April 10, 2020
Members of the Amherst Community,
This is a brief message. I know you are unaccustomed to brief messages from me, but I am going to practice brevity in my effort to stay in touch with you. Every Friday, you will receive a short note for the purpose of staying in touch and sharing thoughts in the hope you might share some of yours.
Today I want to acknowledge the work of our frontline staff in dining, custodial services, facilities, student affairs, public safety, and in other domains. I learned this past week that a staff member in Val has gone to the trouble of learning the name of every student still on campus, all 179 of them, so she can greet them personally when they pick up their food. I’m told that students’ faces light up in response to her personal greetings and care.Our students know that she and other dining staff are putting themselves at risk to ensure they have meals. Another person in dining services has taken to writing notes of encouragement and including them in the students’ grab-and-go lunches. These examples of human kindness and connection make me feel joy and also gratitude.
This week, I have found myself dwelling on the extraordinary risks that are taken every day, here and around the world, by healthcare professionals, hospital and nursing home staff, emergency personnel, transportation, delivery, grocery and food service workers, and others providing essential services. Whenever I think about what it means to risk everything for others, my thoughts always drift to my younger brother, an EMS worker and later a firefighter, who lost his life trying to save motorists in a flood back in 1995. I have always admired his commitment to the community where we grew up and his willingness to go out on a line for others. Were he alive, he’d be putting himself at risk during this crisis, as so many people are. I miss having him in my life and spend time thinking about the horrible losses that so many are experiencing in this global pandemic. So, today, in Carter’s memory, I write to thank the staff of the College and also to express gratitude and awe for the hundreds of thousands around the world who are putting their own health and lives at risk for the rest of us.
If you would like to thank a staff member, consider sending a “shout out” through our recognition and rewards webpage. If you would like to share stories or observations, please send them my way.
I hope you have a restful weekend, and, for those of you who celebrate, a happy Passover and a happy Easter. Please take care of yourselves and one another.
Warmly,
Biddy