Karin Hilgersom (Truckee Meadows Community College) oral history interview conducted by Magdalena Martinez and Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio: transcript

An Interview with Karin Hilgersom
Perspectives from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Leadership and Learning in Nevada
Produced by:
The University of Nevada Las Vegas
The Lincy Institute
2024
Principal Researchers:
Magdalena Martinez, Ph.D. and Kelliann Beavers, Ph.D.
The following interview was a part of the “Perspectives from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Leadership
and Learning in Nevada” research project. The recorded interview and transcript were made
possible through the generosity of The Lincy Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The
goal of the project was to understand and document how Nevada organizations and leaders
responded to the myriad challenges that the pandemic engendered. The interviewees thank The
Lincy Institute and their supporters for the opportunity to reflect on their roles throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers also acknowledge the following individuals who contributed
to the conceptualization, data collection, and analysis of the project: Dr. John Hudak, Dr. Makada
Henry-Nickie, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Taylor Cummings, Peter Grema, Kristian Thymianos,
Saha Salahi, Madison Frazee, and Katie Lim.
Each interviewee had the opportunity to review their transcript. All measures have been taken to
preserve the style and language of the interviewee. This interview features Karin Hilgersom,
President of Truckee Meadows Community College, and was conducted on 10/5/22 by Magdalena
Martinez and Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio. This interview covers topics including reflections on
leadership, organizational challenges, and opportunities for collaboration.
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Interview with Karin Hilgersom
Date: 10-05-2022
SPEAKERS: Magdalena Martinez, Dr. Karin Hilgersom, Carmen Solano-Patricio
Magdalena Martinez [00:03]
So, we are here today, October 5th, 2022, on a Tuesday, with Dr. Hilgersom from Great Basin –
no?
Karin Hilgersom [00:14]
No, I'm at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.
Magdalena Martinez [00:15]
Truckee Meadows, yes, thank you. TMCC. And so, again, you consent to being a part of this
conversation.
Karin Hilgersom [00:25]
Yes.
Magdalena Martinez [00:26]
And you consent to having this recorded.
Karin Hilgersom [00:28]
Yes.
Magdalena Martinez [00:29]
And you consent to anything attributed – should we include any quotes, we shall attribute it to
you?
Karin Hilgersom [00:34]
Yes.
Magdalena Martinez [00:35]
Okay. Thank you so much. So, let me pull up my questions real quick. We are really interested
in hearing more about you, in terms of the pandemic, and your role during that time. And
specifically, if you could talk to us a little bit about how you saw it – if you could describe your
role throughout the pandemic and the role of TMCC as a whole?
Karin Hilgersom [01:06]
So I think there were just many, many decisions that had to be made. And some of them were
decisions that a president probably has never had to make before on behalf of the college
(laughs), including, "How many masks do we need? What about disinfectant? Is there a special
sanitizer to clean the desktops in the classrooms?
And so, I did quickly convene what we still refer to today as a COVID management crisis team.
And it's a group which includes a couple of faculty senators, classified staff, and our health and
safety compliance officer, and the executive leadership team. And at the beginning of the
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pandemic, we were meeting almost daily. And then, as things slowed down, it was once a week
or only twice a week, and now we're only meeting maybe once a month. But that group was
really key in helping us do literally hundreds of communications, and all types of decisions on
how to open some of the things back up on our campus. Because we knew that our
professional-technical faculty and our health career faculty, they really couldn't move to online
very effectively. So we did what we needed to do. And interestingly enough, we had very few
infections in those classrooms because we took every precaution that you could imagine at the
time.
So I think, in terms of the role, my role was to try to lead a team of people, to ensure the health
and safety of students, faculty, staff, and the college community, and to try to balance that with
the need to have academic programs continue during a pandemic.
Magdalena Martinez [02:55]
And in terms of TMCC, how did you see its role within the broader community?
