitting and staring at your computer not getting anything done for hours on end, step away from it and give yourself a break and give yourself space to process all the things that are happening around you. I think that’s been the biggest lesson for me. I just kept trying to push myself because I felt the pressure to keep moving, and I had to learn to give myself space to process things.
As a transfer student to UTSA in the spring of 2020, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to step on campus, meet my fellow classmates, start conducting research, and begin forming connections with my professors. Of course, I didn’t end up making it onto campus. Instead, I was thrown into the world of online schooling and was forced to adapt and adjust my expectations of what graduate school would look like. Never setting foot on campus, not meeting any of my classmates face-to-face, and being unable to form those close personal connections with professors was incredibly difficult for me.
However, I wouldn’t be in a counseling program if not for my ability to be resilient and find the good in tough situations! By the time spring rolled around, I had completely adapted to this “online learning thing.” I made a commitment to never miss an online class, to always have my camera on, and to actively participate just as I would have in person. Through this experience, I do believe that I have come out stronger and more adaptable. I have learned just how much disconnection can drive and push us out of our comfort zones.
Although the remainder of my program will be entirely online, excluding my internship, I still feel that I will walk away from UTSA with many connections with classmates and professors, who have shown extraordinary commitment to making online learning feel more personal and have been transformative in my development as a future mental health professional. Through it all, I truly would not change my experience as a CMHC student at UTSA.
I think about the impact that COVID had on me in terms of all aspects of my being: mental, physical, and spiritual. When the pandemic started, I was in a stage of my life where I was tapping into a vision in of myself succeeding in my career. However, I was also going through a season of healing and hurt, and I felt lost. When told to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings, most people would go crazy – but I was already isolating myself from friends and family to an extent, wanting to dive deeper into my own being, with ample time for introspective expansion of my psyche.
I lost my job for a while. At the same time, I dove further into the psyche and the expression of the self through meditation practice, forest baths, and mixed media art projects. These were the outlets I clung to, to nurture my being and ensure my wellness through the pandemic. Although it was possibly the year that I felt most alone, it was also the year in which I felt most connected.
As the fall approached, I found myself aligning with the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program, and I realized it was going to be a brand-new educational experience, especially for someone that prefers hands-on, in-person learning. Taking classes through Zoom is tolerable, but I felt the lack of that authentic human connection we get through gathering on campus. Overall, I feel the CMHC program is a great place to be right now. I see the effects that this past year has had and will continue to have on the well-being of society, which I believe are crucial for the healing of the collective consciousness, and the generations to come. I am looking forward to the rest of my time in the program, hopefully actually being on and experiencing campus. Paz, amor, y salud always. YOLANDA (YOLI) SÁNCHEZ, 43 M.A. Bicultural Bilingual Education
I had started graduate school in the Fall 2019, so when COVID started I was barely in my second semester in school. I had chosen to attend in-person classes so that I could enhance my networking skills along with my new learning and – boom – we were quarantined. I am originally from the Valley, as was customary during Spring Break, I was heading back to visit family.
My greatest challenge was to keep me grounded and focused on my personal well-being. It was definitely a LEARNING year, but I think in a way my profession helped me to cope with the ever-changing vibe of this COVID year. From being a guiding beacon to my students and their parents switching into remote learning to being a virtual teacher and student to become a hybrid teacher all within that year and learning all the new ways to navigate that world, it sure places a huge responsibility and pressure on just one person.
My greatest success has been finishing my degree with flying colors, having a successful school year with minimal COVID struggles (just 1 student positive case and just 4 students quarantined), being named Distinguished Educator (Teacher of the Year) for Spring Meadows Elementary-Judson ISD and most definitely having my support system grow stronger while I was going through all of this.
One lesson I take is to always be assertive and vigilant about what life throws at you, that way you can learn how to navigate that situation with clarity and focus, but most of all with love and support.
