40 minute read
The pandemic
Dedication& perseverance
in trying times
In early April 2020, the Sandy Springs, Georgia, laboratory Ipsum Diagnostics announced it had developed its own coronavirus testing protocol and would have the capacity to process thousands of samples per day. When Ipsum started its FDA application, the sole approved protocol was for a system that could process fewer than 100 specimens at a time.
Leah Roberts ’08 had been working as a molecular diagnostic supervisor at Ipsum for about a year. “When Governor Kemp announced that Ipsum Diagnostics was going to partner with the Georgia Department of Public Health and provide testing for the state, we were a staff of fifteen and had been processing between 60-100 samples a day. We immediately started receiving around 400 samples daily - more than we had previously processed in a week.”
Leah was immediately thrust into the position of molecular diagnostics manager and led her team to develop, validate, and receive emergency use authorization and FDA clearance for performing COVID-19 testing. Her normal day-to-day tasks such as monitoring personnel, inventory, and testing quality grew on an exponential scale. Leah’s new position required validating all the new instrumentation and equipment needed to increase testing and working with the laboratory information system to develop not only paperless requisition forms to mitigate the potential of cross-contamination, but also a new barcode labeling system. The work environment went from a low volume reference lab to one of the most robust COVID-19 testing laboratories in Georgia. Labs across the country that use the same equipment began using Ipsum’s protocols to start their own processing.
Molecular biologists from independent labs in underserved areas were invited to Ipsum for on-site training and were provided the resources and supplies needed to validate and implement testing. This enabled rural communities to quickly expand testing capacity. Leah said that having worked alongside the laboratory staff and the executive team, she was most impressed with the dedication and commitment of the staff and owners at Ipsum to ensure that Georgia’s population received quality COVID-19 tests within 24 hours.
“I’m so proud of the fact that the company executives trusted and believed in me and gave me the opportunity to use my knowledge and skills to develop a COVID-19 laboratory developed test. As a result, Ipsum was the first lab in Georgia and the twelfth in the country to receive FDA emergency use authorization
by using a different testing platform to quadruple the amount of patient testing and provide same-day results.”
Leah said that laboratory professionals are not necessarily recognized under the umbrella of healthcare, but she thinks the pandemic raised an awareness of the vital role that laboratory testing plays in patient care and treatment. “Obstacles were everywhere, but we do what we do for the patients; they keep us on track. There is also a sacrifice that all frontline workers face. No matter how safe and protected we try to be, we must still come to terms with the possibility of exposure to an unknown virus.”
At the height of the pandemic we were processing 10k samples a day. To date, we have processed more than one million COVID-19 samples.
The disorienting effect of the whole thing
The pandemic continues to affect everyone in one way or another. We have had to adapt to new surroundings in supersonic mode and learn quickly. It wasn’t long before we started recognizing essential workers as heroes. Many of those workers will tell you they are not heroes, that they are just people doing their jobs. These people, who most of us would consider selfless, say they are in their careers to help people and to serve their communities, and that’s the driving force that sends them back to work every day to face the risk of being exposed to the virus.
All they want from us is to take the pandemic seriously, wear masks, get vaccinated, practice social distancing, and wash our hands frequently. Some say it’s our civic duty. All will tell you that denying the gravity of this situation and refusing to help stop the spread of the virus undermines the hard work and dedication of everyone who has sacrificed so much over the last year.
In the next several pages, you will read the personal accounts of just a few Wesleyan alumnae who serve in a variety of ways. Women in careers that are considered essential. We might describe them as brave, selfless, and heroic. They use words like frightened, stressed, aggrieved, exhausted, frustrated, terrified, and confused. These women, Wesleyan women, are ready to tell their stories.
HEALTHCARE
Nicole “Nikki” Dillard Lytle ’98
has been a physician’s assistant since June 2001. She loves her job. She says that her life has changed a lot in the last eighteen months but especially with regards to her career. Nikki works in the emergency room at Navicent Health Medical Center of Baldwin County in Milledgeville, GA, which truly is the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Having worked in the emergency room for a while now, I’ve become accustomed to death, but death from COVID-19 is different. It is ugly and it is very lonely. Nothing could have prepared us for the sheer number of deaths. There will likely be long-term effects akin to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for many front line workers.”
