11 minute read
REFLECTIONS ON THE PANDEMIC
Reflections
on the Pandemic
The past year and a half has been quite the learning curve. From navigating technology to dealing with loss on many levels, the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic are profound. We asked several Lancers to share their most transformative lesson from the pandemic.
Jamie Ceccato Perkins ’97
Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications
After COVID-19 presented itself to the world and affected our communities close to home, I began to take stock of what was truly important and how I could do better. After 20 years working for ad agencies, in publishing, in aerospace and high-tech companies, I pondered what it all meant and how my work could be more significant. I embarked on re-evaluating my career path to focus on aligning with an organization that lived by its mission, one that had a commitment to serving its community and shaping future leaders. The more I gave it thought, the more I realized I had a greater calling. So, I shifted gears and started looking for a new opportunity—in the middle of a pandemic, no less.
I asked myself three questions: Where can I align my career passion with my faith? What organization best serves its community? Where can I make the most impact?
My questions brought me full circle and led me home. I am honored to return to Saint Francis in this new marketing and communications role and feel a great responsibility to serve our students, families, alumni and fellow educators. We’re forging new paths, and I’m excited to see our community impact the future! When we hunkered down, pulled our attention inward and physically separated from others for the greater good, many in our Lancer community turned their attention toward others who were more vulnerable or more impacted. From creatively welcoming our newest freshman families with personal phone calls, drive-through celebrations and social media shout-outs to funding grocery store gift cards and care packages for families in need, I was privileged to witness firsthand a level of generosity from Lancer parents that I did not expect to see. Seeing how families opened their hearts to embrace and take care of one another added another dimension to how I perceived community.
Much of my work at Saint Francis involves gathering parents together to make new connections and celebrate existing ones. Virtual spaces kept us connected to share our stories, to make others feel comfortable and to pray for each other. I learned that, during an incredibly challenging time, Lancer families could embody Holy Cross hospitality in keeping with the welcome offered by St. Andre Bessette in Montreal many years ago. I also learned that though we needed to remain distant, we could be united in solidarity, in community and in care of one another.
In all my years at Saint Francis, starting when I worked parttime beginning in 2003, I never could have imagined seeing our campus as desolate and quiet as it was in spring 2020 and during the early part of the 2020-21 school year. Wearing masks and not seeing the faces of our community members made it challenging. I knew as the Facilities Department we would have to adjust to it not being business as usual. Safety and cleanliness became our top concern as well as social distancing and accommodating to the individual needs of our community. It gave me a whole new appreciation for what a truly cleaned space is and for what six feet is.
Aurea Densing DeFranco ’84
Parent Engagement Director
Robert Copple ’02
Facilities Director
When educators and students returned to campus last spring, it felt that much more significant. A lesson that I have taken from this past year is that the strength and cohesion of our Lancer community can overcome anything in the face of adversity.
Iminii Wilmer ’22
Remote and masked in-person learning have changed the way I view learning, community and goals. Remote learning seemed very unmanageable in the beginning, but the continuation of the block schedule and collaboration hours with teachers made my time management skills improve. However, completing hours of schoolwork alone in my room made it hard for me to stay motivated to learn every day.
Doing remote learning for my whole junior year made me realize how important it is to learn with your classmates and be taught by a teacher all in the same physical classroom. Missing out on the usual in-person Saint Francis experience affected how I see our community. Faculty and student leaders hosted multiple online events to continue to build our community, yet, once again, I believe being in a class setting makes a big difference. For my upcoming senior year, I hope everyone appreciates being back in-person and has learned to no longer take these things for granted. Lastly, I hope that my fellow senior classmates and I go all out for everything like we did for our freshman year, which was the only normal full year of high school we have gone through. When I am asked by prospective students or educators about what makes Saint Francis such a special place, I often speak of the ways in which our students and educators care for one another and to the relationships we are able to cultivate in a community that truly centers the values of hope, respect, integrity and family. There is no question that this past year has tested our resilience, but I truly believe that our school community is emerging stronger than ever, with a renewed and reinvigorated sense of purpose as we seek to educate and form this next generation of Lancers.
Throughout the past year, we have leaned on the example of the Brothers of Holy Cross, embracing hope and zeal to reimagine opportunities for engagement and connection. We have focused intentionally on what we can safely and effectively do for our students and educators instead of on restrictions and barriers. We have worked to foster a culture of hospitality and inclusivity, expanding programs and opportunities for student engagement and leadership.
Katie Teekell ’00
Principal
Our students and educators have embraced creativity, positivity and ingenuity to generate positive and fulfilling experiences in the midst of so many obstacles. In many ways, the perspective wrought by the pandemic has brought into even clearer focus our mission as a Holy Cross high school. The strengths of our community have never been more apparent.
