During Colgate’s initial two-week universal quarantine, cross-campus staff volunteers took on thousands of shifts to carry out necessary tasks while student activity was restricted. The majority of these necessary tasks were carried out by various coaches and personnel from Colgate’s Department of Athletics.

During the quarantine, which lasted from Aug. 24 to Sept. 8, all on-campus dining venues remained closed. As a result, meals were delivered twice daily to meal drop locations near each residence hall for students who had opted in. Furthermore, students living in campus residence halls had to remain in their dorms–apart from their allotted outdoor time–which limited their ability to carry out essential back-to-school errands. Vice President and Director of Athletics Nicki Moore knew that these tasks could be accomplished by her staff.

“In early August, the magnitude of the workload that would be required to successfully execute the plan to reopen Colgate became more evident, and I recognized that our division had the expertise, person-power, will and spirit to carry it out,” Moore said.

Other tasks carried out by volunteer staff included delivering books to students from the bookstore, delivering packages from the mailroom and transporting and organizing the belongings of students on move-in day. Throughout the quarantine, these staff members were also responsible for staffing the COVID-19 testing tents and monitoring students during their designated outdoor time on campus. Moore is proud of the enthusiasm and effort members of this large group of staff have shown during this period of volunteering.

“They have been incredibly supportive and jumped in…to meet these needs. Not only have they volunteered, but they have also done it enthusiastically, with a persistent positive attitude, completing jobs with excellence, efficiency and sincere care. Though there have been pretty exhausting days, with staff and coaches doing shifts on top of their regular jobs, I think everyone is also proud to have played a part in the success thus far of the Plan to Reopen Colgate,” Moore said.

In total, 395 Colgate staff members completed a sum of 2,544 delivery shifts. Each staff member averaged 6.44 shifts. 1,596 of the shifts were taken by Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics staff members while the remaining 948 shifts were completed by cross-campus staff members. Moore said her colleagues’ determination in completing these shifts reflects Colgate’s values as a community. 

“For the last two years, we’ve talked about and lived into our vision ‘to be an inclusive community of competitive excellence’ and our virtues of being thoughtful, driven, enthusiastic, cohesive and bold; and our coaches and staff have lived these things really beautifully through this experience,” Moore said. “When we talk about pursuing excellence in every arena, we mean it… even when it means loading student belongings in the rain or delivering student packages or meals.”