The pandemic prompted Nikki to further her efforts to make a career change that she’s been working toward for a while. Due to fears of the coronavirus, fewer people have been seeking care in the emergency room causing emergency rooms to cut provider hours to make up for their loss of revenue. Meanwhile, psychiatric providers have seen an increase in mental health issues as a result of the loss and isolation produced by the pandemic. Nikki’s plan has been to step into psychiatry closer to retirement, when she was ready to leave the fast-paced world of the ER. “I had already completed my master’s degree in developmental psychology in preparation for this goal. The cut in hours at the ER pushed me forward and that dream has now become a reality. Now I can devote much more time to metal awareness and health.” Nurse Practitioner Sarah Mannle ’00 works in the emergency department at Harris Regional Medical Center in Franklin, NC. The hospital is located in a very small rural mountain area that was sheltered from the first major COVID-19 surge until November. “This experience has brought about a lot of change within me. I have felt fear, stress, sadness, and gratitude on levels that I never have before. Early on, I was afraid to go to work. I was terrified of getting sick. I was scared I might carry the illness home and give it to my wife. On top of going to work, family and friends (wrongly) considered me to be an authority on COVID, so they were looking to me for answers and reassurances that I just didn’t have. I saw things at work I never thought I would see. For a while, whenever I walked into the hospital, I was told that one of my patients from the day before had died, sometimes more than one. I had to tell family members over the phone that their loved one probably wouldn’t make it and that they couldn’t come in to say goodbye. I watched all of this happening out in the world just like everyone else, but nothing can prepare you for how to deal with it and the level of sadness it brings until you’re just there. With all of these overwhelming negative experiences, I had to work really hard to find gratitude.”
As an inpatient staff pharmacist at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, GA, Brandy Morris Kirkwood ’01 has continued to work on-site since the beginning of the pandemic. When elective surgeries were cancelled to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) and people were avoiding going to the ER, everything slowed down. “At first we had one general medical floor dedicated to COVID-19 admissions but it grew to five, in addition to four medical intensive care units at the peak after the holidays. Our engineering department converted additional rooms on select floors to negative pressure isolation rooms so COVID-19 patients could be kept separate from non-COVID-19 patients. Then the surges started. We had to open an overflow ICU in the surgical recovery area to take care of non-COVID-19 medical ICU patients. At times we were dangerously close to running out of ventilators and IV pumps. In December and January our census reached a record high, and at one point, almost a third of our admissions were COVID-19 related. I have never seen the hospital so full or so busy. My coworkers and I had extreme workloads, but we were always able to get our jobs done and medications delivered to our patients. It was beyond stressful, but all of the departments really pulled together and got through the worst part as a team.”
Lisa Bridges Hines ’98 has worked at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for twenty-one years. For the last three-and-one-half years, she’s served as associate director for communications in the Division of Injury Prevention within the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Lisa participated in the agency’s COVID-19 response plan, spending two months last year working on communications for a vaccine tracking system and says she worked with an incredible group of people who moved mountains every single day.
In March 2020, Lisa and her team of thirteen planned a two-day telework trial. They haven’t been back to the office since. She said it’s been difficult to stay updated on all of the rapidly evolving information about the virus amid a new, entirely virtual work environment.
“I haven’t seen most of my teammates in person since last March (2020). My team is primarily comprised of communications specialists. We like to talk, work collaboratively, and interact with each other, so learning how to do that virtually has been challenging. I have two people working for me that I’ve never met in person as they were hired virtually during the pandemic.”
Lisa emphasizes the important behind-the-scenes work that thousands of people do - work that most people will never see. “I am most proud of the incredible dedication I see every day from my colleagues. There are thousands of employees who have been working fifty-, sixty-, seventy-hour weeks for months, some for more than a year. They have sacrificed time with their families and time for themselves in order to do their jobs.” On March 7, 2020, Pramisha Adhikari ’13 began working as a scientist at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in Spring House, PA. After one week of working on-site, the State of Pennsylvania went into lockdown. As a scientist, Pramisha works in research and development of therapeutic proteins for cancer and autoimmune diseases. “It was difficult as a new employee to get training and get things done. The majority of my work consists of daily interactions with colleagues and stakeholders within and outside of the company. Some of these interactions that could have been dealt with in simple hallway conversations have now converted to long email chains and multiple Zoom meetings.”
RESEARCH
EDUCATION
When shelter-in-place orders closed schools in March 2020, teachers from all levels of academia were required to move their classrooms online and teach virtually from their homes. With no preparation and very little training, many also faced scheduling time to help their own children participate in virtual classrooms.
Melinda Fitzgerald
Goggins ’07 serves the Bibb County School District as an academic coach at James H. Porter Elementary School. She says the hardest thing to adapt to was the speed at which things changed. “We went from working in a normal school environment five days a week to working remotely almost overnight. We didn’t have time to think through what our job roles would look like in a virtual setting or how an elementary school as a whole would function with everyone teaching and learning remotely.”
