Transcript

Tania Rodriguez (00:01):
[Spanish]. Ahora.
Andrea Serna (00:03):
Okay. Okay. Well, this interview is being audio-visually recorded for research purposes. If you
wish for recording to stop at any point, please let me know. Do you agree to being AV recorded?
Yes.
All right. Thank you. So, recording starts now. There are just some details for the interview that I
need to say at the beginning. So, today's date is the 2nd of February, 2021. I am the interviewer.
My name is Andrea Serna, and I will be interviewing Tania Rodriguez. This interview is taking
place on Zoom. And our relationship is Tania's my supervisor and my advisor.
Yes.
All right. So, just some background questions that we need to have. What is your date of birth if
you don't mind sharing?
July 4th, 1976.
And what is your affiliation with DePaul?
I'm a full-time employee.
All right. So, what are the details of your affiliation? For example, what's your official title, and
when did you start working at DePaul?
Sure. I started working at DePaul November of 2005 as a assistant director in advising in the
undergraduate college office in the liberal arts and social sciences. And in 2011, I was promoted
to director of advising in the undergraduate college office in the liberal arts and social sciences.
So, I'm going to start getting into some COVID-related questions. So, would you please describe
your job, the job that you conducted at DePaul before the pandemic, and how has that changed?

Good question. So, I manage a team ... Well, I have five direct reports plus three student direct
reports, so in total eight. And so, I've managed these different teams and made sure that they
were focused on their goals in terms of, you know, the student services that we provide, because
each of them were a bit different. The one person I managed from the records team, I had to
make sure that that team was taking care of auditing records for incoming and outgoing students
in addition to ensuring that record maintenance and updating was consistent and maintained.
The information team, which is the team you sit on, in providing customer service, whether it
was the phone calls or in-person appointments that were coming in or just questions that were
being directed to our office. So, I manage that team as well, well, co-manage that team, because
my direct report, as you know, is Claire, and she helps me manage the student team. Then I
manage three full-time academic advisors and ensure that they also, you know, are providing
consistent and continual student services in regards to the advisement that students need and the
services that they need on that end.
So prior to COVID, a lot of what we did was happening in person. Right? It was easy for a
student to show up in our office and say, "Hi, I need to see someone," and then our customer
service team would look into, well, who was available, if the student had to wait or if they could
be seen right away. And there were a lot of in-person appointments as well. Right? In-person
meetings. Sorry. So, as the director, I represent the needs of the office, and so I served on a few
committees, and so I was responsible in attending these different meetings. And a lot of that was
happening in person. So, that was prior to COVID, having my staff meetings in person.
Everything was just done in person or the majority of things was done in person.
I think one of the things that has changed is the morale. And I know we'll probably go into
post-COVID what changed, but it was a bit simpler to keep up morale when we were doing
things in person, and that's been challenging now that we are not together in the same space.
Yeah. Yeah. So, would you prefer being in person or remote?
I prefer a combination of both. Right? I think that one of the things that I saw changing for us,
even prior to COVID, was the desire for staff to have flexibility in how they worked. We know
that in the past few years the idea of work-life balance has become more popular. So, you have a
lot of people wanting to be able to be home more for their families but at the same time have a
fulfilling career. And when you have a 9:00 to 5:00 position that's not flexible, sometimes that
balance can be difficult. Right? So, one of the trends that I started seeing among my staff was the
desire to have more flex schedules, whether it was a different start and end time, being able to
come in at 7:00 in the morning and leave at 3:00 in the afternoon, or whether it was compressing
their work week by working more hours four days a week and having a day off, or even
telecommuting, having a day where they get to work from home and then coming into the office.
So, that was sort of already trending in our office, and I recognized that as a manager it was
important to respond to that, because just like that them I'm also looking for work-life balance. It
wasn't just them. So, I saw that happening a little bit more. Right?

