Parkland College went on spring break in March 2020 and in some ways we never came back. There are plans for Summer 2021 to slowly return to campus, but this somehow doesn’t reconcile what we’ve all been through. For the students, this has been a challenging time. For the average Parkland student more than half of their college time was spent quarantined away from peers and professors, and family and friends. For the faculty, staff, and administrators, engaging the students while adapting to the “new normal” turned out to be a challenge they fully embraced, but not without stress. Everyone at Parkland should be proud of their resilience these past fourteen months. We made sacrifices. We adapted. We stepped up to help one another.
Here, at the Prospectus, we abandoned our print edition and moved exclusively to a digital format. This was done remotely and during a time of great uncertainty. This end-of-year piece you are reading now marks the first time we are returning to print since March 15, 2021. During this past year students fell ill; the faculty and staff mentors switched to homeschooling and remote learning with their own children, and jumped into other roles such as serving on COVID-19 committees; our guest speakers canceled in-person appearances, and then they canceled online appearances; “Zoom” became familiar vernacular; many of us couldn’t find toilet paper for a couple of harrowing months. We embraced pajamas, beards, hats, Ramen noodles, and long walks in the park.
In all seriousness, we experienced anxiety and stress just like all of you. We grieved the loss of loved ones. We worried about our elders, about finding jobs, about finishing school. But we also learned to see our world around us with a different perspective—one where we learned to appreciate the physical absence of friends and family, or find patience with our suddenly ever-present family members or roommates. “What about those in strained relationships?” we grimaced. “Could you imagine being quarantined with that scenario?” We counted our blessings.
We adapted to the strange absence of commodities and goods that were once very common suddenly gone from the shelves, but we learned or re-learned to bake, cook, and use ingredients in different ways. Some of us got back into playing cards and solitaire. Some of us strained the bandwidth of Netflix and HBO Max. Animal Crossing was the go-to video game of isolated people on metaphorical islands making friends on fictional islands. Suddenly half of the people of Champaign and Urbana adopted puppies to the point we joked about the future generation of Dog Boomers coming into existence. People painted again. Read books. Wrote stories. Planted gardens. In all of the uncertainty we reverted to the things that were certain.
Parkland College did the same thing. Campus Tech adapted and got everyone functioning online with the best tools. The facilities staff – someone please thank the facilities staff – they sanitized and cleaned and sanitized and cleaned and put everything away. Stressed out students received counseling. Faculty changed their courses in two weeks to a digital format. Marketing had to convey to everyone how to practice social distancing and properly wear masks. We don’t even want to know what sacrifices had to be made with the budget, but imagine it wasn’t easy, and won’t be anytime soon.
Yes, we had to say a temporary goodbye to the café, the Staerkel Planetarium, the plays, the concerts, College for Kids, athletic events, conferences, staff events, and all of the fun things we take for granted like retirement ceremonies, birthdays, and faculty achievements. Graduation last year was anticlimactic and lonely without the pomp and circumstance. It was not easy. All we know is that we now appreciate these things more and we want to take a more active role in supporting these activities. And we will never again take for granted the simple pleasure of walking around without a mask, or giving a good friend an embrace, or shake hands, or sit next to a stranger in the first class of the semester.
The leadership of Parkland College took their time to write out some end-of-year messages to everyone, which we have printed out in their entirety below. We know they would never ask for thanks, or credit, but if you are thankful for Parkland College and for getting through this past year, please extend a word of gratitude to one of them in the future. Maybe you’ll even get to shake their hands.
Congratulations. The end of the academic year has arrived.
You’ve persevered through what has likely been one of the most challenging times you will experience. Classes were held in a different format, campus services were delivered online, and face-to-face communication was limited.
But you persevered. You made it through in spite of the challenges. You prioritized your goals and continued charting a path toward success.
It’s all about choice and decision. When you cut away all the static, every situation boils down to the choice you make that moves you further away or closer to your goals. In fact, it’s a rare occasion when you are left without a choice. You can’t do much about those situations. But you can choose how you react; you can choose how you will let circumstances affect you, and your attitude.