When school closed last March, Melinda and her colleagues thought it would be for a couple of weeks at the most. They did not see students faceto-face again until November. Some of the biggest changes, Melinda says, happened with technology. An online learning management system was implemented where students can access instructional materials, whether they are attending school virtually or face-to-face. “School looks very different than it used to. So much depends on what is happening with COVID-19 in the community. We have learned to make peace with the fact that things can change quickly and what we are planning may have to be adjusted based on circumstances that are outside of our control.”
Head of Middle School at Stratford Academy in Macon, Jennifer Monjeau Sweat ’93 is proud of how flexible her teachers have been. On Friday, March 13, 2020, Stratford decided to close at noon the following Monday, March 16. At that point, the thought was that the school would close for two weeks, have spring break, and then return to campus afterward. Of course, like most other schools, Stratford’s campus remained closed until the end of the academic year, and teachers and administration spent the summer speculating unknowns and adapting to new procedures and policies.
This year, Stratford families were given the choice between on-campus/in-person or virtual learning, so teachers were expected to maintain a physical/ traditional classroom as well as online classes. “It’s been a rough year, and we’ve asked a great deal of our teachers. They are exhausted both mentally and physically.”
Becky Wysong Sessions ’77 serves as head of school for Woodfield Academy, Middle Georgia’s only private school with a mission to educate students with learning differences. As the academic year moved through the spring of 2020, Woodfield did not have the choice to stay open due to the mandate. Administrators were extremely concerned that they were not coming close to meeting their students’ needs through a cobbled-together distance learning process.
“Our students are more at risk for learning loss, depression, and anxiety. Distance learning does not offer the experiential learning opportunities that in-person schooling offers.” Applying the advantage of being a nature-smart school, teachers completely rearranged their daily routines to use outdoor spaces including tents and camp chairs for student instruction. The inherent flexibility of Woodfield’s operations enabled them to create a student pod arrangement, where a group (pod) of students remained with one teacher all day instead of every student visiting numerous teachers throughout the day. The pods do not come in contact with one another, and teachers cannot go from pod to pod. Becky is proud and says because of these successes, Woodfield remained open the entire year. The school is considering continuing a pod-like arrangement and will continue using outdoor learning options and green spaces.
Anyone who knows Wesleyan Associate Professor of Education Virginia Bowman Wilcox ’90 knows she’s a people-person. If you need a hug or an
encouraging word, contact Virginia. She is proud of the way Wesleyan’s education department worked together to facilitate virtual sessions that embed engaging practices and models on how to teach virtually instead of using worksheets and videos, but she says the new environment has taken its toll. “Professionally I have struggled to balance working from home with my health, both mental and physical. Finding the motivation has been hard as I need to be around people to feel energy and to be productive. I have discovered some fabulous new tech tools and feel like I have constructed some great virtual lessons and classes, but it’s just not the same.”
Virginia says that many of her students are second-guessing their majors because this type of virtual teaching is not what they envisioned doing as a full-time job. A lot of class time is spent processing emotions. “The remorse and grief students have experienced is real and it is heartbreaking to watch, both as a professor and as a parent.”
In her eighth year of teaching at Wesleyan, Associate Professor of Music Chenny Gan ’02 says the uncertainty, the unknowns, and learning in which direction to put her energy and time were the hardest things to adapt to when the pandemic hit last March. “We pivoted quickly to remote and hybrid learning, and we continue to work much less from campus and much more from home.” Now, more than a year later, she worries about how young people’s mental health has been negatively affected by this pandemic.
TRAVEL
Kristin Conley Lamble ’96 has served as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines for twentyfour years and says the sudden cessation of work, almost overnight, was a tough adjustment. “The realization that things, the world, the ease of travel, and my personal travel routine would possibly never be the same has been difficult. I went from flying to Europe three to four times a month on fully-loaded airplanes to no travel at all. As a flight crew, we are always looking/planning ahead. When all of those things stopped, it made me look at what I had in front of me in an entirely different light.”
Kristin explains that the airline industry, like many other businesses, is cyclical. There are ups and downs, mergers and acquisitions, and other things that can’t be controlled like oil prices, travel demand fluctuations, and terrorism. Kristin says she’s been blessed to have met and flown with countless people over the years who experienced all of these things. During the pandemic Kristin and many of her coworkers have taken voluntary severance, furloughs, and job share programs to help prevent involuntary furloughs of the most junior people in her workforce.
“After 9/11, I was in danger of being furloughed multiple times during the industry’s recovery. I was a newlywed living in a new city and state, away from home, learning to adjust to flying out of a new base and airport. The stress and uncertainty was enormous as the industry had been rocked to its knees and our country was hurting. So many flight attendants with more seniority than me took the options presented at that time, and I was able to continue working. I find it an honor and a privilege to take a voluntary furlough to ‘pay it forward’ to the next generation of fight attendants.”