Karin Hilgersom [03:01]
You know, I would say that our role was not as impactful as the University of Nevada, Reno,
who did have more medical people and more facilities. That I think their role was much more
important in the community than our role was. I think our role did exist in the community of
NSHE. We did participate in the system discussions on some of those things. And I do think
because we did a lot of our things through YouTube videos that were posted online, I think the
other role that we hope we played, at least for some individuals who noticed, was that we tried
to model a healthy response to the pandemic.
Magdalena Martinez [03:43]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [03:44]
And that we put all of that out there very publicly.
Magdalena Martinez [03:47]
Mm-hmm. Now, you started to go through this a little bit – the timeline, that is. For instance, the
COVID – I think you got a management team, right?
Karin Hilgersom [03:59]
Covid Management Crisis Team.
Magdalena Martinez [04:00]
Crisis Team.
Karin Hilgersom [04:03]
Yeah.
Magdalena Martinez [04:04]
That was meeting daily, and then weekly, and now monthly. What are some pivotal incidents or
activities that you engaged in, in reflecting now on the timeline of COVID, that really stand out?
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Karin Hilgersom [04:22]
Well, what really stands out is, a couple of weeks before the governor put us on – told us all to
go home and put us on lockdown.
Magdalena Martinez [04:27]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [04:28]
We had met with faculty – and it was about a few days before spring break, and we had agreed
that faculty needed to be ready to shift to online. But the hope was that they would – I'm trying to
remember exactly – but the hope was that they would make it to spring break – that's right.
And so, a couple of weeks – we thought we had two weeks to make that pivot, and it ended up
being a lot shorter than that. But that's because, at that point, if I'm recalling this correctly, my
memory's a little shaky. But what I recall is, state agencies were basically told, "Shut down and
go home."
Magdalena Martinez [05:10]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [05:11]
And so, faculty had to make that pivot before spring break. It would have been nice to have that
week, where they could kind of regroup a little bit, but they didn't get that.
Magdalena Martinez [05:20]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [05:21]
And the other thing I remember is, there was very – there was not clear direction on where I, as
the president, should be. So I think it was me and the facility staff – so I kept coming to campus,
and I was the only one in the building. The facility's executive director, he was in his office on
the other side of campus. And then I think we still had a couple of custodians who were
gloved-up, masked-up, had special cleansers, and things like that. But even that, at some point,
sent them home too because there was no one here. So there wasn't really any new thing to
clean.
Magdalena Martinez [05:59]
Yeah.
Karin Hilgersom [06:00]
And so, I do remember – and I think I kept coming into the office, for at least a month, before I
started hearing that the other presidents weren't doing that. That they had all started to work
from home. And so I said, "Okay, I guess I'll work from home too then." Because it was – it did
seem kind of stupid, right? And there were days where I felt a little unsafe because I knew that
the facility's people were on the other side of campus, and I was just kind of here alone, you
know? (laughs)
Magdalena Martinez [06:28]
Mm-hmm.
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Karin Hilgersom [06:29]
So I do remember those weird kinds of moments.
Magdalena Martinez [06:32]
Yeah. Any other key moments during the pandemic?
Karin Hilgersom [06:37]
You know, I remember feeling proud. That as the pandemic wore on, and even as we started to
reintroduce face-to-face classes, particularly in the professional-technical areas, the health
careers, and some science labs, that there were no infections, and we were very proud of that.
Because we were socially distancing. We had sanitizers everywhere. Everybody had to wear a
mask. If someone did get an infection, and if they had been in a class, like five days prior, then
we would – we bought a pretty expensive cleaner that is kind of sprayed on everything, just in
case. So really, we did remarkably well, considering that by about the third month, we started
reintroducing some of those face-to-face classes back.
Magdalena Martinez [07:24]
Mm-hmm. Very helpful. Thank you.
Now, in thinking about different groups that were impacted by the pandemic, can you talk a little
bit about how you worked with the groups that you felt were the hardest hit, if at all?
