Chris Workman ’16, '19 is a proud educator teaching 7th grade at Farristown Middle School in Berea, Kentucky. He has rapidly adapted and overcome challenging circumstances the past 4-6 weeks to meet the needs of his students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris and other educators across the state and nation have spent hours each day connecting with their students, arranging for food service and other needed supplies as well as designing and implementing online instruction to meet the unique needs of students. “What I am even more amazed by the strength and resiliency of our students. They have adapted to their schedules and limited resources to continue their education…under very uncertain and chaotic conditions,” said Chris. His family has been impacted in much the same as others around the world. They are staying home and using this time as an opportunity to reconnect with one another in ways that sometimes in the hustle and bustle of our modern world, they take for granted.
Chris’ advice to MidwayU students and fellow alumni: use this time to slow down and reconnect with family and loved ones, make phone calls to friends and neighbors. Use this time to reconnect with yourself as well. Use the time to soak up the sunshine around you; read that book you've been meaning to get to; explore your faith in a more individual way. Take the time to stop and record your thoughts and feelings during this uncertain time. There are opportunities for positive growth and outcomes even in the most chaotic and uncertain of times, and one day, you'll be able to look back and point to this even in our own time and tell someone you were there, and this is what it was like.