Where Are We Now? highlights the personal and professional perspectives of Rutgers Global Health Institute students and faculty as they continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Silver Linings
A dose of optimism: D’Alonzo appreciates the benefits her faculty position affords her, such as a relatively straightforward transition to working from home. She rewards herself for a productive day by watching baseball on television and enjoys eating lunch outside. She also supports her nursing students’ wellness and has facilitated conversations “that continued on even after class had ended,” she says. “People wanted some kind of social interaction. This was like a welcome distraction. Almost all of them were working directly with COVID patients in really high-pressure situations.”
Finding her way: Next semester, Lynch will graduate. She now has a greater appreciation for how her supply chain management skills and education will serve her—and the world—well. She plans to pursue a career related to community development. “I feel like I’m not the typical business major, per se. I came at it from a perspective of, how can I get resources from places that have them to places that need them, and what are the hindrances. The pandemic has been eye-opening in that sense.”
She says that “it’s actually been liberating” to recognize the many ways she can contribute to global health. “We’ve been presented with such a big problem. The world has been like, here’s an issue, figure it out. And I’m going to be part of creating solutions.”
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