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McClead was among nearly 100 OHIO College of Health Sciences and Professions students who graduated early last spring to join the ranks of health care workers ministering to COVID-19 patients across the country. Now a nurse at Marietta Memorial Hospital, McClead says she has no regrets after her first tumultuous months on the job.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I ever second-guessed it or asked 鈥極h, what did I get myself into?鈥欌€� she says. 鈥淚 was ready to go and care for these patients. I was ready to be there for them when their family couldn鈥檛 be.鈥�

Providing emotional support for patients whose loved ones cannot visit the hospital under the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions is a part of the job McClead feels especially suited for. In fact, it鈥檚 the reason she decided to become a nurse in the first place.

When McClead鈥檚 own father was hospitalized with a severe blood infection years ago, it was his nurses who kept McClead and her family informed and optimistic throughout his recovery. That attentiveness made a big impression on McClead, then a senior in high school, and has in many ways shaped her work at Marietta Memorial over the course of the pandemic.

She also experienced those restrictions personally when in mid-November she and her parents tested positive for COVID-19. McClead and her father had mild cases and were able to recover at home, but her mother was hospitalized

鈥淚 know it鈥檚 hard for nurses to call the families because we are so busy, but from my personal experience, I know how important it is to get those updates and how those loved ones at home are also worried about the patient,鈥� she says.

More than 1,300 miles away, a fellow spring 2020 OHIO graduate started his career in another field vastly impacted by the global pandemic.

Matthew Kent, BSED 鈥�20, moved across the country, accepting a position last fall at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a social studies teacher, his top concern wasn鈥檛 lesson planning鈥攖hough he鈥檚 devoted hours to building his curriculum. It was building a relationship with his students.

鈥淭he top concern for me, academics aside, is my students鈥� social and emotional well-being,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t goes back to the question of 鈥榳hy did you want to become a teacher?鈥� To help kids out.鈥�

Like many teachers, Kent鈥檚 job has been complicated by fluctuating COVID-19 numbers. When cases spiked last October in Cheyenne Mountain鈥檚 district, he and his colleagues were notified on a Sunday afternoon that the school was shifting from hybrid learning to completely online classes鈥攚ithin the next 20 hours.

It was a daunting task, but Kent鈥檚 focus was how to make the switch easier for his students.

鈥淲hat helps this transition is a good rapport with students,鈥� he says, something that usually develops naturally through in-person interaction over the course of the school year. For online instruction, Kent had to be more intentional about finding time within the 90-minute class periods for personal connection.

鈥淚 tell my students, 鈥業f you want to get on and talk to me about literally anything that last half hour of class, I鈥檒l talk to you about it,鈥欌€� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I was going to get a whole lot of students to take me up on that, but it鈥檚 been overwhelming participation.鈥�

The transition to online learning also helped him see his status as a first-year teacher as an unexpected advantage.

鈥淪ome of my colleagues that have been teaching at the school for a while, they had the entire first semester planned out. All that got tossed out of a window,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ne of the silver linings for me is I鈥檓 not stressing about adapting and changing all my content. I鈥檓 creating all of it right now.鈥�

It鈥檚 a mindset he wants to apply to whatever unexpected circumstances arise in his subsequent years teaching because, like McClead, Kent never doubted for a second that this is the profession for him.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult, it鈥檚 challenging, but at the same time, it鈥檚 what I signed up for,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 learned a lot of lessons this year I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 learn at this age, and I think I鈥檓 coming out of it as a better person.鈥�

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