So although the in-person is preferred, we can't provide full student service if we're not able to
allow a student to come into our office and say, "Hi, I need to do XYZ." Right? So, that's
difficult. And I think that being in person allows us to do that, allows us to be present for them in
a more immediate manner if they come into the office. And also, as I mentioned before, the
morale and the camaraderie. Being in person allows us to develop that and feel that sense of team
and connection with each other. So, there is importance to it, but do I think it has to be done
Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00? No. I don't think it has to be done that way. I think we can
look at other ways to do it and still try to find balance for people. Right?
Coming back to the topic of morale and office morale, as the director do you feel a certain
responsibility to keep morale up while everyone's working remotely?
Yes. And that's difficult for me. Personally, it is a challenge. Gosh, I hate that I'm this way, but I
recognize that I can be a very "out of sight, out of mind" type of person. Right? I get involved in
my day-to-day and looking at my calendars and my to-dos, that it's tough for me sometimes to
get out of that and say, "whoa, I haven't met with this group of people for two weeks or three
weeks," or "maybe I really should touch base with this person." So, I really have to work at that,
because if you let me, I'll be very one-minded and not do those things. But, yes, it has been
challenging.
I've commented on how at the start of COVID, when we would all get together on Zoom, I felt
like a lot of chatter was happening. People were sharing what was going on. And even though I
know people are still doing things in their lives, it's not life has stopped for them, but now we get
on and it's like, "oh, how is everyone?" and you just see the nods. Okay. "Anyone have anything
to share?" "No." There's just not as much interaction. The worst part about me is that I don't like
silence. I'm uncomfortable with sitting quietly. So, then I talk. I kind of overdo it by blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, and I'm constantly going. And I don't know if that's helping the situation or not,
but it's sort of my nervousness to try to fill in the space and get people to engage a little bit more.
Right?
And so, it's challenging. The engagement has been challenging, because I also feel in the
beginning, having a game day or having a wine hour or a coffee hour, it starts out just fine, but
then it becomes sort of routine. And it's like, another coffee hour, another this." So, people get a
little tired of it. So, having to find ways to still engage and connect via online is hard. Right?
Because as you know, in person we do it with food, and that entices people. There's an incentive.
Like, "hey, I'm going to go meet up with my coworkers, and so-and-so is making spinach dip,
and I don't want to miss their spinach dip." So, I laugh at this, but there's some truth in that, in
that food sort of motivates at times, and not just food but looking forward what else is involved
in the activity is what entices people. And if you're just going to sit on Zoom and you've already
been on Zoom for five hours in meetings or doing other activities for work, being in front of the

computer, it's like, "Ugh, now I'm going to spend another half hour online with someone." I just
don't know if that motivates everyone. And so, that's the hard part is finding those things that can
motivate us to still engage. Right?
How has your morale been? I know it's been a crazy year, plus all of your responsibility and your
home life. How has that affected you?
That's a good question. I think it ebbs and flows. Right? There's some days where I feel really
focused and motivated, and, okay, we're going to get this done, and we're going to tackle this
today. You'll probably notice it as a student employee in the office. I kind of go calendar crazy. I
start sending all these invitations, and I'm focused and I'm thinking about, you know, let's get
together, let's get this team together, let's do this.
And then there are other days where it's challenging, where it's like ... Yesterday was one of those
days where I got on, and I had meetings back to back from about 10:00 in the morning, 10:30 in
the morning ... I did have a few half-hour, 45-minute breaks here and there, but it was like at
least five meetings all in one day. By the time 4:30 came and I was done with my last one, I was
drained. That was it. I was like, "I can't. I can't look at this computer anymore." So, that part can
be challenging sometimes, depending on the day and what might be going on.
I also think it depends on the type of meetings I have. Morale can be either really positive. I want
to say inauguration day was such a positive day. There was so much positivity out there. It just
really kind of lifted things ... It reminds you of your purpose, and you're just like, "Yes, let's
move forward in a positive light."
And then when you have situations with students that are not so positive ... I had a senior
yesterday who we had to discuss some delaying their graduation, and finances is a thing that ...
that sort of, I don't want to say it's negative. I think unfortunately it was just reality for this
person. But those are days that are a little bit more draining. Right? So, then that motivation and
that pep is not always there when you're having these difficult conversations.
And then also home life, just like anything. If I'm having a tough time getting my kids to focus or
even if we're having our own family arguments, it affects my morale for work. I hate to say it,
but it does. So, trying to keep it as balanced as possible, but it ebbs and flows. It has its peaks
and valleys for sure.
As kind of a formality, because I know the answer to this, have you worked on campus at all
during the pandemic, and how has that been like?