Karin Hilgersom [07:41]
Well, we also did student surveys, so we know who [were] the hardest hit. And our surveys
revealed, pretty much in line with national data, that our underrepresented groups – Latinos,
Latinas. We are also an HSI and – or low-income people. They were definitely hit harder. We
were also hearing that some of these students were trying to do their online courses in small
apartments, where they were sitting on a bed with a sibling with their computer and their laptop
open. And it just wasn’t a very great place to try to learn. And then, their internet wasn't strong
enough to really handle all the internet traffic in a particular household.
Magdalena Martinez [08:25]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [08:26]
So we lent out 80 laptops. We bought the hotspot so people could increase their internet
capacity. We tried to publicize free internet deals that Spectrum was doing so that students
could maybe upgrade their internet from the home.
At a certain point – and this may have been about a year in – we actually started opening
common areas again. So that even if people had their whole class schedule online, they could
come to our beautiful learning commons and have high-speed internet, and a nice place to sit,
and study, and learn. So – did I answer that?
Magdalena Martinez [09:04]
Yes, yes. That's very helpful.
Karin Hilgersom [09:06]
And you know, we used to have a COVID management page on our website, and you can see
all the communications. I wonder if it's still up there, hiding? Because we were really (looking at
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the computer). Let's see. Here we go. Yeah, there are still a few. We still have a COVID-19
information and resources website page, and some of it probably was taken down. Because at
one point, we had a couple hundred communications on here.
Magdalena Martinez [09:40]
Mm-hmm.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [09:43]
And while you’re looking at things online, do you have any of the records for those student
surveys available anywhere?
Karin Hilgersom [09:51]
The IR office could provide those.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [09:54]
Okay. I just thought that was interesting because I love it when they ask us what we think, right-
Karin Hilgersom [09:59]
Yeah.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [10:00]
-and what we were experiencing. That was really great that you did that.
Karin Hilgersom [10:03]
Yeah.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [10:02]
And so, it's something that I could look for or request if I need- [cross talking]
Karin Hilgersom [10:06]
You could absolutely request it. I don't – it may be posted publicly. I just don’t recall. But it's with
our IR office. Probably, the best person to go to is Stephanie Walden or Cheryl Scott.
Magdalena Martinez [10:29]
Thank you. Yes, we're also collecting any kind of publications that organizations have put out
related to COVID.
Karin Hilgersom [10:37]
Right.
Magdalena Martinez [10:40]
So that would be really helpful. In thinking about the different levels of government, you
mentioned – of course, the governor's office called for everything to close down initially.
Karin Hilgersom [10:54]
Right.
Magdalena Martinez [10:55]
And then there were different levels of government. Is there anything you wish the government,
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at any level, could have or could do differently in response to the pandemic, and also, the
economic downturn, right? We know that those two were hand-in-hand.
Karin Hilgersom [11:10]
So, overall, I was pretty pleased with the way the state handled it. I mean, one of the things that
happened for us is, once we heard from the faculty in the pro-tech areas and in healthcare,
NSHE asked the governor's office for an exemption, so that those people could come back, and
it was quickly granted. And that was great because I think, had that not been done, there would
have been a lot of concerns, and some of those programs could have been decimated. I mean
that could have been the after effect.
So I think we got a pretty good response. I think the confusion around whether or not students
should be vaccinated was unfortunate. That it got very political, and then it did happen, and then
suddenly, it didn't have to happen. And other states, friends that I know at other colleges, their
small local boards made those decisions very quickly. And so the vaccination mandate was
actually fully-implemented, right, very early on in the pandemic. I think we took longer than
some states that I'm pretty familiar with. But still, for the most part, I think that the response was
actually very good.