After a year of unprecedented, disorienting experiences; a year of isolation from family, family lockdowns,
and homeschooling; a year of fear, anxiety, overload, exhaustion, guilt, loneliness, and burnout, these extraordinary Wesleyan Woman still find things for which to be thankful. Each one of them expressed the pride they share in working to get through these tumultuous times with colleagues who pulled together to develop crisis plans, and who continue to be dedicated to serving the needs of others. They even found ways to celebrate and try new things. Nikki and her family have taken up gardening and are raising a bunny. Lisa learned to bake bread. Chenny is cooking more, and Kristin’s family got a dog. They share many of the same reflections: life is precious and should be enjoyed every day. What are they looking forward to the most in the coming months? Hugs, seeing people’s faces, live music, travel, family gatherings, eating in restaurants, going to church, and Alumnae Weekend.
A TIMELINE OF WESLEYAN’S
RESPONSE PLAN
FEBRUARY 28
Provost Melody Blake called a meeting of key staff members to discuss the potential effect of the coronavirus on the College.
2020
MARCH 4
Provost Blake to Wesleyan administration:“In our faculty meeting we discussed telling students to take their course materials home over spring break, on the slim chance that the pandemic accelerates and we don’t reopen after the break.”
MARCH 6
First meeting of Wesleyan’s COVID-19 Taskforce. The team began developing a contingency plan for the remainder of the semester to include prevention, a shutdown with active cases, a shutdown with no active cases.
MARCH 2
President Fowler emailed the Wesleyan community: “On February 25, the CDC alerted Americans to begin preparing for the spread of coronavirus saying it’s not clear when it will arrive or how severe an outbreak could become… Currently, there are no known cases in the State of Georgia; however, the CDC expects the number of cases in the U.S. to rise… Based on the science and data reported thus far, we believe COVID-19 should be taken seriously.” Wesleyan is committed to following safety guidelines set forth by the CDC for the duration of the pandemic.
MARCH 5 MARCH 12
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Alumnae Weekend declared a public health was postponed emergency for the state. until September. The following day President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. MARCH 12 President Fowler emailed the Wesleyan community: “Effective immediately, Wesleyan will extend spring break for all students and cancel all in-person class meetings and College-sponsored activities until Sunday, March 22, 2020. We will take next week to prepare for how to continue the semester after that week, whether in person or remotely.”
Against the background of an unprecedented year when the world’s population faced a major health crisis never experienced in our lifetime, the Wesleyan community enforced a response plan to keep the College open and our constituents safe. Making the best of a dreadful situation, a teaching and learning environment was created to provide support for everyone on campus.
Students have exhibited maturity and demonstrated their willingness to keep one another and their community safe by adhering to guidelines set forth by the CDC and adopted by their College. Staff and faculty worked quickly to revamp the ways their departments operated. As a result, we made it through eighteen months with only fifty-two positive cases of COVID-19. Based on a population of more than 800 students, faculty, and staff who come through the campus regularly, that’s a six percent rate of infection, which is less than one third of the infection rate locally.
We are proud and we are tired. Follow the timeline below to see how quickly and thoroughly we worked to Protect the Pack.
MARCH 13
USA South Athletic Conference announced all remaining regular season sporting events were cancelled.
MARCH 26
President Fowler emailed the Wesleyan community: “Wesleyan College will continue with remote instruction through the end of the spring semester.” Approximately 75 students remained on campus, including international students. May commencement ceremonies were postponed.
MAY 15
With anticipation of celebrating commencement in August, every graduating senior was mailed a gift box that contained a Wesleyan tote bag, a Candlelighting candle, a Senior Toast champagne flute, and a letter from the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association.
MARCH 16
Governor Kemp ordered the closure of public schools, colleges, and universities through the end of March.
MARCH 17
President Fowler emailed the Wesleyan community: “Beginning March 23 until further notice, student instruction will continue remotely with hopes of returning to normal operations beginning in April.” Staff was deployed to work from home.
APRIL 24
Honors and Awards Ceremony was held virtually.
MAY 14
Senior Toast was held virtually.
MAY 16
President Fowler informed the Wesleyan campus about the new Protect the Pack protocol.
JUNE 10
Alumnae Weekend 2020 was postponed until April 2021.
JUNE – SEPTEMBER
President Fowler announced (June 17) that plans were being made to return to in-person instruction on campus in August, that residence halls would be open for fall semester 2020, and that instruction and exams would take place remotely after November 20.
The COVID-19 task force continued to meet weekly, then biweekly through the end of the semester, and continues to meet monthly.
Students, faculty, and staff were asked to sign the WolfPack Pledge to protect themselves, others, and the Wesleyan Community.
