Friday Focus: Alternate universes
May 1, 2020
— by Evon Peter, vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education
In an alternate universe, we would have the UAF commencement in Fairbanks happening tomorrow. This was brought to my attention through an automatic email notification I received last Wednesday, as a reminder that the upcoming week was my turn to write the Friday Focus.
Instead, we are sheltering in place and social distancing while diligently working to complete a semester of studies and instruction like no other in living memory. In a way, we are living in an alternate universe that was unimaginable just six months ago, and we continue to exist in a state of constant adaptation to changing circumstances, many of which are beyond our control.
We are living through a time of great story making, like many of the epic sagas of past narration. In those stories, the main characters have to make choices, oftentimes facing complex challenges with overwhelming odds.
In great stories, we bear witness to mistakes and failures, frustration and suffering, and an eventual transformative awakening to new knowledge, emotional growth and moral development. In such stories and such times as the one we are living in now, heroes emerge from within everyday people.
This spring has not been easy for any of us. We each have had to make radical changes in the way we work, teach, learn and live. For those with children or elderly or immune-compromised people at home, and those facing financial or other hardships exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been added layers of complexity to navigate.
Regardless of your particular set of challenges, I want to thank each of you for doing the best you can, given the circumstances we are collectively facing. I am certain most of you deserve the recognition of a hero.
We are only partway through this story. I encourage us to hold empathy and understanding for one another and to listen to our moral compass as we navigate in a good-faith effort to prioritize each other’s safety and success. I am confident that we will prevail and find innovative paths forward.
To our students who are graduating this month, I want to offer you my heartfelt congratulations on completing your degree! In any given year it is a formidable accomplishment, but in particular this year. I wish you the best in your next steps, whether it is to continue your education or enter the workforce, or both!
To our faculty and staff, I want to thank you for the extra lift to make it through this incredible spring semester. My admiration for the passion and excellence among all ranks of our institution continues to expand!
Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.