We talk all the time about how important it is to follow through, to stick with it, and that it’ll all be worth it in the end. Sure, all of that’s true, but in my opinion, there’s something else that’s worth talking about.
It’s satisfaction—the kind that comes after you finish something that was hard, something big, like finishing a semester or getting through just one more hour of that calculus class.
That little bit of satisfaction is what helps the next time. Make good decisions, forget about the bad ones, and persevere. Revel in what gives you satisfaction.
We are proud of your accomplishments. If you are graduating, I send my best wishes on your future endeavors. Congratulations. To our continuing students, have a great summer and we will see you in the Fall, if not sooner for summer classes.
Regards,
Thomas Ramage, Ed.D, President, Parkland College
Congratulations. You have earned the badge of making it through the year of the pandemic.
It has been an incredibly hard year. As a campus community, we had to figure out how to teach, learn, and interact in a largely remote environment. As individuals, we had to press reset on our personal lives to accommodate the array of challenges suddenly upon us. Experience taught us the many dimensions of resilience. And, we made it!
Have a wonderful summer. Students, we hope to see you back on campus in the fall. The lessons from the past year will help us build back an even stronger community for engaging each other in learning.
Pamela Lau, Ed.D, Executive Vice President
Congratulations Parkland Students!
What a unique time to be a college student. The last 15 months have been represented by unimaginable upheaval. A global pandemic, political division, and social strife are among the seemingly never-ending list of challenges that could have stood between you and your college dreams. But you flourished in the face of these adversities.
You are students that embody the definitions of resiliency and courage. You have overcome and accomplished a great deal and I want you to know how proud we are that you are a Parkland student.
For those of you graduating, transferring, or entering the workforce, you will no-doubt turn these traits of resiliency and courage into meaningful and impactful new chapters of your lives. Parkland is always here for you when you need us again.
For those of you coming back to Parkland this Summer or Fall, you will take these traits and build them into incredible learning experiences in courses to come. We look forward to seeing you back soon.
Have a great summer!
Mike Trame, Vice President for Student Services
This has been a year for the history books, Parkland students. It has been impressive and heartening to witness your perseverance and determination.
Not only do you have a campus community that supports your success, you have a community at large that welcomes you with open arms as you take your next steps. Take a moment to breathe and enjoy what you have accomplished thus far, despite the challenges, and then continue to dream about where life can take you. Congratulations!
Stephanie Stuart, Vice President, Communications and External Affairs
Education provides opportunities to see our world from a new perspective and to embrace new ideas. The past year has certainly opened a world unknown to many of us and strengthened our understanding of what matters most to us in our lives. Hopefully, your past year at Parkland has been enlightening, if challenging, and beneficial in achieving your goals. Faculty, staff, and students should be congratulated for the hard work, creativity, and compassion that became the cornerstones of the 2020/2021 academic year. May the lessons learned in this past year make you look forward to the year to come!
All the Best,
Nancy Sutton, Ed.D, Vice President for Academic Services
2020 has been a year of unbelievable challenges but one of opportunities as well. We’ve learned new technologies, tried new things and discovered we are stronger and more capable than we ever thought possible. I hope that you take all these things, the good, the bad and the ugly, and use it as a platform to shape your future. For those of you graduating, we are proud to call you Parkland Alums, #ParklandProud. Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. For those of you continuing at Parkland, we look forward to seeing you on campus!
Tracy Wahlfeldt, Executive Director
Congratulations on a successful year! You have invested heavily in your future through hard work, long hours, and meeting deadlines. Add to the mix a pandemic year, and what you have accomplished is even more impressive.
In my day to day role, I deal with the dollars and cents of ensuring Parkland has the courses, expertise, and supports to help you succeed. You have proven once again that our investment in you pays dividends. I commend each of you for sticking with it this year and continuing to work toward your goals.
Christopher Randles, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President for Administrative Services