Sure. We went in for the first week in autumn quarter, and it was fine. It was quiet. It was weird.
We were anticipating maybe a small group of students coming in, seeking services, and no one
really did. So, even though we weren't completely surprised by that either, it just let us know that
a transition was happening. Right? Students were getting used to getting their services and their
questions answered via phone or online or email. So, we weren't as bad off as we thought we
were. Right? But it was fine. We went in there. Like I said, it was eerie being in the office at
times. I was kind of happy it was quiet, but at the same time I missed everyone, because I was so
used to the office being a certain way. But that's it. We only got to experience that that first week
of classes, and after that, it's been online again. So, I feel like now, transitioning back to going ...
Whenever we are expected to go back again on a more robust schedule, I think that's going to be
the challenge for me.
Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I miss everyone, like being up by the desk and having Josh sit in the chair. I
miss all that.
Yes. Yes. Just us talking at the front. I know, right? It's such a change. Yeah, I agree.
So, since there was really no students that came to the actual office, they were mostly contacting
everyone via email, phone. Have you seen a difference in how students approach academic
advising? Have you noticed any difference with how your meetings are conducted?
Not with everyone. Right? So, even in the in-person meetings, I always felt like you had your
students who came in with a set of questions. All they wanted was the answers, and then they
were done with the meeting. They weren't trying to get to know you. They weren't trying to
develop a deeper connection in any way. And then you had those sort of in the middle who felt
more comfortable with you, were okay developing a relationship, but usually the meeting was a
bit transactional. Right? I came here because I needed this. Okay, great, you answered my
question. "But you're doing good, right?" "Yes, we're all doing good." Maybe shared a little bit of
life. And then they would leave. And then there's the students that developed a deeper
connection. Right? They find you. They hang on to your every word, and what you say to them
is what they have to do, even though it makes me nervous when they think like that. But they
exist. Right?
I would say that with Zoom, it's been pretty much the same. I think what I find with Zoom it's
just more awkward. Right? Before, when they would come into the office in person, it was like,
"Oh, hey. How are you? Is it cold outside? Oh, it's raining. How's the weather?" You were able to
have this smalltalk from the front of the office to my office, walking to my office. There was just
more of smalltalk happening, or there events that they would have come from. "Oh, yeah, I just
came back from this really awesome event at the quad or at the student center." That's being able
to connect and talk about their day, whereas now it's like, "Oh, okay. How are you?" "I'm good."

