Faculty and staff: this one’s for you. 

You all have done impeccably well transitioning to all online courses, especially in a matter of weeks instead of a few months. You deserve all the praise and credit for everything you have done so that we students can continue our education from off-campus locations. 

Before I continue, I am going to tell a little story about my chemistry professor, Dr. Appy: 

At the beginning of our first online lecture, I could not have laughed harder. I replayed the first 30 seconds of the video probably four or five times. Here’s what went down:

“Well, we’re back. I hope your spring break was better than mine was. I spent a lot of time fumbling and failing with technology, and […] I would call myself someone who is categorically bad at technology. But I am also not a quitter. And being bad at something is the first step at being good at something. And when you fail, you kind of just got to get up and dust yourself off and maybe have a good cry and then get back on the horse. So here we go! This is take 37!”

On the SECOND lecture:

“Welcome back! We are doing it!” He looks dramatically off into the distance. “Look, Mom! I’m a technologist!” He waits five seconds and looks straight into the camera, “There is a very helpful table in your book…” 

I want to give him a special thanks for quenching my fears about online school by making this the easiest transition. This man truly knows how to make the sweetest lemonade out of the sourest lemons. I have always struggled with chemistry, but now I look forward to his online lectures because of how happy they make me; I know I will get a laugh out of it. A lot of students, just like me, have had anxieties about being separated from the very life we built on campus, which was shattered by this global pandemic. 

I want to thank these and so many other professors who are doing their absolute best to find creative ways to lecture online, which may include using your daughter’s pink white board to take lectures (Dr. Ziegler for STAT 104) or putting on costumes to make that perfect dramatic effect. A laugh a day keeps the negatives away. 

Students: your professors care about you and love you dearly. I have heard so many professors express their concerns and worries for you while you have been away in such a tumultuous time. Please thank your professors. Thank your advisors. Thank your mentors. An email would transform their day.

Here is an example of a wonderful professor sticking up for her students, which came from a viral Twitter thread April 1: 

It’s wonderful to be able to hear the voices of professors across the country, serving their students in the best ways they know how. They care. I hope these times truly end some nasty, negative stigmas society holds against professors and teachers alike across the country. 

To all faculty and staff, you are doing a wonderful job doing what you do. Keep doing what you’re doing. We truly do appreciate you and how well you are handling this situation. I wish I could express my gratitude more. I would if I knew how. 

My inspiration for this pieces originates with a wonderful conversation I had with Anne Packard, the dietetic internship program coordinator, who reached out to me and had some serious nostalgia about the blue vintage car in Happy Journal #4. You are completely right; it is more important than ever to reach out to others. Thank you. 

Faculty and staff: if you have any fun content or lectures ideas you want me to share in my next column, I would love to include it! We can get through this, together.