When I think back to all that has happened since March 2020, the memories I will carry with me are not ones of despair or anxiety but rather of joy and hope: • The elaborately decorated cars of the Class of 2020 as they pulled into campus for their diploma distribution and graduation photos. • The laughter of our student leaders as they tried to “scare” visitors at our Halloween drive-through event. • The simple joy of elbow bumps and smiles from behind masks as we walked through the Quad in February when our students were finally back on campus. • The emotions at the starting line at our first-ever on campus cross country meet, which was also the first sporting event we hosted in more than a year.
These seemingly small moments of joy, grace and gratitude carry more meaning and power than any of the large events or traditions we may have missed during the pandemic. We will not take them for granted again.
More than anything, this past year has shown us that we can create experiences of community and togetherness anywhere and under any circumstance — and that there is nothing our Lancer family cannot accomplish together.
A View from Space:
NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur ’89
On April 23, 2021, Megan McArthur ’89 blasted into space as part of NASA’s historic SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station. During her six months on the Space Station, she and the first-ever international crew of astronauts from Japan, Europe, Russia and the U.S. conducted research.
Throughout the mission, Megan shared her experiences on social media with captivating photos and context on the research and Space Station maintenance she and her crewmates accomplished. Her first mission to space was in 2009 on the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
Top left: Tropical Storm Elsa from @Space_Station, July 4, 2021
Top right: Working with Mark T. Vande Hei, NASA astronaut, flight engineer for @Space_Station
Center right: The view from her office on June 29, as she sends the depart command to the Cygnus cargo vehicle, SS Katherine Johnson, and monitors it until it’s out of the astronauts’ airspace
Bottom right: Suited up
Bottom left: Conducting an experiment on Real-Time Protein Crystal Growth-2 investigation on June 4
“I got interested in neuroscience after I had a serious concussion in eighth grade. For Independent Inquiry class, I studied neurodivergence and wrote a literature review paper from 136 publications on the co-morbidity of autism and pediatric epilepsy. Because of COVID-19, I couldn’t finalize my findings in a lab, so I created neuroscienceforsmiles.com for fifth- and sixth-grade teachers to inspire neuroscience curriculum. This past summer, I took a Yale virtual medical humanities class, which has been my favorite thing ever. I loved reading Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery. My dream is to get my MD/PhD, become a neurosurgeon and run clinical trials based on my research on pediatric epilepsy.”
Dance Shoes
“My family jokes that I’ve been dancing since I came out of the womb. I started lessons at 18 months, and now I am in the studio six days a week. I mainly do contemporary jazz dancing. I teach all levels of dance and love teaching people.”
WHAT’S IN MY Backpack?
Ava Goumas ’22 gracefully moves among neuroscience, dance and volunteering, often combining her passions. As the National Charity League’s Stanford Hills chapter senior class president, she fundraises and leads other teens in outreach, including building inclusive playgrounds for children with disabilities for the Magical Bridge Foundation and creating a more inclusive curriculum in Bay Area public schools. This year, Ava is launching a mentoring program matching first-year Lancers with upperclassmen to explore their interests at school and in the world.
Memento from my Immersion Group
“In a normal year, we would’ve traveled out of the country, but this past June, I did a four-day virtual immersion trip at the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park with eight Saint Francis students. We learned about El Salvador’s climate change, migration, sexual assault and other issues through virtual guest speakers. We also spent a great day working at Martha’s Kitchen, a San Jose nonprofit that provides meals to Spanish-speaking families.” Pictured, first row, far left. Pom-Poms
Ruler
“I’ve been on the Varsity Spirit Squad since freshman year and am co-captain this year. We’re focused on making an inclusive team where everyone can share ideas. This is a non-academic way to connect with the campus that is just pure fun.” Pictured, second row, far right; photo taken in fall 2019.
Farewell, Friend
In May 2021, the Lancer community bid a fond, colorful farewell to the 300 Building (Dujarié Hall), which was razed this summer to make way for the new Innovation Center and Dining Commons. The classes of 2020 and 2021 and Saint Francis educators were invited to make their personal marks on a building that has made an indelible mark on Saint Francis.
A bit of the 300 Building’s colorful history:
• Built in 1963, it was the campus’ third academic building. • It housed classrooms, most notably for foreign language and math, and was home to the Dean’s Office for decades. • The Little Theater hosted hundreds of performances, presentations, improv shows and more. • In addition to dining at Malcolm
Center, Lancers enjoyed dances, award celebrations, in-services, fundraisers, meetings and more in this space.
Thank you, 300 Building!