And then there's this kind of awkward sometimes pause. And it's kind of like, "Okay, well, how
can I help you?" Right? I hate to make it so transactional, but I feel like if they can't find
anything to connect with me about, because to them there's really not much to share, it makes the
Zoom appointment a little harder.
But I have had a few, a handful of students ... Yesterday, one of my appointments went from a
45-minute appointment to I think we were on for an hour and half actually. We went over by 45
minutes, because she's an artist, and she is in acting. We started talking. She's an ABD major. We
started talking about her passion for certain black artists, black actors and activists. So, it's like,
by the time I knew it, 45 minutes later, we had had this deep conversation about Afro-Latinos
and blacks in the arts and just a great conversation. So, it also depends on the person and how
much they're willing to open up and talk.
And, you know, even today, it was actually very refreshing. I had a student who I asked, "so, how
are you?" And he says to me, "I'm going to answer that in three ways," and he did. He talked
about ... What is it that you call ... Rose and thorns? Right? He almost did like a rose and thorns.
Like, "grandma's not doing well, but I admire my mom, and I just feel like this overwhelming
inspiration because of how strong she is." And then he was like, "and, by the way, I started this
internship, and that was awesome." And I loved how he gave me so much of him in the span of
three minutes, literally. He told me how he was, and I was kind of taken aback and like, "Wow,
this doesn't happen as often as it should. This is so refreshing." Then we just had a good
conversation. It was kind of not about academics. I was like, "Hey, you should tell your mom
how you feel. As a mother, I would love to know how my child feels about me."
So, you know, some Zoom meetings can happen naturally. Most of them unfortunately have a
little bit of that awkwardness of "okay, what do you want me to talk about now" and they're a bit
more transactional. Yeah, and I would say that that's different from in person. I feel like in person
I was able to have better transition with my appointments than via Zoom. Yeah.
So, has the last year made you think differently about your job as an advisor?
Yes and no. I think when you're in the day-to-day grind of commuting, having to get to work at a
certain time, interacting with your staff in person, sometimes being able to do the other details of
emailing maybe a student you haven't heard from in a while or following up on a matter that
maybe needs some followup sooner rather than later. That was a little bit more challenging,
because your day gets interrupted differently, whereas I think now, I have all these little stickies
and reminders and notes. So, now it's like, "wait a minute." Those interruptions are not
happening as often as they were before. So, it sort of helps me to focus in a little bit more on
maybe the students that need a little bit more nudging. Right?

The challenge of communication is still the same though. Right? You want to rely on email, but
not everybody uses email. You don't want to be intrusive with texts, but sometimes that's what
some students prefer is texts. So, I think that that challenge of communication is still ... Whether
we were in person or Zoom, or not in person, it's still a challenge. It's still hard to figure out what
gets a student's attention in order to get them to react or invest into their education. So, in that
regard, that hasn't changed. I think for me as an advisor what's just changed a little bit is that now
it's easier for me to keep some people on my radar. It's a little easier for me to keep some people
on my radar than it was before.
So, what have you found rewarding working as an advisor this past year that maybe you hadn't
realized before?
Sure. I've always realized it's getting people to graduation. Honestly, just something about ... I
think that's always been rewarding. I think for me, this year specifically, but I'm going to think
about what has been different, is being able to think outside of the box and helping students see
that. Right? I had a first-year student who wasn't sure if she wanted to return in winter. Usually
with those conversations, it's like, "well, you can either stay here or you can go to community
college," and this year we were exploring every possibility. "Well, how about you go part time?
Maybe that'll help you focus more on the online classes," because the reality was that online was
everywhere. Right? Even if she transferred, she wasn't getting away from online unfortunately.
Right? So, trying to help her realize that this online deal is staying around for a while, and maybe
should look at ways for you to be more efficient at it for it to be more effective for you, instead
of it feeling like it's holding you down.
So, this year, that was the challenge, having conversations about, "well, what if you take two
classes or go six hours? And this way you're not losing that momentum, but you still feel that
you're making some strides towards your academics." Right? And she did. She ended up coming
back full time. I mean, I don’t know … I'm not going to take credit for her bouncing back, but
she must have finished the quarter stronger than she had anticipated, and then she was back full
time. But I would say the conversations of helping people to think about how they can make
online work, that was new for me this year, and that was even challenging for me, because I don't
like online classes. I've taken them but that doesn't mean I like them. So, trying to relate to them
and help them look for ways to cope with it. Right?
The other challenge this year has been the mental health. We always have students who suffer
from mental health, but I've had an overwhelming amount who, when I do ask, "well, how are
you?" I am getting the response of "well, I've been depressed. Being at home is not the same for
me mentally. This is tough." So, then making sure that they're connecting to those resources,
right, and really helping them understand the importance of ... "Hey, it is okay. And if you need
to, you know, take two classes instead of three or instead of four, I can help you later to come up
with something to catch up, get connected with CSD, do this, do that," helping them with those

