COVID-19 interrupted everyone. Despite this, we remained K-State strong.
COVID-19 altered our lives in ways we never experienced before. The adjustments to daily life required all of us to make changes, think creatively and practice extra patience. Many of the events we looked forward to holding were canceled or postponed.
The K-State Alumni Association's member magazine, The K-Stater, dedicated many pages to covering this unusual year and the impact of COVID-19. We reported on these events, not just to create a historical record, but also to provide information and encouragement to K-Staters.
Here is a visual recap of The K-Stater's coverage of K-State's response to the pandemic in 2020:
Timeline
March 12, 2020
Officials announced the university’s decision to suspend classes on all campuses during the week of March 16-20 and resume classes remotely. Additionally, the Big 12 Conference announced it would cancel the men’s and women’s basketball championships and halt other championships indefinitely.
March 15, 2020
K-State began limited operations on all campuses.
April 13, 2020
K-State extended distance learning through intercession and summer courses.
June 9, 2020
K-State announced a change to the fall semester plan. The first day of classes was Monday, Aug. 17. The last day of classes was Friday, Dec. 4, with finals week from Dec. 7-11. The last day for in-person, on-campus instruction was Friday, Nov. 20.
June 23, 2020
K-State announced its face covering policy: students, faculty, staff and visitors — including contractors and vendors — must wear face coverings over their mouths and noses while on K-State campuses.
Sept. 12, 2020
K-State holds its first football game of the season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a crowd of approximately 20% capacity.
Sept. 14, 2020
K-State announces Lafene Health Center will provide access to symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 testing at no charge to K-State students, faculty and staff.
For 2020 graduates, this year marked an abrupt end to their academic experience. The K-Stater asked them to share some of their thoughts about saying goodbye to K-State in the middle of a pandemic.
Molly Hackett, K-State undergraduate class of 2020
Being at K-State for almost the last three years has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I have grown as a person, made lifelong friends, learned to live on my own, met the love of my life and earned a degree that will serve me well for the rest of my life. While getting to have all of these amazing experiences has been a blessing, there is no way to describe how it feels to have the ending of your senior year taken from you. Not getting to walk across the stage in May, go to your last official college class and spend those last few months with your friends before you move on into the working world makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it.
Not only myself, but other seniors have to think about how lucky we are to have been able to make those friends, learn from amazing professors, travel around the world and show everyone what we have learned at K-State once we graduate. This isn’t the ending that I had imagined or wanted, but it’s so important to accept the challenges that life has thrown at us because that’s what makes us better and stronger people in the end. I am thankful for my time at K-State and can’t wait to come back as an alumna to visit the spot that I love full well. Go ’Cats!
Stephen Lauer, K-State graduate class of 2020
This isn’t how I’d hoped to say goodbye. As I prepared to defend my dissertation in early March, I was looking forward to six glorious weeks of celebration: tying up the loose ends of my research project, serving my church community through Lent and Easter, sharing meals with friends, and taking long walks on the prairie during this special season of blossoms, birdsong and warmth without mosquitos.
Instead, I left Manhattan in the middle of the night on March 31 after giving away everything that wouldn’t fit in a borrowed minivan. Driving south on K-177, the darkness was pierced by numerous fires burning in the pastures. Clearing away the growth of seasons past, they leave a smoldering moonscape in their wake.
Yet in less time than seems possible, this land of charred desolation will become a carpet of sweet green leaves and wildflowers. While I may not be present to witness this year’s resurrection, I know in my heart that it is already happening. Prairie roots run deep, reaching together towards a source of resilience that no fire, no virus, can snuff out. Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Despite the challenges, K-Staters still found a variety of ways to give back.
"As the state’s land-grant university, it is K-State’s mission to serve our state, nation and world, so it's not surprising to see how K-Staters have stepped up to take on this fight," said Richard Myers '65, K-State president. "Whether in the lab, helping in the community or connecting people globally, K-State is making a difference."
Testing assistance
K-State faculty members worked at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to help with COVID-19 testing at the department’s laboratory in Topeka.
Protective equipment
Labs and colleges across K-State contributed more than 60,000 items of critical personal protective equipment, or PPE, to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management and the Riley County Emergency Operations Center to distribute to healthcare professionals at the state and county levels.
Mask makers
College of Architecture, Planning and Design students 3D-printed face shields, while the Department of Interior Design and Fashion Studies in the College of Health and Human Sciences teamed up with the K-State Office of Community Relations and Department of Environmental Health and Safety for a project to sew face masks.