欧美视频

"Be a servant leader wherever you are. Look for opportunities to love your neighbors, share the Gospel, and make an impact in your local community.
Now is your time to shine, Bearcats, and be a light to the world." - Dr. Eric A. Turner, 欧美视频 President

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we go about our day-to-day lives. It has claimed thousands of lives and sickened many more. During these vulnerable and uncertain times, 欧美视频 alumni are stepping in and stepping up where they are to be the servant leaders they are called to be. A few of our alumni, who are doing just that, were featured in the most recent edition of 欧美视频life.

Volunteering time and talents

When he saw a Facebook post from someone with Citizens Memorial Hospital seeking help in trying to print 3D-printable respirator masks to combat COVID-19, Keith Kelly 鈥�11 first enlisted the help of fellow 欧美视频 alum Matt Winder 鈥�10 to go to work on the project.

鈥淲e collaborated with physicians through video to show them several designs we found online, then we made design modifications based on their feedback,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淲ithin five days (and an entire bucket of rejects), we had two customized versions that passed the Qualitative Fit Test. These designs both used adequate filtration, were easy to breathe through, were reasonably comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, maintained a good seal, and were easily printable and feasible to deploy.

鈥淪ince then, Lucas Roberts 鈥�15 has joined the team and has taken the PR lead, as well as written a ton of documentation (and done insanely well). Several others have joined the team as well, volunteering their printers, time and money to help get these things cranked out as quick as possible.鈥�

Danny Miller 鈥�06 also has recently joined the team of volunteers as they print the respirator masks for CMH, as well as help others outside of Bolivar, including physicians from other clinics, suppliers or donors.

鈥淚n fact, a friend currently under lockdown in India donated HEPA filters for 140 masks through an order from Fleet Farm Supply,鈥� Kelly said.

Volunteers have spent many hours on the project, in addition to the responsibilities they have at their jobs.

鈥淢y employer, Duck Creek, was super-supportive of my involvement in this project 鈥� especially the critical, first few days when I was putting a good 14-18 hours per day in the prototyping/design/testing part, along with Matt,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淣ow that a design has been chosen and we're on week number two, I'm only spending about 6-8 hours a day on this project 鈥� mainly making connections with people, tracking down supplies, donations, doing interviews and helping others on the team get what they need.

鈥淭hat's still a lot of time if you look at the numbers, but this is suddenly what I do in my free time. Working with volunteers is great 鈥� nobody's doing it for the money 鈥� and interacting with people is quite fun when everyone has a giving spirit.鈥�

欧美视频 faculty members Dr. Perry Tompkins, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and professor of physics, and Dr. Dennis Siegfried, professor of biology and department chair, also have volunteered their time and efforts in assisting with the printing of the masks.

鈥淒r. Siegfried told me about the effort and since I have four 3D printers, I started printing parts and helping in the final phases of the design,鈥� Tompkins said. 鈥淚 currently have two of my printers printing parts. This is an effort of supporting our local community, serving those who are serving us. They are a backup plan, not meant to replace the standard masks. Serving others is one of the backbone principles at 欧美视频.鈥�

Working on this project during these unprecedented times revealed 欧美视频鈥檚 mission to Kelly in a number of ways as he and Winder navigated their way through those first days of prototyping.

鈥淚t was daunting, hard, encouraging and discouraging at times,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淢att demonstrated the servant-leader side a couple of notable times when it was 2 a.m. and I was wrapping up another design prototype. He'd call to simply be available in case I had any issues. He'd even think ahead to upcoming things on my list in order to help me get a jump-start on those.

鈥淭his sounds like I was the designer in this project, which is simply untrue. We both built prototypes and sort of volleyed them back and forth to each other, building on each other's findings.鈥�

A researcher-by-hobby, Kelly said he did have difficulty coping at first, because the more research he did, 鈥渢he more grim the situation looked.鈥�

鈥淏ut once this opportunity came up and I jumped in, I realized my purpose is not to worry; it's not to obsess over trends,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淚t's to observe the reality of the trends and do what I can to help people who will likely be affected by those trends.鈥�

Combining creative teaching, mentoring colleagues

With schools across the country moving their coursework to virtual learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have had to be creative, as well as equipped, to deliver lessons to their students.

For Angie Kriegshauser 鈥�19, a K-5 music teacher in St. Louis, that can be especially challenging. But, after earning her master鈥檚 degree in Instructional Technology Leadership from 欧美视频, Kriegshauser was prepared to take on the challenge of helping her students 鈥� and colleagues.

