It has affected my life in positive and negative ways. Positive ways: I have gained more margin for a work-life balance. I work at home which saves 200 minutes of commuting that I can reallocate as minutes with my family - taking walks, playing at the park, cooking, etc. Going from the breakfast table to my office desk has reduced the morning rush stress that I once felt daily. Negative ways: I miss people. Although, my work is efficient and I am still meeting daily with my colleagues, I miss getting out of the house and physically mingling with them on work projects. I am also getting overwhelmed with new issues arising at home - I share an office with my spouse, and we have little space or separation during the day. This brings on a new stress; so much so that both of us are seeking professional guidance to navigate our new situation.

I am not fearful of the virus. I am healthy and my family is healthy. I know if I contract it, I will get over it. In fact, I think I had it in December; my symptoms certainly mirror the symptoms of friends who contracted the illness recently. Although I watched the statistics closely in March and April, I have stopped listening to the news and stopped reading articles about the illness. I am living life as close to normal as possible, seeing friends, occasionally getting food at restaurants, and attending worship service on weekends all while following the state's guidelines for safety.

I am learning much about myself and learning that perhaps I didn't handle stress well before the pandemic. I can be thankful that the pandemic has helped me to have time to reflect on who I am and see areas that I need to improve upon. The main way I handle stress within the confines of the pandemic is to be outside taking walks, meeting with friends to talk about the stress, having a daily time of spiritual reflection, and overall staying physically active.

I think the pandemic has shown me that my team at work is resilient and committed to our goals. I believe we have continued making progress and maybe have been even more efficient working from home and meeting via Microsoft Teams video conferences and Zoom. Something about the video conference helps us stick to the point and keep our meetings short.

Initially, I thought the change of working from home would last two weeks. I had a temporary mindset to my new work life for about 5 months. After 5 months of working from home, I finally accepted the situation as permanent and set up a better work environment (ergonomic chair, screen, desk, good lighting, etc.) rather than making do with a temporary set up. When the weather is nice, I set up on a table on my back porch and enjoy the ambient sunlight and sounds of nature. This certainly helps me deal with the new stresses the pandemic has brought about.

I have taught online since 2008. However, I have found that students are more accepting to synchronous video meetings via Zoom. Prior to the pandemic, students were not interested in meeting. Now that students are isolated, they are happy to meet with me and their classmates. It's made the online learning more engaging and has convinced me that I will continue the Zoom meetings beyond the pandemic.

I have now met with friends, family and groups outside of work via Zoom. I had not done so before. I am also attending more professional conferences than I was prior to the pandemic. Life has slowed down; I have fewer commitments and places to be. With the online conferences, I can simply click and be in Chicago or any other city. It's been good.

(About efforts to support students:)  Announcements in the online learning management system, emails, Zoom meetings.

(About engaging with colleagues:)  Microsoft Teams chat and video conferences, Zoom, email, texting.

(About helpful technologies:)  MS Office Teams. It's so easy to simply click on a chat to ask a quick question to my colleague. Using chat keeps my email inbox less cluttered. My email inbox is at the point that emails are mostly for outside constituent communications (faculty, students, professional organizations) and formal communications from my leadership team (deans, VP, President). MS Teams gives me quick access to my colleagues and a way for me to quickly respond to them. Sometimes, typing is not the right way to communicate, so we use the video. Seeing others "in person" helps me feel connected.

(About superpowers that help one to cope:)  I am interpreting this question as a "higher power" or a spiritual connection. I believe in prayer and use prayer daily. I believe in supporting friends and meeting to discuss spiritual topics with friends. I believe spirituality with friends bonds us and that bond strengthens us to deal with the stresses we face.

I think several generations are going to be vastly careful about the health risks they take. I think for a while, our society will continue in a high sanitation mindset. I think elementary aged children will go through a psychological conditioning that will make their coping skills forever different from the coping skills of adults who did not have this pandemic at an impressionable age. I think handshaking will no longer be the expected form of greeting for adults.

How people immediately isolated and in one perspective avoided friends and family. I will remember this time as a sad time.

I believe fear is a strong motivator and that we need to put fear in check. We need to weigh the "facts" that we are given and see how the facts fit in with the reality that we know. I have changed little about myself in response to this pandemic. I always washed my hands when coming home from a public place, and I still do. I have always taken vitamins, rested plenty and exercised to stay healthy, and I continue to do so in the pandemic. I believe I was set up for health and that I have continued to stay healthy. If I change anything, it will be to reach out sooner to friends. It took me about 5 months to do so, and I should have done it sooner.

(Anything else to add:)  No. These questions have been thorough and well stated. Thanks!

Tereasa Gilmore, Assistant Professor of Business, and Undergraduate Chair, Baker University, may be reached at tereasa.gilmore@bakeru.edu.