avenues. That's been really tough this year, is hearing the more and more students saying how
depression is really impacting them during COVID.
Do you think DePaul is well-equipped enough with resources to help students and faculty or staff
who are dealing with mental health issues?
I hope so. Right? That's hard for me to judge, because I don't work in those areas. Right? And
those areas have been very open about, you know, their services and are encouraging us to send
students their way. HR has let us know what resources we can tap into. I would say on the
employee side, even though I have seen some announcements ... Right? I feel like the Office of
Mission and Ministry has done a great job of hosting these sessions on coming together. Every
Wednesday or every other Wednesday, they do these Zoom meetings to get people to come
together as community and just kind of talk and check in. So, there are some offices I feel that
you can feel their presence, right, even though we're doing this via Zoom or via email.
Human resources, in terms of employee assistance programs, I don't know if they've pushed
them enough as they should have pushed them. I feel like I feel there hasn't been much of a push
in saying, "hey, just a reminder, checking in again two months later. Just want to let you know."
Even to managers, like “hey, managers, just reminding you here are the resources your
employees can tap into." In that regard, ouch. I hate to ding them there, but I really haven't seen a
lot of that. Right? Yeah, there's resources online. Yes, we can go look for them. But sometimes
it's a nice reminder to just say, "By the way, remember we have these things in case your
employees need to know about them," because like, you know, as I said, you get caught in your
day to day. You never know if I'm having a one on one with someone. "Oh yeah, I just saw that
email that you can take advantage of XYZ program." So, again, I haven't seen much of a push
there.
But have I seen different university offices offer opportunities? You know, alumni affairs.
Because I do have my master's from DePaul. So, technically I am also an alum. And alumni
affairs has been offering some great sessions. I am really impressed with their Zoom sessions.
You know, so, I do see different offices doing really nice stuff out there. Right? And, again, for
students, I have seen the university put a lot of attention on students and send out very intentional
emails about services. Right? You just worry that it becomes too much and people don't read
them. That's probably the biggest worry. So, sort of a double-edged sword, but I hope so. My
only side is the HR side. Outside of that, I do see other people putting forth effort.
That's great. So, kind of switching gears a little, as a working mom, you have two kids. How has
working as a supervisor, as a director with a whole team to manage, plus also dealing with
remote learning, how has that been for you?

I just have extra kids, Andrea. I don't only just have two. No, no. Okay. All kidding aside. No.
You know, I still had to take care of my team in person. So, it's just translated to just being more
available to them. Right? I think before the boundary was that I was in the office. Right? And
most of the time, once I was off of work, people hesitated to contact me and say, "oh my god, I'm
so sorry, Tania. You're off today. I don't want to bother you." Right? Even though I never felt like
it was a bother, because I want them to approach me, but I think before the boundary was felt
more. Right? It was like, "okay, now she's here in the office. Now I can go talk to her. Now I can
ask her my questions."
And now at home, I still get people feeling really bad for calling me, and I'm just kind of like,
"it's okay. I'm on the clock. I'm supposed to be working. If you were in the office, you wouldn't
feel bad. So, you know, I've given you permission to contact me, whether it's to call me, text me.
That's fine. I want to make sure I'm answering your questions. I get a lot of apologetic text
messages and phone calls that are really not necessary. Right?
But it's interesting how the staff perceive it, kind of like, "oh, I'm bothering you at home," when
it's like, hey, we're all working at home. I hate to say it, but if I call on you, I expect you to be
like, "yes, I'm available," or "my meeting ends at this time and, yes, I could talk to you at this
time." To my knowledge, you're working too. You're on the clock. But, again, that's been
interesting. I think there's sometimes more hesitation to reach out to me, even though we're on
everything. Right? We're using MS Teams for communication. Skype hasn't gone defunct yet, so
we're still on Skype. We all have each other's phone numbers. So, it's just interesting when that
happens.
But, yeah, no, managing them and managing ... I think the being at home with the children has
been interesting, not so much managing the staff. Managing the staff, like I mentioned before, it's
just remembering, like, "hey, let me connect. Let me check in and see how things are going."
That's my challenge for working from home, whereas working from home, the challenge with
the children has been the opposite, where I had to like, okay, let me make sure they got home
from school, let me make sure ... I would get text messages. "Mommy, I need this. Can you pick
this up from the store?"
Whereas now we're here at home all day and it's almost like now I have to teach them to be more
independent. Like, "I'm hungry." "Okay. Did you check what's in the refrigerator? Did you check
what's in the cupboards?" And it's like, "I can't take care of you because I have a meeting." So, it
sort of has shifted what I'm doing with my kids at home, which can be good, because I kind of
say this ... It might sound funny, but it's really not. I've taught my kids how to make themselves
frozen pizza and not have to wait for me to make it for them. And that's a little liberating,
because it's like, "I want to teach you how to fend for yourself."

