<\/p>\n
It was December 2019, nearly three months before TCNJ shut down campus because of COVID-19, that Janice Vermeychuk began to worry. As the director of student health services, she stays up to date on health issues that could inundate large, close-quarter populations. Some of her colleagues in China began sharing messages about the virus and its impact on the other side of the globe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew the virus was on its way here,\u201d Vermeychuk says.<\/p>\n
She began to mentally prepare for what a viral outbreak might look like and worked with the New Jersey Department of Health and TCNJ\u2019s Critical Emergency Response Team to establish guidelines for how the college would operate.<\/p>\n
Vermeychuk teamed up with Rafia Siddiq, strategic health and wellness specialist, who created and implemented the college\u2019s contact tracing program \u2014 something that didn\u2019t exist just 11 months ago \u2014 and rolled out health checks for students and staff through the Roar app. In the fall, about 1,200 individuals completed health checks daily, and that number is expected to ramp up this spring. Siddiq believes the collaboration among the TCNJ community is what will make the health plans successful. \u201cThe system runs more smoothly having everyone work together,\u201d Siddiq says.<\/p>\n
The focus now is on COVID-19 testing and the administration of vaccines. Vermeychuk anticipates about 1,000 students will be tested per day, and Student Health Services is enrolled as a CDC COVID-19 vaccine program provider. \u201cHow we live and work has been changed, probably forever,\u201d Vermeychuk says. \u201cBut with vaccines coming, we are on our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students are the heart of TCNJ, so perhaps no group has been more affected by the pandemic \u2014 or the students\u2019 absence \u2014 than the division of student affairs. \u201cPeople felt decisions were life and death,\u201d says Kelly Hennessy, interim vice president of student affairs. \u201cThere\u2019s the constant thought of \u2018We need to keep students safe.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As the college converted to a remote campus, Hennessy and her staff of resident directors had to find solutions to a fast-moving cycle of questions: where to house international students and students with housing insecurity; if students need to quarantine, where and how to do that; and how to plan for a safe move-out process.<\/p>\n
Move out was a 31-day event that required balancing ever-changing state safety protocols and anticipating the needs of students, some terrified to be on campus and others wanting to retrieve their belongings. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know if the virus was transmitted through air, or by touch,\u201d says Alex Wehrenberg, a resident director. \u201cSo we had to rethink the entire process.\u201d That included everything from complex scheduling to propping doors to putting keys in bags.<\/p>\n
Student affairs also managed the very real question of student wellbeing. \u201cMy main role is to build community,\u201d says Wehrenberg. \u201cBut that was a daunting task in the distanced reality we occupied.\u201d<\/p>\n
All are eager to feel the heartbeat back on campus. \u201cOne of my favorite parts about being an RD is being able to say \u2018hi\u2019 to my residents in the hall as they go about their day,\u201d says resident director Michelle Forbes. \u201cOur students have shown such resilience during this time and I am really proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy people never missed a beat,\u201d says Salom\u00e9 Sedares, director of building services, of her custodial staff. At the first hint of the virus \u2014 when the world was being implored to wash hands and disinfect surfaces \u2014 her staff felt a sense of responsibility (and worry) to keep themselves and the campus community healthy. \u201cIt was really frightening at first,\u201d Sedares says. \u201cNo one wanted to touch anything, but my workers had to. They were the ones cleaning and sanitizing things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sedares and her stoic crew devised a plan for cleaning classrooms, centralizing trash collection, and sanitizing bathrooms. \u201cWe were in full safety mode before the official guidelines were even out,\u201d Sedares says.<\/p>\n
Building attendant Cynthia Harris and the rest of Sedares\u2019 staff left little chance for the virus to find a home in common areas or residence halls accessed by those who remained on campus. \u201cBuilding Services staff has been the front line and a constant presence on the campus throughout the pandemic,\u201d says Sedares. \u201cThey have unwaveringly proved their commitment to the safety and health of the students, the staff, and the college, and I am grateful to each and every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just because no one was in their offices doesn\u2019t mean that utilities can be ignored. No one knows that better than James Kirchner, director of plant operations. TCNJ\u2019s utility plant sends heat, air conditioning, and electricity out to campus. \u201cWe can\u2019t shut all that down just because no one is in the buildings,\u201d says Kirchner. The jet engines and boilers that control the power on campus need licensed operators at all times, and Kirchner depended on his team of boiler operators like Bob Hitchcock to do that.<\/p>\n
