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While Alisa Von Hagel , associate professor of political science, was quickly called upon to make a complete transition to online classes, she was able to strengthen the connection to her students and discover the joys of a four- year-old coworker. “Meeting remotely through Zoom opened a small window into the everyday realities of students’ lives, through such little things as seeing the cats and dogs, parents, grandparents, husbands and wives, or kids who would pass by on their screen every so often – and, at times giving a wave to us all! Further, the circumstances of the pandemic provided the opportunity to really learn more about each other – whether it’s a favorite sports team or someone’s major goals in life – and any necessary changes or delays to said goals. The students, in turn, also had a small window into my world, which is dominated by an energetic four-year-old – and his toys – and dogs. These quick moments, where we can see a different side of someone – no matter how superfluous to the class itself – was an incredible opportunity to connect and listen, which in turn, I believe, helped to generate greater patience, empathy, and compassion amongst us all.”
While word went out during spring break that classes would soon be transitioned to alternative delivery methods, that didn’t mean the work was done. With hundreds of students on campus, and many with nowhere else to go, the logistics kept growing. For Harry Anderson (’01, biology), dean of students, that meant many long days to ensure the safety of students and the campus. “First, I’d like to thank our students for their incredibly supportive response during the pandemic. Secondly, I’d like to thank our campus community for ensuring that our students and each other were taken care of. I’ve heard many stories of individuals going above and beyond to take care of our students, which is something that I know goes on everyday here at UW-Superior and makes me proud to be a Yellowjacket. Finally, I’d like to thank all those that quietly reached out and made sure that I had time to process what was happening around me. Honestly, to make sure that I was OK! There were several challenges that we all faced both personally and professionally, usually emerging in an instant. The outpouring of support is something for which I will forever be grateful.”
As COVID-19 spread across the United States, many universities benefited from the pause of spring break to finalize plans for alternative delivery. For Holden Law (’21 marketing major) this news found him hundreds of miles away from campus in a very unlikely location. “The day UWS canceled in-class instruction for the rest of the spring, I was sitting on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. My girlfriend’s mom looks over and says ’UWS just canceled in-class instruction for the rest of the spring semester.’ This was the last thing I would have thought was going to happen while in Mexico. The rest of the trip was extremely weird. We watched as major sports put a pause on their seasons and states started to close. It was definitely scary. Touching down at MSP airport that Sunday was a very big relief. I saw things taken away and watched family and friends lose jobs. I think this humbles you and makes you realize life is short and fragile. I hope we all learn a lot from this. It has definitely made me step out of my comfort zone and explore different mindsets. I am someone who never wants to take a break and would rather work than relax. This has made me slow down and really just take life a little slower.”
Haruka Hamanaka (’20 communicating arts major) was an international student from Japan at UWS in the last semester of her senior year when the pandemic took hold. A beloved and active member of the UW-Superior campus community, she was president of the World Student Association and a track and field athlete. Her senior year was abruptly interrupted when COVID-19 necessitated her immediate return to her home country to complete her studies online. “At first, it seems like I have lost more than I have gained because of this situation, but I’m beginning to realize that is not true. I am learning many important life lessons. I feel like I have already become more flexible, patient and kind, and am handling negative feelings much more effectively. All of this has been inspired by the people around me. I truly appreciate the sincere support I received from the international office, residence life staff and my professors when I learned I had to leave the campus. Despite the difficult circumstances, they were so caring, understanding and flexible. I realized the UWS community really cares for every single one of its students, no matter how difficult the situation.”
As the country and the world tried to keep pace with the changing challenges of COVID-19, every aspect of daily life was thrown into instability. This was especially true for Halle Kusterman (’21 transportation and logistics management and supply chain management major) from Lino Lakes, Minnesota. Kusterman was forced to quickly adapt to not only academic changes, but personal hardship. “The COVID-19 pandemic impacted me personally by completely changing the learning style and forcing me to learn to adapt to a fast-changing online learning environment. I am a hands-on learner and moving online with little time to prepare caused a great deal of stress. Over time I began to get the hang of online learning and set up a schedule to help keep myself on task. I will never forget these last few months. My life was turned upside down by this pandemic; my father lost his job, I was laid off temporarily, the quick transition to online learning and I didn’t leave my house for two months. These past months with the pandemic have caused trying times, but my family and I are doing well and that’s all I could ask for.”
As the pandemic expanded and advanced across the U.S. and world, it also brought waves of emotions. This was especially true for Maria Cuzzo , interim provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, who was directly involved with UW-Superior’s handling of the crisis. “My experience with COVID-19 has been one laced with both exhaustion and exhilaration. COVID-19 emergency response and planning consumes every bit of creative and problem-solving ability that the leaders of this campus have – hence the sense of exhaustion. At the same time, I’ve never been prouder to be part of UW-Superior because the members of this campus have stepped up to every challenge that we have faced and positively addressed them – hence the sense of exhilaration. Whether I look at the 95 percent of the fall instructors who engaged in a five-week intensive professional development training this summer to better prepare their courses, or the hundreds of hours of planning work done by the Chancellor’s Emergency Response Team and now the Chancellor’s Recovery Team, or the dozens of scenario plans required in every division of this campus to respond to COVID-19, or the can-do positive attitude of our students in adapting to a new world, my basic deep faith and confidence in the knowledge, skills, abilities and talent of UW-Superior students, faculty and staff has been fortified and affirmed every single day. There are real reasons why we are Superior, and we just proved every one of them by our conduct over the past few months. I’m so grateful.”
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