I think what was not a good response – and I hope somebody is spending the money and the
time fixing this – but the unemployment database and the ability for someone to collect
unemployment was pretty poor, and maybe, more states were caught off-guard, right, with the
overwhelming numbers of unemployment applicants. But we do know that many of our students
who are working – and for example, the hospitality industry in Reno was completely shut down.
So these are full-time and part-time jobs in the hotels and casinos, and we know that many of
our students were laid off, and they're trying to get in the unemployment pipeline. And basically,
the phone was busy for months, you know? I mean, it was just sort of a horrendous situation at
the unemployment office. And this affects community college learners because we are a
microcosm of the more traditional community.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [13:19]
Do you know if those students, those working students – and I work, myself, as well, in addition
to studying, did the university or college environment do anything to help those students find
jobs if they couldn't collect unemployment?
Karin Hilgersom [13:31]
You know, if you recall early on in the pandemic, there weren't a lot of new jobs available. So, of
course, in our training and health career programs, we were always finding pretty entry – getting
students into jobs. And some of those jobs did not slow down. Manufacturing – we train for
Tesla and Panasonic – that did not slow down that much. And of course, health careers needed
more people, which is why our health career faculty really needed – wanted to keep going so
they could get people in critical health career jobs out there to help with COVID.
So I guess the answer is, yes, of course, we helped, because we always do. That's a part of
who we are and what we do. But on the other hand, some jobs, they just disappeared. And now,
they're all back, right? They're all back. But there was at least a six-month period where we
were very concerned. We gave a lot of emergency aid out. We gave a lot of our – we found a
way to distribute our HEERF American Rescue Plan dollars very, very quickly so that students
could not end up on the streets. I was very proud of our efforts on that. We were very fast and
very effective.
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Magdalena Martinez [14:47]
What did you do that – why do you think that was [the case]?
Karin Hilgersom [14:52]
Part of it was having the COVID management team meet so frequently and having all the right
people in the room and saying, "Well, we're getting all this money. What's the best way to
distribute this?" We're not going to make people fill out FAFSAs. We don't have to. We just need
– and we can't sit there and take a month to distribute this. We need to get this out fast.
So we developed, basically, a short survey. And a student would be asked, "Are you a student?
Put in your ID. Do you need some funds in order to kind of get through the pandemic, yes or
no? How much do you think you need?" And that was it. I mean, a student could complete that
in a few minutes, and within a few days, receive a check of those HEERF funds and that was
great.
And some of them, interestingly enough, we knew that the maximum we gave out – gosh,
please don't quote me on this because my memory is so foggy on this – but I thought it was
about $1,200 a student per semester. But some students would say, "I need $200," you know
because they didn't necessarily know the maximum, right? So we gave out all kinds of awards,
but if a student said, "I need $3,000," then we would say, "Okay, well, the maximum we're giving
out is $1,200. Here you go." So it was pretty fast and pretty effective.
Magdalena Martinez [16:11]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [16:12]
And we did try to correlate, as best we could, the students who we knew they were already
need-based because they're in our financial aid system, without making them re-do a whole
bunch of financial aid proof.
Magdalena Martinez [16:23]
Very helpful. Do you find that other community colleges took a similar approach?
Karin Hilgersom [16:32]
You know, I don’t know. I honestly don't know. I remember, at the time, we communicated a little
bit. But I think that different colleges did very different approaches, different amounts of money.
Part of it is, we're just big enough to be cumbersome, with 10,000 students at the time. That's
different than serving 2,000 students, right? So we knew we needed a process that was
somewhat automated, but that was somewhat fast because again, we didn't want to twiddle our
thumbs and take six months. While at the same time, some of our students were waiting to not
even get money from unemployment, to even fill out the application for the unemployment
because the web-based structure was just literally shut down.
Magdalena Martinez [17:22]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [17:23]
It was so overwhelmed. And I don’t know if you recall this, but it was bad.
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Magdalena Martinez [17:28]
Mm-hmm.