Signs, banners, and flyers were displayed around campus to encourage safe behaviors including wearing masks, social distancing, and not entering a building if ill.
Stand-up digital thermometers were placed at the entrance of each building.
Hand sanitizing stations were installed around campus and sanitizing spray and paper towels were placed in classrooms, lounges, and other common spaces.
Classroom furniture was moved to ensure social distancing of six feet.
Meeting Owl Pro technology was purchased to provide a hybrid-learning environment for students who couldn’t come to class.
A hybrid model for teaching and learning was created.
COVID-19 rapid tests were purchased for on-campus testing.
Alumnae volunteers made more than 1400 masks for students, faculty, and staff at the beginning of the academic year.
193 tests were administered through the Health Services Office from August 2020 through May 2021, with 76 of those administered in August and September.
STUDENTS ARRIVE BACK ON CAMPUS
Move-In Day (August 14) for new students was held with additional COVID-19 safety protocols in place. These included limiting students to one guest, taking temperatures upon entry to campus, spreading out the move-in times to ensure social distancing, requiring masks, and enhanced cleaning processes.
JULY 14
The August 7-8 in-person graduation ceremonies were canceled.
JULY 14
USA South Atlantic Conference announced that fall 2020 seasons were postponed until spring 2021.
AUGUST 8
2020 graduation ceremonies were held virtually.
DECEMBER 4
USA South Athletic Conference confirmed that postponed fall sports would be played within the spring semester.
NOVEMBER 20
Campus instruction concluded. Instruction for the final week of classes and exams were done virtually.
IF A STUDENT TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
Residential students testing positive for COVID-19 had the option to go home or to stay on campus in our isolation space on the first floor of Jones Hall. Quarantined students could go home or remain in their rooms on campus. The quarantine period was 14 days for fall semester, but was reduced to 10 days in the spring.
ServPro came to campus the same day to sanitize the student’s room.
Notification of the positive test was sent to each faculty member teaching that student.
Metz Culinary Management was notified so that meals could be provided to students in isolation and in quarantine.
Every day, continental style breakfasts and hot lunches and dinners were hand-delivered by staff volunteers from across campus. Students were supplied with necessary items including trash bags, toilet paper, medications, and other personal items.
A local laundry service was contracted when a student didn’t have enough clean clothing for the quarantine period.
The Lane Center for Service and Leadership spearheaded a “Quarantine Kit” initiative where volunteers purchased items that would be entertaining for quarantined students.
JANUARY 19
Students returned to campus. Instruction continued to be a combination of virtual and in-person learning.
During spring semester, 5 NCAA sports and the equestrian team were approved to compete.
2021
FEBRUARY 25
The USA South Athletic Conference announced a sport spectator policy.
MAY 12
Residence halls closed for the summer.
MAY 14
Marker & Baccalaureate ceremonies held in-person on campus.
JANUARY 15
Alumnae Weekend celebrations for the 2020 and 2021 reunion classes were both rescheduled to coincide with the 2022 celebration to be held April 21-24.
FEBRUARY 1
Wesleyan’s nursing department administered vaccinations during the first of eight COVID-19 clinics on campus. (February 9, March 4 and 18, April 5, 12, and 19, May 5)
APRIL 17
Candlelighting Ceremony held in-person.
APRIL 21
Honors and Awards Ceremony held in-person on campus. Senior Toast held in-person at Bradley House.
MAY 15
Commencement ceremonies held in-person, outside on the quad.
BEHIND THE SCENES
No doubt about it, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been life-changing for all of us. Throughout the pandemic, and even today, we see countless stories about heroes; those working on the front lines sacrificing their own health and safety to help others. But there are many other workers who are often unsung heroes. Those who work behind the scenes to make a digital world possible are some of the countless others who rarely get the recognition they deserve.
It’s safe to say most of us were ill-prepared for the pandemic. At Wesleyan, we were fortunate. Faculty, staff, and students were able to turn on a dime, transitioning from course schedules that were largely (95%) held in person on campus to having all courses taught online in a matter of days. We were able to do that because of our unsung heroes, Wesleyan’s Computer Information Resources (CIR) team. Thank you Sergey Chernokov, Russell Davis, Jan Giles Tedders ’08, John Thompson, and Kevin Ulshafer for all you have done, even before the pandemic, to make our jobs easier.
Typically working 60-plus-hour weeks just to keep up with the enormous demand put on them, these staff members were responsible for researching, purchasing, creating, installing, and learning all of the technology we needed to keep the College functioning, which included training approximately 150 employees and 700 students, an incredible feat for just five people. The details are staggering.
As we transitioned, faculty began uploading their syllabi to Canvas, the already-in-place learning management system used by the College. Faculty was familiar with the system from limited prior use, but needed immediate training on how to build classes online and the techniques required for taking and proctoring online quizzes, facilitating class discussion, and sharing documents.
