Change Starts Here

Jessica Przborski First Place 2020 Future Alumni Essay Contest At the dawn of 2020, new year optimism was at its peak. People were filled with hope as they set out to tackle unlikely resolutions.  That is until those plans were so abruptly interrupted by the invisible invading army called Covid-19. Marching its way through people’s lives all around the world, Covid-19 set out to seek and destroy. This infectious disease is a new strand of the Coronavirus.  What is so scary about this specific strand is that it is so new. Without historical data, the scientific community was at a loss of how to combat the virus that causes respiratory illness. The first case was detected in Wuhan China on Dec.1st, 2019. By March 11th, 2020 The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global pandemic.  Big changes followed. Countries were put on lockdown and restricted travel. States in the U.S were locked down and quarantined. Curfews and social distancing requirements were set in place. Masks

Marisa Lynn Sligh Third Place 2020 Future Alumni Essay Contest Nursing school, motherhood, childhood cancer and a pandemic – 2020 has been a year full of challenges, to say the least.  Prior to the pandemic, I had mastered a life of constant schedule changes: juggling motherhood, nursing school and work, on top of the daily challenges of being a full-time caregiver to my four-year-old who was battling cancer. I was no stranger to social distancing, mask-wearing, or impeccable hand hygiene – as the mother to a child with cancer, these things became my new normal years before the pandemic.  What proved to be challenging was learning how to go about my life, navigating yet again another ‘new normal’ amidst a global pandemic. Being a mother to a young child with cancer is hard, being in nursing school is hard; juggling both of these roles during a global pandemic is incredibly hard. However, I can honestly say that both nursing school and caring for my son, especially during this pandemic

Ebone Edwards Second Place 2020 Future Alumni Essay Contest The end of 2019 seemed at first glance like every other year; the catapult that would turn the page and start our lives off fresh. For so many, the year 2020 represented a “new vision” and the start of a new decade of possibilities.  I remember saying this would be the year I would finally be at my ideal body weight, save enough money to travel, get married and finally pursue my dream of becoming a chef. These goals had been written and pictured on my vision board for so many years, but 2020 was going to be “the” year I would accomplish them.  Life often has a way of adjusting our most carefully curated paths to success, but nothing compares to the impact of one singular global pandemic, which effectively challenged and changed my world forever. The seriousness of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) became very evident as new norms created challenges. One of those early challenges I faced would involve my job. I work full t