Like you realize the enabling, or I realize. I can't say you. I've realized some of the enabling that
I did probably prior to being at home, whereas once I was here, I was like, "wait a minute, wait a
minute. You can't depend on me for every single thing." Right? And maybe that goes the same
way for the employees. Right? There's things now that they have to go figure out on their own,
and they can't just, you know, lean on me to ... "oh, Tania can't take care of this right now. I've
got to figure this out." So, yeah, we'll see. I don't know. The employees are pretty self-sufficient
with a few things here and there. But with the kids, that's what I've noticed at home, that that's
been cut down a little bit. Yeah. I still enable them though, Andrea. I'm a mom. What can I do?
Right?
Of course. Okay. So, kind of moving gears a little bit more, how have your feelings changed
towards COVID? Like, how have they progressed this past year from March when it was
lockdown to now?
Sure. So, I think in the beginning, I was ... Even though, and I don't mind disclosing this, I got
really sick at the start of shutdown, that same week. And based on all of my symptoms and what
I had, I suspected it was COVID. Then I did the antibody test, and it came out positive. So, in my
mind, I had it. Right? And I was one of the lucky ones that it didn't get serious to the point where
I needed hospitalization and I was able to get better. Right? I'll put it that way. I don't want to say
overcome it, because we just still don't know what the effects are from it, but I was able to get
better.
In the beginning, I think, like most people, I was uber careful. I would put plastic gloves when
pumping gas. Constantly putting sanitizer. I walked around with a pocket of wipes and wiping on
everything if I went to the grocery store. I mean, I was probably close to getting a hazmat suit
from Amazon if I could have. Right? That's how it was in the beginning.
I think about four months into it, I started thinking, rationalizing it a little differently. And even
though I had tested positive for the antibodies and there was still so much unknown, once I tested
positive, it was almost like a wall came down a little bit. I was like, "okay, I had this thing. I
survived it." And I'm asthmatic, by the way, so this is why I look at it in that way: I survived it.
I'm not saying that it's not a bad virus, because it is, but a part of me also had to have faith. That I
had to continue to protect myself, maybe not a hazmat suit, but at the same time recognize that it
passed and we're past that and I'm okay. And, you know, people I've known that have gotten it
are okay.
So, I think I started not loosening up completely but maybe getting a little bit more comfortable
in the situations I put myself in. Right? Like, okay, I'm going to go visit my family, but we're
going to be hanging outside in the backyard. Everyone's going to have a mask on. We'll be okay.
Right? And so just making sure that we continue to take precautions. I don't hug people,
although some people still want to hug and I get a little awkward when they do, but I try not to