Karin Hilgersom [17:29]
And again, I hope they've fixed it. I mean now, we've got this lull. And hopefully, in the State of
Nevada, we're taking what I understand is a very, very old system and upgrading it to modern
times.
Magdalena Martinez [17:41]
Very helpful. Thank you. I'm going to pass it on to Carmen, who's going to ask the remainder of
the questions.
Karin Hilgersom [17:49]
Okay, thanks.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [17:51]
Yeah. I had questions about your acceptance rates, admissions rates actually, I should say, and
deferral rates, and then retention rates. So, on the front end, and then the back end. You can
probably start with, were your [students] graduating during all of this?
Karin Hilgersom [18:08]
You know, yes. We actually – when you look at the graduates, our enrollment went down, but
we increased the number of certificate earners. So we've done a good job with that.
Then you asked about admission because we're open access. So, if you have your high school
diploma or high school equivalency, and you've taken the high school equivalency test, you can
come to TMCC.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [18:33]
And [students] were applying?
Karin Hilgersom [18:35]
Oh, yeah. I mean, we lost about six percent enrollment the first year and about five percent the
second year. But now, this semester, we're starting to trend up again. So we're pretty confident
the downturn in enrollment was a direct result of the pandemic.
But the other way I like to think about it is, that means that one, we retained 93% of our
students, right? Year two, we lost some more. But let's focus on the 87% that were still "coming
to town," and that's what we've done. And so, what you see is a better – improvements to
certificate and degree completion rates but enrollment went down.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [19:20]
Thank you. And I'm glad that you pulled ups the specific statistics and just had them ready. So,
in terms of employment for those students, you talked a little bit about that, right? The students
that were working and needed help finding a job. Do you have any data or feedback about
students that graduated from your programs and then went on to work at any particular industry.
Karin Hilgersom [19:45]
Well, that may be a little unclear. I'm not sure if students were looking for jobs. I think at the
time, people wanted to stay home so that they wouldn't get COVID.
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Carmen Solano-Patricio [19:53]
Yeah.
Karin Hilgersom [19:54]
So the problem I'm talking about is, they needed unemployment, and the Nevada – the
unemployment system was so antiquated, with thousands and thousands of people trying to get
unemployment at the same time, that the system couldn't accommodate and sort of shut down.
So when you say, "looking for jobs," it's – at the time, I think it was more about, we just need to
get you some funds so that you can be safe and healthy. Because many jobs at that time, you
were at risk for COVID prior to vaccination. Now, when vaccinations started coming around, I
think attitudes changed pretty quickly. Because if you’re vaccinated, your odds of dying from
COVID are a lot less. You might get sick, but you probably won't die. And so that's when things,
I think, changed, and we started moving to a new model.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [20:49]
You’re threading in those timeline questions very seamlessly there.
Karin Hilgersom [20:53]
Yeah.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [20:54]
So, you talked a bit about crisis response, right? Whether that was through funds, or cleaning
materials, or food even. What would you say that we can learn from those responses that would
be lessons for future crises, different types of crises?
Karin Hilgersom [21:11]
Okay. That's – I've got to – I think what we learned in higher ed is that we need to have
flexibility. So, one of the things that we did is we really upgraded technology. And we provided
numerous training opportunities in the summer so that faculty would be better, in rooms that
were either an online venue or a hybrid venue. We now have several classrooms where we
have five cameras all over and a screen, so that individuals can be in the classroom physically
or they can Zoom in. That way, if they're not feeling well, they don't have to miss class. Or if they
have a child home sick, and they need to stay home, they don't have to miss class. And then we
have a little robot, and the iPad follows the faculty member around. So it's a really nice, dynamic
classroom environment.
So I think what we learned is that we do need to invest in technology, not just because of the
pandemic, but because it's just a nice thing to do in an adult-student environment. Because it
doesn't just add flexibility for the faculty member, but it also can help any student out when
they're sick, even if it's just with a cold. So from the public health perspective, I think we learned
a lot about how we could improve teaching and learning so that individuals are spreading less
disease and [illnesses].