鈥淩ecently, another 欧美视频 alum 鈥� April Conrad 鈥�19 鈥� and I created a Google Classroom titled 鈥楨-Learning/Tech Tools and Resources鈥� with all of the technology tools that we have learned throughout our courses at 欧美视频 for our building colleagues,鈥� Kriegshauser said. 鈥淚 also created a Google Classroom for my K-5 music colleagues where we share ideas for lessons, and I have shared several technology tools that I have learned through 欧美视频. April and I are in frequent contact with both sets of colleagues and via text, if a technology question would arise at any time.鈥�

For her students, Kriegshauser has created screencasts so they not only get to hear her voice, but also are able to see her, as she includes herself within the lesson.

鈥淚 have created, and will continue to create, several screencasts, post to Seesaw, Google Classroom and provide my email address in order to keep in contact with my K-5 students,鈥� Kriegshauser said. 鈥淓very Monday, I schedule Google Classroom posts at 8 a.m. for my K-5 music students. Posts include anything from a screencast, links to music activities such as note reading, rhythm reading, recorder songs, vocal songs, homemade instruments, etc. I allow my students to make comments and share links of activities they have tried.鈥�

Kriegshauser is thankful that the degree she received from 欧美视频 is allowing her to be the support her students and her colleagues need.

鈥淒ue to the knowledge I gained from my degree, I have been a mentor to my colleagues both in my building and to my fellow K-5 music teachers by sharing every possible technology tool that I learned throughout my courses at 欧美视频,鈥� Kriegshauser said. 鈥淎nd, I have offered to give assistance even though we are not together.

鈥淎nd, thank you to all of my 欧美视频 instructors who gave me the technology tools that I use every day in order to virtually teach all 500 of my students music!鈥�

Coordinating medical efforts

In her multifaceted role as Director of Nursing for Women鈥檚 and Children鈥檚 Services at Mercy Hospital Springfield 鈥� Mercy Kids, Jennifer Murray鈥檚 goal every day 鈥� especially now 鈥� is to ensure that her teams have everything they need to do their work.

鈥淭hat includes getting the right people to the table to make decisions, as well as gathering the teams to create processes to meet our needs and working to get supplies and resources,鈥� Murray 鈥�14 鈥�18 said.

All of this is in addition to the hospital staff鈥檚 regular duties.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been very busy with a lot of calls and meetings to discuss COVID-19,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淓ven the meetings are different due to the pandemic. We鈥檝e converted them all to online WebEx calls so that we鈥檙e conforming to the social distancing rules that we know are so important to keep everyone healthy. We鈥檙e learning new things about the virus every day, and we have to be nimble and flexible to respond. What was best practice yesterday may change today, and we have to be ready to react.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also important to remember that as we鈥檙e battling this beast we call COVID-19, our other work doesn't stop. While we鈥檝e put a temporary stop on all non-critical procedures and surgeries, there are still people in our communities that need our services. We still have families having babies, children who need care, and other people who are ill with things other than COVID-19.鈥�

The key to getting through each day for Murray during this pandemic is to focus on what is important: 鈥淕od, my family, our community, our patients and our Mercy co- workers.鈥�

鈥淧rayer always helps and our meetings at Mercy always begin in prayer, which keeps us centered on why we do what we do every day, and in the critical times we鈥檙e facing now,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淎lso, I鈥檝e been taking a few minutes when it鈥檚 nice to go outside and get some sunshine. A few minutes alone on a bench outside the hospital immerses you in God鈥檚 springtime beauty and is a wonderful reminder of new life.鈥�

Murray said she is blessed that the values at Mercy are in line with 欧美视频鈥檚 mission as she serves those in need of care.

鈥淥ur mission statement is: 'To bring to life the healing ministry of Jesus through our compassionate care and exceptional service.'鈥� Murray said. 鈥淚 am truly blessed
to specifically serve in areas that welcome God鈥檚 new life into the world, that heal children and that witness miracles every day in premature infants who grow up to be healthy adults.鈥�

Serving those in need

When disaster strikes at home or abroad, Convoy of Hope is among the first to respond.

Its Disaster Services team partners with local churches, businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, donors and volunteers to serve millions of people who have been affected.

