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Pandemic Lessons by Morgan Porzio, Director of Marketing & Communications I know that I am in good company when I admit that for my entire career until early 2020, I was a professional who prided herself on how few sick days I took and how well I could push through an illness to show up at work. What I once thought noble and indicative of a stellar work ethic, I now recognize as entirely self- centered and potentially detrimental to my entire community. I admit this to acknowledge a simple point: I am a better colleague and school administrator now that I put community health above a deadline or the (mis)perception of what it means to be a good employee. There are myriad instances of insights like this that have forced their way through the rocky landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic to blossom into reflection, growth, and innovation. We see that in healthcare. In art and technology. And most certainly we have experienced this in education, specifically at Trevor. Such insights can be a salve to help reckon with the illness, death, isolation, learning loss, and financial uncertainties that plagued so many in our city, country, and world over the course of this pandemic. They can never be enough to balance the wounds of COVID-19, but to forgo the reflection, growth, and innovation that arises in a shared tragedy would be a tragedy itself. A greater shared commitment to community health is one of the most visible ways that our communities have evolved through the pandemic. We take on greater personal and institutional burdens to keep our shared communities healthy and safe. Handwashing, temperature checks, and even routine testing for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV are now a part of our cold and flu seasons—every season now, in fact. Resources are provided by government, private employers, and educational institutions to ward against illness, such as the testing – Feature Article – 34 / TREVOR MAGAZINE WINTER 2022–2023

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