She likes people, and she likes being around them.
But Sara Wood can’t even socialize with her Moundsville Council colleagues these days because of the usual precautions taken for a municipal government to continue operating public services and protections.
It’s now Zoom or Facetime or conference calls for Wood as she continues to work for her hometown and for West Virginia Northern Community College as the director of student activities on campuses in Wheeling, New Martinsville, and Weirton. Problem is, it’s all from within the walls of her house.
Wood wants to attend a festival, dang it, and yes even if it celebrates oatmeal. She’s young, she’s smart, and Wood is an admitted extrovert who anxiously awaits the green light to reconnect with family and friends and anyone who is healthy and ready for the re-start.
What have you discovered during the pandemic about your old habits, and what positive changes have you made?
I am an extrovert, and I love working with and being around people. My favorite part of both my job at WVNCC and my City Council position is the ability they give me to collaborate with other individuals on a daily basis. During COVID-19, I have been unable to do that in the same capacity, and that has been tough. I have relied heavily on technology to make up for the lack of face-to-face interaction.
One habit I developed is getting outside and taking walks every chance I get. Sunshine, nature, and physical activity have served as great antidotes to cabin fever for me. Being connected to technology all day can be energy draining, so getting out on my lunch break, or whenever I get a chance to take a few laps around the block or around town has been tremendously helpful to both physical and mental well-being. It’s a good chance to catch up on podcasts or listen to music and relax.
Explain the process that was undertaken to allow you and your Moundsville Council colleagues to continue operating the city during the Stay at Home Order.
City Council was cancelled for the second meeting in March. A special meeting was held on March 24 because, by state law, we were required to pass the budget that week. The meeting was closed to the public, but it was available on Facebook Live. Seats were changed to allow for social distancing. The first meeting in April was also cancelled, but again, to meet state law, we met April 21. The same social distancing measures were used, and the meeting had an abbreviated agenda.
This meeting was streamed on Zoom. The City Building continues to be closed to the public. Again, we have been relying heavily on technology to allow public viewing of Council meetings and to virtually “meet” with citizens over the phone, text, or email. The city manager is keeping the day-to-day operations of the city moving with a split staff, and our first responders and those deemed essential are working their normal schedules. We are grateful for their continued work and commitment to the city.
This “down-time” has given me quite some time to research new initiatives, grants, and ideas to better our community, as I am sure have my co-council members. Our first meeting back in a traditional setting may be quite a long one.
Do you and your council colleagues know if any of the city events scheduled for this summer will take place? When will those decisions be made?
We have made the decision to cancel the first “Jefferson Fridays” event in June. As a reminder, Jefferson Fridays is an event from the City of Moundsville Arts & Culture Committee and is essentially a community block party. We shut down Jefferson Avenue from 2nd to 3rd streets and have a band, food trucks, shopping, and a beer garden. At this point, we have not made any other decisions for further cancellations, but this is a very fluid situation with guidance changing day to day. All cancellations will be announced as decided.
How have you continued your work duties for West Virginia Northern Community College, and what new ideas have you created to continue engaging the students on all three campuses?
I am the Director of Student Activities at West Virginia Northern. I love my job because as I said above, I get to work directly with our students day-in and day-out. My job is to create student learning and development opportunities through social, educational, culture, and civic engagement on and off campus. The goal is that students not only have fun at these events and activities (although that is an important aspect), but also that they develop interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills that will benefit them outside of the halls of WVNCC.
Traditionally, all of this requires me planning events that get groups of students together in the same place. That’s easier said than done with COVID-19!
I have transitioned many of our activities into a virtual format through social media and the weekly student newsletter. Each week students can find a variety of activities in the newsletter ranging from seven different Women’s History Month activities to virtual engagement in March, egg hunts, talent shows, social distancing tips, “how-to” videos from community members and WVNCC employees, sexual assault prevention and awareness activities, community resources, fitness competitions, opportunities to support local businesses through our “curbside pickup” event, and many more. I think this situation has pushed so many institutions to think creatively about “untraditional” ways to deliver their normal services.
Northern has really stepped up to the plate through a quick transition to online learning and a commitment to supporting our students. All staff and faculty are working and are available to students through email, phone, Zoom, our new chat feature on our website, our 24-hour IT hotline, and many more mediums.
What is the first thing you want to do once it is safe to be around others? Please explain and tell me why, as well.
I want to attend a festival!
I LOVE the variety of festivals the Upper Ohio Valley has to offer, and I frequent all of them. My fiancé jokes that to show how much I love events and festivals, I would even go to an oatmeal festival if one existed. He’s not wrong, haha!
I love that feeling of community that events bring to the forefront. I also want to see my family. I have a very close-knit family and that has been one of the hardest things during this time frame. My fiancé is an essential worker, so we have been extremely diligent and careful with our social distancing as he is around so many people each day due to his line of work. I have nieces and nephews that I adore and who do not understand why I can see them only from the vehicle. My 5-year-old nephew said to me last week that he cannot wait until the coronavirus is over so he can go to a Mexican restaurant with me and get “cheese dip.”
So actually, that’s probably my answer. I’ll take my nephew to a Mexican restaurant for cheese dip.
