HOW
Thunderbird INNOVATED
WATCH VIDEO
DURING COVID-19
A
t Thunderbird, we know that while we can be sensors of change, we cannot predict the details of the future. Instead, we have to foster the mindsets and skills that enable us to prepare for any challenges and opportunities that arise. Last year, COVID-19 shook the world and introduced a complex set of challenges that we have never before faced as an institution. It necessitated adaptability, creativity, and innovation to not only survive but also to thrive. It called upon our faculty, our students, staff, and our alumni to rise to the occasion and define the School’s future. It required us to redesign our curriculum and our traditions. It demanded that we accelerate our growth and continue to diversify in order to make a difference in this time of disruption and uncertainty.
We were more than up MAGAZINE to the challenge. THUNDERBIRD SPRING 2021
28
QUICK AND SEAMLESS ADAPTATION The first step in adapting through the global pandemic was the transformation of our classrooms to a virtual (and later hybrid) platform. This required, first and foremost, the technological capabilities to hold all of our classes on a secure and reliable platform. “Our amazing IT/AV staff helped make a seamless transition from in-person to remote learning almost overnight,” said Tomás Bilbao, Executive Director of Branding and Communications. “It was just another example of Thunderbird being nimble and adaptive in the face of disruption.” In making this pivotal transition, we also needed to ensure that the quality of instruction and real-time engagement, which are so deeply important to our curriculum, remained as high as ever. "Even prior to the pandemic, engaging with students around the world