initiate any of that. No kissing of the cheeks and hugging like there used to be. Trying to wave
from afar, “hi,” and keep my distance. You develop new and different habits. Right? No shaking
hands. Right? It's like now you're more conscious of the nonverbals that you used to do that now
you have to probably curb a little bit more, or not you, but myself, that I've got to curb a little bit
more.
But it's a virus that's ever-changing, and I guess now I've reached a point where I look at it like a
flu. The flu affects people. Every year, because of my asthma and just overall my health, I go get
the flu shot. So, now I'm at the point where I've got to treat this just like I do the flu. I don't
hesitate. I don't question the flu shots. I just do it, because it's recommended and I know that it's
helped me. Right? I do tend to get sick. Like I've gotten strep. I will easily pick up somebody's
cold. That's been historically sort of a problem with me. And so, now I look to natural remedies,
and I think, "okay, you've just got to do what you can," and have faith that, if I were to get the
virus again or not be careful, that I'm going to get through it and try to just do what I can and
control what I can.
So, I guess my mentality about it has changed a little bit. Right? But I'm still cautious. I still will
grab that gas pump with a ... I'll grab one of those paper towels that they have there or
something. I don't want to touch it or I'm making sure that I'm sanitizing it really well. As soon
as I get home, washing my hands. You know, there are still now new habits that you pick up
because you're a little bit more mindful about what this all can do. I'm continuing to stay away
from my family. So, you know, I'll try to go two weeks of quarantine, then I'll see them. And
then if I've been exposed to other people in between, I'll wait until another two weeks passes by
to make sure that I'm not contaminating them, bringing things into their house.
So, it just changes, I think, how we do things. But do I see it different? No. I mean, thank god I'm
not as panicked about it as I was in the beginning, but I'm just thinking we've just got to keep
trucking until things normalize a little bit. And this is going to be a flu. This is just going to be
like another virus that we just have to be conscious of. Yeah.
So, would you describe yourself as a person of faith? And if so, how has the past year influenced
your faith?
Oof. Yes. Right? I would describe myself probably, well, a person of faith and a spiritual person.
So, I don't practice any specific religion, but I do believe in God, I do believe in the trinity. And
so I think, if anything, this past year has just made my faith stronger. Right? And it falters. I
mean, I don't know if even the most perfect faithful person doesn't have moments of faltering or
questioning. I think that that's normal as human beings. But, yes, I would describe my person as
a person of faith.

There's times when I've turned to God more than others and more praying going on, more
listening to teachings, whether it's on podcasts or through the Bible app or whatever may be the
case, you know, just reminding myself that this isn't the first time humanity has gone through
this, it probably won't be the last, and just keep trying to not let my mind play tricks on me, not
allow my mind to run into different directions where it's not helpful for anyone, for myself, for
my children, because I also have to be there for them. Right? I really feel that if I don't role
model that for them, that it's going to be easy then for them to also pick up on the anxieties or the
fears or, you know, that type of stuff.
But faith has helped a lot this year. Like I said, this birthday, after I ... Because I found out about
the antibodies before my birthday. So, this birthday was one that I was just so thankful to God to
celebrate, because I know that things could have been different. Right? Things could have been
very different, like for so many people.
Something I haven't shared yet, I want to say that I've had ... So, I belong to a sorority, and in the
circle of sorority sisters that I've had, I've had at least six of them lose parents, either a father or a
mother. And I … that to me has just hit me in the hard way. So, the fact that this year ... I have
two elderly parents. I have a grandmother who is in her upper 80s. And so, faith has just kept me
going. I'm just so thankful, you know. And it's been tough to see people around me who I know
and I'm close to lose parents. So, yeah, faith has to be there in order to keep going, at least for
me. Right? Can't speak for other people, but for me, yeah.
Yeah. What else has helped you make sense of this year's events?
Sure. Well, I don't know. It's been a tough year, Andrea. I mean, there is a lot of nonsense going
on right now to make sense of. I don't know. But honestly, the news, being able to ... there have
been times … I think about when Maria went through Puerto Rico a few years ago. Right? I was
watching CNN I think way too much, and that was not healthy, because watching news that's
constantly sensationalized just makes you panic more. So, after that, I was probably better at
finding news when I needed it, and that I think has helped me get through this pandemic. I think
in the beginning, you know, almost the same thing was happening again.
You kind of get obsessive with, "well, what's happening today with COVID? What's happening
today?" And there was days where I would go without watching the news. I would talk to my
parents ... "Oh, did you hear about?" "No, I haven't." "What? You're not watching?" "No, I'm
not.” Because you have to turn it off. So, I've just gotten better at looking for facts or looking for
news when I need it. If I don't need it, then I let it be. Because otherwise, at least, like I said, for
myself, mentally it's just not healthy. It puts you in a bad place. Right? You talk about that
morale and all of that. It starts taking you there. So, that was one thing I started doing differently.

