I'm out in the Pavilion, on this beautiful day, in the middle of our beautiful campus, watching the Tavarez kids play ball. From where I sit it doesn't look like a crisis. But it is.
Not only here on Guam, but around the world, students from kindergartners to doctoral scholars find themselves not in class. Teachers, including yours, I've already been in a couple of conversations today) are scrambling to figure out, "What do I do now."
Our educational concerns are probably the least of the concerns out there. Businesses are losing money. workers are being laid off. Children who depend on school lunches for nutrition are going hungry. And, all around the world people in bed desperately ill, and families are grieving the loss of loved ones. We struggle to get a grasp on the global impact of this epidemic, pandemic, or whatever kind of "demic" this is, but let's not forget that imbedded in those numbers are real, hurting people. That brings me to my first encouragement. PRAY.
Right now would you find somebody to pray with, text somebody and request prayer, or stop and pray by yourself. I hope you will pray for those of us in leadership at PIU. We've never been in a situation like this before.
I'll say more about these in days to come but here are a few more suggestions for making the most of these difficult times.
- Be productive. Catch up. Get ahead. Put in community service hours. We didn't ask for this week but it could be the opportunity you need to succeed.
- Be kind. Stress irritates us. Let's not take it out on one another.
- Stay in touch. If you are reading this on your email, you are already taking a good step. Your PIU email is the prime source of communication from instructors and administration to you. Check it.
- Again, Pray. Pray for Karyn Sorenson. As I write she is trying to figure out how to get home.
Thanks,
The Prez.
Howard Merrell
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