Carmen Solano-Patricio [22:39]
You just answered one of my questions about innovation, and I’m glad that you answered it with
technology.
Karin Hilgersom [22:42]
Oh, okay.
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Carmen Solano-Patricio [22:43]
That's great.
Karin Hilgersom [22:44]
Yeah.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [22:45]
So I'll move on to the next question. What do you think have been the most innovative ways –
again, we're talking about innovation – but this time, with regard to people; that organizations
and citizens have dealt with the challenges? So that can be an example of a collaboration,
perhaps, between TMCC and an organization outside, like a nonprofit, or a collaboration
between program leaders in your institution. Anything that comes to mind.
Karin Hilgersom [23:11]
You know – and you said, kind of, the most innovative idea. I think – see, some of these things,
which felt innovative at first, aren't anymore. So I mean right away, we bought 500 Zoom
licenses like really fast because people really like Zoom. And we were familiar with BlueJeans,
but it was pretty limited compared to Zoom. So we invested in Zoom, but then we started
investing into the physical classroom spaces as well. And I do think that some of those things
were probably the most innovative of all. I'm trying to think if there are any other examples that
weren't just "you do it because you have to." Like sanitizers everywhere and signs everywhere,
and we socially distance all the public areas and all of those things. But I think the most
innovative is, really, the things that we do now, that are still in place, that can help us have more
flexible classroom environments.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [24:12]
Do you still have the robot going around?
Karin Hilgersom [24:15]
We do. I think we're up to five or six classrooms now. Yeah, that will never change. Those are
little things – and it's just like a little robot pedestal, but it has – the instructor wears a sensor,
and it follows that sensor around. And so the iPad camera is capturing the faculty member, but
they can walk around and have a little more freedom. But then there are cameras all over the
classroom too, and then there's – I mean it's very innovative, and that's pretty cool.
I think the other thing that may be a byproduct of this is, some of the faculty members, who you
would not suspect, got pretty comfortable with technology during COVID, and now they're using
it in smarter ways. So, for example, our automotive program and our heavy equipment diesel
technician programs, they have a huge smart monitor in what looks like an automotive shop, in
a lab, or a diesel shop. So they'll have this big monitor, and then they'll have chairs. And they
call it a Flipped Classroom," which is differently understood in the liberal arts than it is in
automotive. But what it means is, they can pull up a schematic – let's say, a schematic of an
engine. Which, a lot of it has computer technology in that. And because it's a smartboard it's not
like a television set or a PowerPoint slide – they can interact with that schematic and then they
say, "Okay. Now you've seen the schematic. You know how to interact with it. Some of this is
almost – feels a little like 3D. Now, go and do it." And so then the students say, "Oh, okay," and
then they go and do it.
And so they've actually been increasing the hands-on time in the technical training programs,
but they tee it up with a smartboard, a big, smart computer monitor. And some of the companies
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that they work with, who supply some of the instructional materials, are doing a much better job
of increasing the level of interaction that can be accessed through this technology. So it's much
more fun than a textbook, and much more lively, and much more experiential.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [26:31]
I'm honestly blown away. I've never heard of something like that. Were there any other
disciplines that used technology in, like culinary, for example?
Karin Hilgersom [26:42]
You know, culinary, not so much yet. Not here. I suspect CSN might be doing some really cool
things. Because I know – and I think the reason why is, I think the Las Vegas restaurants are
ahead. I've heard that you can go to California Pizza Kitchen in Las Vegas and your pizza will
be served by a robot. We're not seeing that yet in Reno and Sparks, right? But we're ready for it.
We talk about it; we think about it. How will this affect culinary? But right now, it's just not a need
yet.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [27:17]
Interesting. Okay. I'm going to shift a little bit. You mentioned that you were really fast about
getting those HEERF payments out. Were there any other policies or aid packages that you
found particularly helpful?