Not surprisingly, most faculty and many students did not have speakers, a web camera, or a microphone on their computers, so IT placed an order with expedited shipping to get
them on campus and installed before the start of classes, which commenced after an extended spring break. “First we had to find out from every faculty member if they had a home computer that would support their needs, including the internet connection speed they were accustomed to, or if they would be taking their office computer home. If not, the College was to provide a laptop, which we didn’t have at the time. So we placed a quick order and rushed to configure the laptops once they arrived. This all happened within a matter of days,” said Systems Administrator Jan Tedders.
On March 17, 2020, staff was deployed to work remotely. Most did not have a computer at home that had the software needed to perform their jobs or to access to the College’s campus network software. Like faculty, many did not have speakers, cameras, or microphones on their computers. Some opted to take their office computers home. Everyone else was provided a laptop that, again, had to be ordered and configured. The CIR team ordered additional Virtual Private Network (VPN) licenses to enable staff to connect securely to campus networks, and then performed the installation and training. Additionally, almost every faculty and staff member had to have telephone calls to their Wesleyan number forwarded to a home or cell number. Guess who did the training.
And then there was Zoom - an application used for video conferencing meetings and classes. In addition to requiring those speakers, webcams, and microphones many didn’t have, Zoom also requires installation and training. Jan explained, “We only had twenty Zoom licenses but each faculty member and most staff members needed one. We deployed 125 additional licenses in one week. We also established space to store Zoom classroom recordings for students who were in quarantine and could not attend class.” “I could not be prouder of the faculty, staff, and students at Wesleyan College. They jumped in, learned the new technology and were patient when things didn’t go as planned. Their willingness to learn new technology and embrace the changes we were forced to make made my job so much easier. The pandemic pushed many in our community to learn things that some never thought possible. As a result, they are more techsavvy and more confident in their abilities to learn new technology. I love that! It is the computer geek in me. This was definitely a group effort by everyone involved.”
– Jan Giles Tedders ’08
All this within two weeks of the original shelterat-home mandate.
Through all of the disorientation, confusion, panic, and frustration, and the reality that literally every event, meeting, and recruiting effort had to be conducted virtually, the CIR team was steadfast in their efforts to make every single thing work. Starting with Honors Day in April, moving through the nursing department pinning and white coat ceremonies, baccalaureate service, candlelighting, senior toast, and commencement (planned for May but held in August), not to mention campus visits, recruiting efforts, and board of trustee meetings – in fact, all meetings – it was up to CIR to figure out how to Zoom and stream all of it to ensure students, families, and trustees continued to feel involved and connected to the College. Jan said, “We didn’t want anyone to miss out on these once-in-a-lifetime experiences even if they couldn’t participate in person. It was hard and took a lot of coordination. I was so stressed during these events because the process was all new to me. I was learning at the same time we were setting everything up. I didn’t want anyone’s experience to be ruined by technical issues. I think I’m a certified Zoom expert now, if there is such a thing!”
With spring semester 2020 complete, what was left of everyone’s energy turned to the fall semester. There were still many unknowns about the virus, its spread, and safety precautions. Each day it seemed more unlikely that students would return to “Wesleyan as usual” in August. Because students would need to be socially distanced, certain classrooms could no longer be used and larger spaces never intended to be classrooms were set up to serve as such. This required the installation of new technology with each room having different needs. Meeting Owl Pro technology was purchased to provide a hybrid learning environment for students who couldn’t come to class. In addition to training themselves and every faculty member to use the technology, CIR also installed power cords and connection cords along the floors enabling each Owl to be placed on a tripod in the center of the room, and saw that cabinets were installed to store each Owls when not in use.
Jan said, “I am extremely proud of our accomplishments over the last year. There were times when I was completely overwhelmed. We spent endless hours learning new software, training faculty, staff, students, and coming up with innovative ways to make things happen for the Wesleyan community. It seemed like an impossible task to convert the campus to completely online, but we did it!” For her extraordinary efforts during spring semester combined with her dedicated twenty years of service to Wesleyan College, Jan earned a 2020 Presidential Staff Award. The award is based on a high level of service, dedication, conscientiousness, and caring above and beyond normal expectations; an extraordinarily positive attitude toward work responsibilities and co-workers; professionalism, integrity, respect for others, and the traits of a positive role model; creativity, initiative, and innovation; and a commitment to excellence.
Wesleyan’s ultimate “chill” room
The Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s spiritual leader, says “the mind is definitely something that can be transformed, and meditation is a means to transform it.” Recent neuroscience research seems to support this, showing that meditation can actually make physical changes in the brain and alter its functioning, resulting in positive effects, including increased focus and concentration, enhanced well-being and emotional management, and decreased depression, stress, and anxiety.
