{"id":987,"date":"2020-03-25T10:09:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T14:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/notes\/?p=987"},"modified":"2021-04-12T16:37:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T16:37:19","slug":"how-im-coping-with-the-pandemic-and-how-can-i-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/2020\/03\/how-im-coping-with-the-pandemic-and-how-can-i-help\/","title":{"rendered":"How I&#8217;m coping with the pandemic &#8230; and how can the engagement team help?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The first time I cried was after I read that commencements across the VCCS had been canceled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second, more intense sobbing happened as I overheard my daughter&#8217;s teacher reading excerpts of &#8220;The BFG&#8221; during their first classroom Zoom session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waves of emotion continue to crash over me during my days at home &#8230;. fear, grief, rage, anxiety, gratitude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Exhaustion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will continue to cope with the upside-down world in our own ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One week into social distancing, and my husband&#8217;s major coping project is: Adopt a chihuahua puppy. (He&#8217;s chocolate brown, weighs 1.5 pounds, and we&#8217;ve named him Chewbacca, &#8220;Chewie&#8221; for short.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Introducing: Chewbacca!\" width=\"1150\" height=\"647\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IPh71gZbuPM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption> My husband&#8217;s major coping project is: Adopt a chihuahua puppy.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My way of coping is to read like a maniac. I spent about 20 years in newsrooms before working at Virginia Western, and my journalism roots are showing (also, my hair roots are starting to show, but whatevs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specifically, I&#8217;m reading about how the pandemic is impacting higher education. I scan the Chronicle of Higher Education, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Inside Higher Ed (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Inside Higher Ed<\/a>, and the AACC&#8217;s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Community College Daily (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ccdaily.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Community College Daily<\/a> on a regular basis. Education futurist <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Bryan Alexander (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/bryanalexander.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bryan Alexander<\/a> has been tracking the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and its higher ed implications for quite some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best bits I&#8217;ve learned so far comes from Tressie McMillan Cottom, an associate professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University. I&#8217;ve been following her work since I learned about her book &#8220;Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges&#8221; in a blog post by the same Bryan Alexander mentioned above. As the outbreak started to disrupt colleges an universities, Dr. Cottom looked at how New Orleans-area schools carried on in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and she noted one of the most important lessons: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Students relied heavily on their relationships with faculty and staff to help feel safe &#8230; and to learn about about college resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You probably knew that already &#8230; you&#8217;re probably experiencing that already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why it&#8217;s so important for everyone to review the resources listed on Virginia Western&#8217;s website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/covid19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/covid19<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m so impressed how quickly our colleagues at VWCC pulled this information together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bravo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also cope through comedy, and I&#8217;m so glad my family streamed <strong>&#8220;Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle&#8221;<\/strong> over the weekend. This is the sequel to the 1995 &#8220;Jumanji&#8221; of my childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - Official Trailer #2\" width=\"1150\" height=\"647\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v_TJKwJwN0E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 2017 version, a motley crew of teenagers find themselves trapped in a video game version of &#8220;Jumanji&#8221; &#8230; and jungle danger and hilarity ensue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the lesson about teamwork really hit home. The players use their individual strengths to overcome challenges &#8230; but they can&#8217;t exit the game until they work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I still wake up in the morning sometimes, hoping the last couple of weeks have been one big nightmare. Am I out of this horrible Jumanji pandemic game??? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we&#8217;re here together &#8230; and we&#8217;ll need to work together &#8230; remotely, almost like video game avatars &#8230; to get through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How are you coping? What do you need, as far as communications or information? Are you able to learn from your colleagues? What might help you do that better?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Campus Engagement Workgroup is here to help as much as we can. Our purpose is to enhance communication and knowledge sharing across VWCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please send any questions or suggestions along. I&#8217;d be happy to get some conversations happening in this space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My email is open: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"sseagle@virginiawestern.edu (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"mailto:sseagle@virginiawestern.edu\" target=\"_blank\">sseagle@virginiawestern.edu<\/a> &#8230; and I&#8217;m always up for a Zoom session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8212; Stephanie Ogilvie Seagle, March 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first time I cried was after I read that commencements across the VCCS had been canceled. The second, more intense sobbing happened as I overheard my daughter&#8217;s teacher reading excerpts of &#8220;The BFG&#8221; during their first classroom Zoom session. Waves of emotion continue to crash over me during my days at home &#8230;. fear,&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/2020\/03\/how-im-coping-with-the-pandemic-and-how-can-i-help\/\">Continue Reading<span> How I&#8217;m coping with the pandemic &#8230; and how can the engagement team help?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/author\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How I&#039;m coping with the pandemic ... and how can the engagement team help? 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