I also was very guilty about my health, well, and I still am. I can't say that I'm not guilty about
that. But I started walking with a friend during the week when the weather was better, and we
were doing that four to five times a week. And that's been … I was socializing. Right? Because,
again, the part that being at home takes away is, like you mentioned, being able to go to the
front. Right? When I needed a break from my office, from the computer, I would get up, go to
the front desk, sit down with you guys. We would have a conversation. Right? I socialized. I had
adult conversations, went back to my office. Well, aside from "how can I help you today" or
sitting through a meeting on Zoom, that's not happening as much.
So, going out with my friend to just talk about "oh, what audio book are you reading this week"
or "oh, I had to do this at work and this happened." She got a dog, so the dog started walking
with us and hearing about his adventures. All of that sort has helped to ... It's like, okay, I have
my one adult interaction during the week aside from, you know, my partner and, you know, my
family when I talk to them, and those are the type of moments that help you get through this a
little better. Right?
But, yeah, looking for news when I need to and trying to socialize when I can, reminding myself
that, you know, get those game nights together or those moments. I'm also in a book club. That
came out this year. So, that has helped a lot. Listening to audio books and then getting together
with a group of ladies to discuss it once a month has been very nice. That's been very nice. So,
yeah.
That's great. That's great. So, kind of wrapping up, what are your greatest concerns for the
future?
Gosh, so many. Honestly, I, you know, think that we have seen that we can't control these type of
viruses. Right? Bacteria viruses, these things that just are so small there's just no way for us to
control. But there's definitely a way for us to learn how to react. And so, for my children, I hope
to teach them, right, that this too shall pass and that in life there's good and bad and there's not
much that we can control. All we can really do is try to keep, try to control how we react to it,
our mental health, and hopefully that humanity is a little nicer. I have to say, I feel like there's
been some ugliness that has come out that maybe already was already there, has been existing for
a long time. We live in our bubbles, and we think things are different, but I would hope that
humanity just continues to grow and be nicer to each other and understand that we're all in this
together. Right?
But it's … I wish I could pinpoint one thing, how to make sense of all of this. I just don't know.
Just taking it a day at a time, continuing to take things a day at a time and as they come. And just
hope for the best. Hope that people, that we're listening to professionals like Fauci and not being
complete disbelievers but seeking to understand what's out there for the better of humanity.
Right? Honestly, that's the best I can hope for for this civilization, because this just is so hard.

There's been so much. This year has been such an interesting year with the civil unrest and
COVID and just so much, you know, the politics. It's been very overwhelming. It's so hard for
me to answer this question. I'm not going to lie. It's just tough. I guess it's one of these things that
I've got to sit down and think about a little bit more. But, but let's hope people are better to each
other and we can do what's best for each other as a collective.
Well, thank you so much, Tania. I really appreciate your time.
No, you're welcome, Andrea. You are most welcome.
Do you have anything else you'd like to add or any questions for me?
No, I think I've talked your ear off.
I miss that.
You're like, "I missed you talking my ear off." No, of course. No.
All right.
No, this was interesting. I'm glad that we got to do this. But, no, I have nothing else to add.
You're good.
All righty then. We will end the recording, if I can figure it out. Ah, yes. Okay.

Transcript

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Transcript

Similar to Transcript (20)

More from AndreaSerna32

More from AndreaSerna32 (9)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Transcript