I Got A Masters and a Job … Then a Pandemic Struck

Driving across the country for a new job allowed for appreciation of sunsets and quality time with loved ones (Briana Gibbs/Key News)

After earning my Master of Science in Fisheries Management degree from the University of Miami in December, and thoroughly enjoying employment with the Key Biscayne Community Foundation during part of my tenure in Miami, on February 3^rd I was offered the job of my dreams: teaching middle and high school students about ocean conservation and ecology onboard a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest. Elated, I accepted the job offer and began to pack up my life in Miami in preparation for the move across the country to Seattle, in gray and rainy Washington.

I left Miami in mid-March, driving cross-country to my new life, focused on the future, unaware that something called Covid-19 would intervene.

As I have spent the last two weeks in self-quarantine with my family, I have felt much of the uncertainty facing service industry and other workers in all sectors of the economy. My job will be to take   middle and high school aged students out in the field.  But no one is going anywhere and no one knows when this will change.  My bright future seems dimmed.

We all face uncertainties of uncertain duration or effect.

This pandemic has affected all aspects of my life, from my job to my family to my housing situation.  I’m not alone in this, nor in my frustration.  But the silver lining of this looming cloud is the empathy and kindness I have seen in the world as people are isolated.  I’ve had unstructured time and the pleasure of checking in with loved ones, re-connecting with some I haven’t spoken to in years. Artists are creating and sharing content online, and people are in touch generally, all demonstrating that social distancing does not require disconnecting.  And, of course, community organizations and volunteers everywhere, like the Key Biscayne Community Foundation, are helping local communities in all kinds of ways.

These are positive developments that make coping with a pandemic a strange and unexpected learning experience; maybe a glimpse at a better, healthier future.