With this in mind, Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Steven Haberlin created Wesleyan’s Meditation Space, located on the third floor of the Olive Swann Porter building. This space is designed to provide a supportive and nurturing environment for students, staff, and faculty to engage in quiet time, contemplation, reflection, and meditation. Having a space dedicated to self-management, renewal, and wellness, enhances the campus experience for everyone. “Observing the high levels of stress and anxiety our students experience, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, I really wanted to create a space where they could go between classes or during free time just to relax, decompress, and clear their heads…a mental refuge of sorts.”
The space was completely renovated this spring and painted in new, soothing shades of sea foam green and white. Natural elements such as a small, working Zen fountain, calming lighting, Zen rocks, and inspirational painted rocks were added. At the center of the room, between the two windows, hangs a heart formed by two hands to symbolize compassion and love. The room is filled with Zabutons and Zafus—meditative cushions, which are disinfected regularly. On the room’s bulletin board are QR codes featuring guided meditations from renowned contemplative teachers. To make the room “pop” from the outside, the door is painted Wesleyan purple. Hanging near the door is a large photograph of the late Dr. Patrick Pritchard, to whom the space is dedicated.
Haberlin plans to use the space for his general education course, EDS 116: Mindfulness & Learning. Inperson meditation workshops will begin again this fall. The room will be available Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm for individual use. For more information, contact Dr. Haberlin at shaberlin@wesleyancollege.edu. “Observing the high levels of stress and anxiety our students experience, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, I really wanted to create a space where they could go between classes or during free time just to relax, decompress, and clear their heads… a mental refuge of sorts.”
WORKING TO SUPPORT STUDENTS THROUGH COVID-19
The pandemic has been challenging for students all over the world with reports showing significant increases in rates of depression. According to Wesleyan’s Office of Disability and Advocacy Services (ODAS) Director Jill Amos ’87, recent survey data is alarming. Research from the Healthy Minds Network for Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health indicates that eighty-three percent of students have stated their mental health has negatively impacted their academic performance, a major increase from what has been reported in the past. Among American students, ninety-one percent reported their stress and anxiety had increased, thirty percent said they’d sought help for mental health, twenty-six percent reported considering suicide, twelve percent said they had self-harmed, and five percent said they had attempted suicide.
While two-thirds of college students surveyed at various institutions reported struggling with loneliness and feelings of isolation, Wesleyan students are also struggling with issues such as anxiety, depression, stress, and panic attacks. Many of these symptoms have been exacerbated as students struggle with adapting to new social environments, identifying future careers, and worrying about finances. Adding to this are the many hours spent in front of computer screens and smart phones in hybrid classes rather than being in person among their classmates and professors.
To combat this, Student Counseling Services (SCS), led by Counselor Myrana Craig, offered virtual and in-person counseling sessions to all students throughout the year. Quarantined students were asked to schedule counseling sessions frequently throughout their quarantine period, and Jill and Myrana were able to reach them virtually, whether they were quarantined on campus or in their homes off campus. They addressed feelings of isolation, ways to maintain mental and emotional health, and how to manage the stress of online classes. Once out of quarantine, students were encouraged to continue counseling sessions to address the stress of transitioning back into campus life.
In addition to these efforts, Myrana said, “I partnered with Resident Advisor Tajah Haywood ’22 to host Counseling Services’ Virtual Charades. It was such a success that I held a second Virtual Charades with a group of quarantined first-year students. The great thing about Virtual Charades was that it was a distraction from their feelings of isolation as students were able to meet and ‘hang out’ with other students. At the end of each event we offered coping strategies.”
ODAS has worked to meet not only students’ disability and psychological needs but also their academic needs through the student support team for at-risk students. Additional accommodations have been put in place on-and off-campus for students with immunocompromised conditions to meet specific needs of students who were quarantined or in isolation.
Jill explained that the pandemic has caused increased feelings of uncertainty and unknowing creating an invisible and ongoing state of prolonged stress and exhaustion. This is even more difficult for high-achieving students since they cannot find resolution, further propelling feelings of hopelessness. This type of ambiguous loss can cause the same feelings experienced when going through the stages of grief.
She said, “In working with students individually and through workshops, I have focused on the concept of ‘surge capacity’ and how students have been depleted of energy, both mentally and physically. Surge capacity is a set of collective capacities we all draw upon for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations. Even if rebuilding takes a while, there is a visual element of transformation and regrowth on the horizon. The pandemic has demonstrated our limitations to these adaptive capacities. In order to move forward, from an urgent phase, we must see renewal. We have not had this with COVID-19 due to its chronic nature. This has led to an anxiety-tainted, depressed state many of us find difficult to overcome. The ‘new normal’ term we have all used, is basically a state of undefined uncertainty.”
