Dear OUE,
Monday sees the beginning of the second week of our strange experience of social distancing. It’s hard to imagine that two weeks ago, our main concerns were anything but the continuity of operations plans that have been the focus of our attention during the past week. Some of you were used to juggling domestic and Georgia Tech responsibilities when working from home, but they were not a fact of life for everyone. And most of us had never experienced the tic-tac-toe of talking heads in BlueJeans.
It was an unprecedented week, and I really appreciate how everyone has stepped up to ensure the continuity of our operations and to prepare to provide critical student programs and services online for the remainder of the semester. You can all start the second week of this experience feeling proud of what you have accomplished so far.
Although last week was a taxing time, you probably experienced, as I did, a certain sense of excitement with the novelty of it all. I’m sure that like me you had moments of anxiety, but when there is no time to think we don’t ruminate. This week is the beginning of our new normal - at least for the rest of the semester - and it is going to be important to navigate the new normal with balance and ease. Working remotely will bring about new challenges, as we work out how to stay productive as a team and remain connected with our colleagues and students in an online environment. All of this is occurring while many of us are faced with the challenges of taking full-time care of our loved ones and experiencing the anxiety of watching the situation continue to develop in our communities. We all have family or friends who are far away - perhaps an ocean away. So let’s take care of ourselves, always prioritizing our health and safety. All OUE leadership has been asked to work with staff with as much flexibility and understanding as possible, while we follow the Institute’s guidance. There will be many questions that we have yet to ask or answer, and we’ll work through them as they come up. We are also giving consideration to some fun and social ways we can to continue to stay connected during this time. More on that soon. In the meantime, if there’s anything we can do to support you, please don’t hesitate to ask.
