The Practice of
Service Living in
a Pandemic:
Lessons Learned
By Susana Cetta, LMHC, Director of Student Activities & Service Living
ON M A RCH 13, 2020, life as we knew it changed. Everyone
and everything came to a screeching halt and shut down
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Little was known, but fear
was rampant. Questions unanswered. Grocery stores,
pharmacies, gyms and restaurants were all closed or
severely limited. It was then our school made the decision
to go fully online. It was jarring to the soul. For students and
faculty alike, we were quickly finding our way through this
new world from home.
At first, Zoom was novel and fun. It was very enjoyable to
be able to be "together" while we were apart. Teaching was
fun and my students in my Positive Psychology and Social
Entrepreneurship classes were managing, some better than
others. After a few weeks, motivation waned. Prom was
cancelled and all end-of-year school activities were put
on hold.
In no time at all, I started to receive emails and text
messages from students expressing their deep concern for
people in our community who had minimal resources for
emergency supplies; people who were often undocumented
and living paycheck to paycheck at minimum wage jobs.
Our Falcons asked, "What can we do to help?" I asked them
to come together to create some ideas that were COVID-
safe and impactful. Our PTS Cares Club came up with
several initiatives:
Online Virtual Tutoring Program: PTS students were
invited to tutor Pre-K through 8
th
grade students who were
in the Branches Florida City program, at Lotus House
Shelter or children of Homestead Hospital healthcare
workers. Many of these students needed help with their
reading and math skills.
PTS CARES Gratitude Social Media Challenge: This
competition encouraged students to express their thanks to
South Florida's healthcare heroes! During the month of May,
students were asked to submit social media ads that could be
posted daily in honor of healthcare workers. The student who
submitted the best ads was awarded an Amazon gift card.
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