Illustration major Allison Warren '20 recently emailed Moore's Marketing & Communications Department to say how proud she is that Moore donated masks and gowns to health care workers. "I want to thank you on behalf of my mom and her staff who are working so hard right now, managing her floor with coronavirus patients alongside her other patients," she wrote. "You can't imagine how difficult it is for her. It really brings me joy knowing that my school is helping."
We asked Allison and her mother, Terri Warren, a nurse at a Philadelphia-area hospital, to tell us more about how they are feeling.
“I already knew how hard my mom worked, but now I realize the challenges that she faces every day,” said Allison. “My mom and her staff are working with the virus, and it’s a risk for her to go in every day. I felt like there wasn’t much I could do. I heard about the shortage of the PPE. That’s when she and I decided to email Moore to ask if the school could donate some of our N-95 masks. Thankfully, Moore did.”
HIGH RISK
The coronavirus has made Terri Warren’s job even more difficult.
“I have been a nurse for 30 years and have never experienced a health care crisis like the current novel coronovirus pandemic,” she said. “This particular virus has been so challenging because many patients do not have symptoms and therefore are unknowingly spreading the virus.”
She is worried for her own safety.
“Health care workers are at a very high risk for contracting the virus because not all patients present to the hospital with the same symptoms,” she said. “I am a manager who works on a very busy medical-surgical floor alongside my team where both me and my staff have come into direct contact and care for patients infected with the virus. My team and I work 12 or more hours a day, and since I am the manager, I need to be available 24-7 to my staff and my leadership team.”
“I also teach nurses students and had to convert my clinical to Zoom conferences in order for them to complete their semester, so I also understand the aspect of teaching students in a different setting,” Terri said.
MOVING FORWARD
Allison said it makes her sad and upset to be away from Moore and her friends.
“Life changed overnight when schools were mandatorily closed and our classes were converted to online while we were on our spring break,” she said. “Every aspect of my senior year changed, starting from when I needed to pack up my dorm room and set up a studio in my own home with only a few days’ notice.”
She is also heartbroken that she will be experiencing some special moments in her life in a different way than she imagined, like having her work shown on the walls of The Galleries at Moore in the Senior Show and walking across a stage in May to get her diploma.
“It's bittersweet,” she said. “I appreciate everything Moore has been doing, for sure.” The Senior Show will appear on a legacy website page in an exhibition-style format, and there will be a featured page for each participating artist and designer.
Moore will hold a virtual Commencement on May 16, and has planned an on-campus event, complete with caps and gowns, this fall.
As she looks forward to those events, Allison is continuing to work on her thesis.
“Right now, I plan to just keep moving forward with my school work, even though it can be difficult,” she said. “I have my peers and mentors to work alongside me, though it doesn’t feel the same as before.”