Myrana agrees. “This year was filled with so much loss from so many areas of life. Several students lost parents, siblings, and grandparents. Everyone has been affected by the pandemic. Many struggled through a tense presidential election. We have grieved, and continue to grieve over racial tension and unfairness, protests, and riots. I was able to provide grief counseling for many to help them manage their grief as well as to find new meaning for their lives.”
In February, SCS created Social Circle, a weekly group therapy session conducted via Zoom. Through seven group therapy sessions, students connected to talk about anything on their minds. They were given weekly social anxiety homework challenges. Social Circle was well received by all who participated.
ODAS held a series of self-care workshops titled “Self-Care Isn’t Selfish” that focused on grit, growth, mindset, and resiliency. In April, a full week was devoted to developing a “Culture of CARE” (Community, Accountability, Respect, and Engagement). Tonya Parker ’01 in the office of equity and inclusion and ODAS partnered for “I Care” and “Pay it Forward” days. This included students making it a priority to speak kind words and also writing notes of encouragement and packing care bags for the women living in the Crisis Line Safe House of Middle Georgia shelter.
“While there is still work to do, much meaningful and deliberate work has been done by Wesleyan faculty and staff to identify student needs. This is the beauty of Wesleyan and her people. We are a community of CARE every week of every year that focuses on helping our students grow and thrive, even in the midst of a global pandemic,” said Jill.
Myrana added, “I believe this year has changed us all forever. We have to work to find new meaning. We all lost something. But I also believe that we learned how resilient we are. As a mental health professional, I expect that over the next year student counseling services will have higher rates of students managing grief, depression, PTSD, family violence, and anxiety.”
Special thanks to Jill Amos and Myrana Craig for contributing to this story.
Nursing Education during a Pandemic
by Sirena S. Fritz, director of the nursing program and associate professor of nursing, and Dr. Dee Tanner, associate professor of nursing
The past year has been celebrated as “the year of the nurse,” but nursing education faced unprecedented challenges during the global pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis affected not only nurses on the front lines in acute care, but also nursing students who faced intense changes in their education. In March 2020, Wesleyan’s administration had no choice but to rethink the educational landscape of the College for the remainder of the semester. Out of an abundance of caution for their health and well-being, and to be in compliance with quarantine measures, nursing students were removed from the clinical setting in hospitals, and like all campus instruction, classes suddenly shifted from in-person to virtual. Even as they adapted to a new learning environment halfway through their final semester, nursing students were mostly concerned that they would be delayed in graduating at a time in history when nurses were needed the most.
Determined to continue providing quality educational experiences in a new virtual format, faculty had one week to come up with a plan. Although the classroom and clinicals looked different than before, teaching methods to prepare these future
Our nursing students have been blessed to see the impact that registered nurses can make in client care and in the healthcare community. The 2020 and 2021 graduates began their careers knowing they are making a real difference in defeating this pandemic.
nurses remained the same. Faculty held didactic classes in virtual classrooms which allowed students to participate in lecture and discussion in a user-friendly format. To ensure they maintained critical clinical competencies, students cared for virtual clients with a multitude of health issues. Certainly the human interactions experienced in a hospital cannot be replaced, but small group discussions about client scenarios were implemented to allow students to apply what they learned in class to identify and prioritize nursing interventions and provide supporting evidence. Faculty encouraged students to learn from one another, thoughtfully reflect on their decisions, and consider what they might do differently next time. Having fewer clinical hours in acute care allowed time for these valuable and thoughtful reflections that would not usually be possible in a busy hospital setting.
As the pandemic continues, so does the negative impact on the mental health of nursing students. Students have responded with grace and dignity, but many have expressed feelings of fear, increased stress, anxiety, difficulty focusing, and even grief and loss. Like all of us, they have experienced disruptions in their personal and professional lives including being isolated from friends, family, and classmates.
After months of being reactive to a global health crisis, the nursing faculty and students were finally able to start being proactive by helping the College community move toward a path of normalcy. Between February 1 and May 8, eight vaccine clinics were held on campus, and more than 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered to Wesleyan faculty, staff, and students. The nursing department staffed the clinics, but many people across campus contributed to their success. From the biology department sharing one of its freezers to store the vaccine, to staff members from other departments assisting with check-ins on vaccine day, it was a team effort.
We offer a special thank you to CIR Application Support Specialist Sergey Chernokov who worked quickly behind the scenes to build a reservation system for scheduling vaccine appointments. This allowed the nursing department to accurately plan and prepare the correct number of doses for each day.
