Alumni share about their lives in a COVID-19 world

“Pandemic” is one of the most intimidating terms in our modern vocabulary, but all that it represents is challenged by another word’s power: community.

“Clark community,” in particular, signifies an incalculable strength and solidarity not easily expressed yet richly experienced. COVID-19 has only reaffirmed the best of Clark: our shared values, our commitment to the greater good, our resourcefulness, and our resilience.

In March, we asked Clark alumni to share their stories of living in the age of COVID-19 so we could publish them in the alumni magazine. They responded with personal accounts filled with heartache and hope, humor and resolve. Not all those stories arrived in time to make it into the print issue, but we are honored to publish them in a digital format along with expanded versions of some of the magazine stories.

We heard from a teacher who told us what it’s like to educate middle schoolers in that checkerboard-square classroom known as a Zoom call.

We learned from other alums about the experience of becoming home-schoolers to their young children, and the pressures of balancing family and work in COVID-forced confinement.

A member of the Class of 1970, a psychotherapist, wrote of the distinct challenges of counseling patients online at a time when their anxiety levels were peaking.

Alumni reached out from Beijing, Mallorca, Hong Kong, and New York, which, in March, stood at the epicenter of the crisis. The virus is now bullying other parts of the country, and Clark alumni living in those areas are experiencing the worst of it.

They all bear witness to a time in modern history with few parallels. We invite you to read their accounts here, and as you do, to remember that while we may be dispersed and isolated, we are Clark together.