Karin Hilgersom
Well, I think if I'm recalling correctly, we set one up with our foundation as well. And that was
early on before we knew we were getting those HEERF packages. And I want to say it was a
pretty small amount. I want to say, $40,000 or something, where we said, "Boy – and that was
designed to go to students who were really in an emergency situation.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [27:55]
You said your foundation?
Karin Hilgersom [27:54]
The TMCC Foundation. So private donors.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [27:59]
And that was funded privately.
Karin Hilgersom [28:00]
Right. Yeah.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [28:02]
Interesting. I don't think that we've heard something like that, at least at the university setting or
higher ed setting. Were there any state programs or federal programs that you could identify as
particularly helpful, or not?
Karin Hilgersom [28:13]
Well, the HEERF. I mean the federal HEERF money was very, very helpful.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [28:19]
Did you see any ARPA money or CARES money that was particularly helpful?
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Karin Hilgersom [28:24]
Well, I think it's all the same. When I say "HEERF," I think it's all under the same umbrella. Well,
in a recent bucket of funding; we got an extra $667,000 and some change for the extra rescue
dollars that minority-serving institutions could apply for. And we did apply, and we did get that,
and that's helpful too. Some of that aid is to students, but we're also allowed to use that aid for
counseling advisors' wraparound support services, which is what we've done.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [29:09]
The last question on my list here is a little bit more personal. And if you bring it down, from the
larger scale, to just you as an individual. And especially because you've been asking students
how they feel and what they need, right? Are you hopeful, and do you find that your students
are hopeful now?
Karin Hilgersom [29:28]
(coughs) Excuse me. Did you say helpful?
Carmen Solano-Patricio [29:32]
Hopeful.
Karin Hilgersom [29:33]
Hopeful about what? I'm not sure I'm following the question.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [29:37]
Recovery. Because there's a different mindset.
Karin Hilgersom [29:40]
Oh, you know what? I'll go a step further. We're having a pretty normal fall term. It's pretty –
people have reverted back to very normal behaviors at TMCC, and it's fantastic. I mean it's
really terrific. Students are still encouraged to wear masks, especially if they're feeling sick, but
most people don't, right? People are sitting together in the café again. So things have gotten
back to almost a very near-normal.
I think the harder thing, moving forward is if we do get some kind of another weird variant, or
another pandemic, or another – if monkeypox suddenly becomes really widespread and
dangerous, and people have to go – kind of revert back to the isolation and the different
lifestyles we were leading, I think that would be very bad. Because what I feel on campus is a
joy, that things are back. (coughs) Excuse me. I think I have a dry throat.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [30:48]
No worries. Take your time. Take your time.
Karin Hilgersom [31:04]
Okay. Sorry. Pretty sure it's not COVID because I had that about nine weeks ago.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [31:10]
No, no worries. Take the time you have to. And I'm glad that you brought that up actually. Thank
you for sharing with us. How did you feel this time? I can definitely sense how you feel now, but
what about back then? Who was taking care of you?
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Karin Hilgersom [31:25]
Oh, you know, I've been vaccinated. At the time, I had all four shots, so my case was pretty
mild. So you know, I just stayed home for five days. (coughs) Excuse me. This is very weird.
And now I've had my fifth shot. We did do, and we continue to do vaccination clinics on campus,
and those are very helpful. And so we offered the newest Pfizer bivalent shot just a couple of
weeks ago, and that was great. Because what you saw was faculty and managers. (coughs)
Sorry.
Carmen Solano-Patricio [32:05]
Take your time. No worries.
Karin Hilgersom [32:06]
Yeah. I just don't understand what's causing this. It's pretty weird.
Magdalena Martinez [32:12]
I think that wraps up the questions. I'm going to stop the recording. Thank you, Carmen.
End of audio: 32:16
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