The boiler operators were responsible for checking water temperatures and controlling humidity to prevent mold from building up, a task vital to keeping our buildings, and the people in them, healthy. \u201cMy staff come every day, in three different shifts,\u201d says Kirchner. \u201cI am really proud my crew has stepped up to the plate in times like these and we are keeping the college running.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one was more prepared to take on the challenge of cataloguing and storing the college\u2019s supply of personal protective equipment than the athletics department.<\/p>\n
Already equipped with an inventory system that tracks every item administered to the college\u2019s student athletes, Liz Shatkus, senior associate director of athletics for facilities and operations, and her team flipped the algorithm on its head. Instead of jerseys, football pads, and soccer balls, Shatkus, Matt Beym, and Casey Saverio were now itemizing face masks, hand sanitizer, and gloves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had the tools to do it, so it seemed natural to try and get everyone what they needed,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re in a pandemic. The best thing you can do is be helpful where you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with the college\u2019s PPE task forces, the team coordinated with the mail room to collect, categorize, and distribute the supplies across campus. \u201cWe were joking that we created a PPE headquarters in the racquetball court,\u201d Shatkus says. \u201cA tiny Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n
TIFFANY REED, KEVIN McCOLLOUGH, CHERYL CAMPBELL, MARCIE MONTALVO, AND JAMES LOPEZ<\/strong> Superpower<\/strong>: Being anywhere they\u2019re needed MIKE WEBER<\/strong> Superpower<\/strong>: Transformative beauty JUDI COOK<\/strong> Superpower<\/strong>: Flipping the college to remote learning LEN NIEBO, ROMAN SOHOR, AND BARRY FRIEDMAN<\/strong> Superpower<\/strong>: Campus connectivity ANDREW D\u2019APICE<\/strong> His realm<\/strong>: Literary omniscience THOMAS DAVIS <\/strong> Package deal<\/strong>: Handled the surge in package volume due to deliveries of PPE, plexiglass, and cleaning supplies needed for COVID-19 protocols. RYAN LAO AND CANDIDO MARTINEZ Superpower<\/strong>: Minimizing damage <\/p>\n We know we have hit on only a few of our TCNJ heroes here. Help us highlight more by sending stories of staff or alumni who have helped the most during the pandemic to magazine@tcnj.edu.<\/p>\n Photos: Bill Cardoni<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We can\u2019t thank these TCNJ staff members enough. But we\u2019ll try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328,"featured_media":11693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11584"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11764,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11584\/revisions\/11764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTCNJ Campus Police<\/em><\/p>\n
\nCall to duty<\/strong>: Patrol campus, unlock doors, retrieve and deliver computers and equipment to faculty, secure personal protective equipment.
\nAt their finest<\/strong>: Manned The Shop@ TCNJ, the food pantry located in Campus Town, and distributed food to 114 visitors in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
The lawn guardian<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nGrounds and landscape services<\/em><\/p>\n
\nTypical work day<\/strong>: Weber and the 20+ members of his team maintain campus charm by mowing, weeding, blowing leaves, and planting fresh flower beds.
\nPoints of pride<\/strong>: Planted 400 pounds of grass seed, replaced nine trees, and installed 1,500 square feet of sod on the baseball field.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Faculty mentors, assemble!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nInstructional design<\/em><\/p>\n
\nHow she did it<\/strong>: Created the Faculty Helping Faculty hotline so that every professor could call on a colleague to help answer questions about the online modules for their classes.
\nTour de force<\/strong>: Went from assisting 20 faculty per semester with online courses prior to the pandemic to 600 \u2014 a 3,000% increase.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
The camera crusaders<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nEnterprise infrastructure and media & technology support services<\/em><\/p>\n
\nTheir charge<\/strong>: Install the tech needed to bring faculty and students from the living room to the classroom.
\nPoints of pride<\/strong>: Ran nearly 7.5 miles of cable in order to connect classroom cameras for remote learning.
\nOrigin story<\/strong>: TCNJ\u2019s hybrid MBA program prepared them for this moment because they had already been using remote-learning technology, albeit on a much smaller scale.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Distributor of knowledge<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nR. Barbara Gitenstein Library<\/em><\/p>\n
\nNoble feat<\/strong>: Created a library material curbside pickup program for faculty and students.
\nStats<\/strong>: Packaged and delivered more than 1,200 orders since June 2020.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Special delivery handler<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nMail room<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMotto<\/strong>: Pick up package, scan, go wash hands, repeat.
\nNotice to students<\/strong>: Your care packages are safe and ready for you to pick up when back on campus.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
The jacks of all trades<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong>Facilities operations<\/em><\/p>\n
\nPoints of pride<\/strong>: Responded to steam leaks and other campus emergencies, installed COVID-19 signage across campus, repaired doors and stained ceiling tiles. Maritza McGraw, senior director of facilities operations, is grateful to the pair for keeping campus in \u201ctop shape.\u201d<\/p>\n