Kevin Rose 鈥�03, Senior Director of International Program Partner Relations with Convoy of Hope, works as part of the team that serves children and families in 18 countries around the world with school feeding programs, Women's Empowerment activities and agriculture projects.

But, with the COVID-19 global pandemic, Rose and his team have had to address this crisis, as well.

鈥淎ll of our operations in 18 countries have been affected and our team is working on how do we continue to serve people living in extreme poverty during this crisis,鈥� Rose said.

Rose鈥檚 days have been filled with hours of Zoom calls to determine how and where to serve in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

鈥淥ur team has been busy gathering information on the most affected, making plans on how we can best respond,鈥� Rose said. 鈥淲e have a small crew at our headquarters keeping things moving, loading and unloading trucks and answering the phones. The rest of us are working remotely supporting the efforts from home.

鈥淐onvoy of Hope is busy serving here in the United States by helping equip churches to serve the most vulnerable in their community because of the COVID-19 situation. This is being done with food provision and basic supplies. We have a commitment to provide 10,000,000 meals in the United States in response to COVID-19.

鈥淚nternationally, we are ensuring kids in our school feeding programs can have access to take home rations, and families have information and resources needed to shelter in place.鈥�

Rose said that during his time at 欧美视频, he was shown the value of servant leaders, and is eager to see how lives will be changed once the crisis is over.

鈥淭hat has been a practice I have always carried with me and over time have continued to see the value of leaders serving others,鈥� Rose said. 鈥淚n our work serving hurting and vulnerable people, if we do not approach that with the heart to serve, we will miss the entire reason we exist as an organization and as believers.

鈥淭his is an incredible opportunity for the Church to be very relevant and practical in showing the love of Christ to our communities. I am excited for all the stories we will hear for years to come on how people were impacted by the love of Christ.鈥�

Guiding transition to virtual learning

As a leader in the largest school district in Missouri, Shane Dublin, Ed.D., 鈥�99, 鈥�05, 鈥�10, 鈥�14 also serves in a support role 鈥� even more so in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

鈥淚 am blessed to work with the middle schools and high schools in our district

supporting the principals, teachers, students and staff members at each of the buildings,鈥� said Dublin, who is in his fourth year as the Executive Director of Secondary Learning for Springfield Public Schools (SPS).

When the COVID-19 outbreak forced SPS to move to virtual learning 鈥� 鈥楽PS At Home鈥� 鈥� Dublin said it was important to meet the needs of its students as well as healthcare and emergency response personnel. The district has even been a resource to other districts across the state.

鈥淥ur primary goals during this COVID-19 situation have been to ensure all of our students have access to food and other resources via wellness checks conducted by our teachers and leaders, and to provide childcare services to the healthcare and emergency response personnel in our community,鈥� Dublin said.

鈥淥nce the plans for these first two goals were in place, we focused our efforts on providing virtual instruction to our students and training/supporting our teachers to shift from the classroom to an online learning approach. 鈥楽PS At Home鈥� is our district鈥檚 virtual learning experience and began on March 30.

鈥淪PS is also offering access to online curriculum to districts across the state through our already established online learning system 鈥� Launch. Launch currently has approximately 275 Missouri district partners and, due to the COVID-19 scenario, is offering the curriculum to other districts as they work to provide online learning for their students.鈥�

Service, support and teamwork have been key to the transition, Dublin said.

鈥淚t has been a broad team of teachers, site leaders, district leaders and support personnel that have put together the plan to not only respond to these challenging times but to proactively ensure we serve our students and community,鈥� Dublin said. 鈥淎s a part of that broader team, my role is one of support to teachers and leaders as they work to provide high- quality learning services to our students.

鈥淚dentifying and removing barriers, providing resources and encouraging a positive professional culture define our Secondary Learning team鈥檚 approach to this work.鈥�

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Top photo: Matthew Winder '10, Matt Havens and Keith Kelly '11 worked to create and print respirator masks for healthcare workers.

Photo 2: Angie Kriegshauser '19 is a K-5 music teacher in St. Louis.

Photo 3: Jennifer Murray '14, '18 is the Director of Nursing for Women's and Children's Services at Mercy Hospital Springfield.

Photo 4: Kevin Rose '03 is the Senior Director of International Program Partner Relations with Convoy of Hope.

Photo 5: Shane Dublin, Ed.D., '99, '05, '10, '14 is the Executive Director of Secondary Learning for Springfield (Mo.) Public Schools.

*Published: 4-28-2020