Voices Ringing Blog /

Dr. Lisa (Wahlrab) Walsh '05 is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and James Cancer Hospital and was one of the first people in the State of Ohio to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, December 16, 2020.  She works in the medical intensive care unit as the primary provider for critically ill patients on life support, including patients on ventilators who have respiratory failure.  Lisa has been part of the primary COVID unit since the outbreak of the pandemic.

How did the pandemic change your responsibilities?

We’re trained to provide the specialized care that these patients need.  They wouldn’t be able to survive without the ventilators and the highly trained nursing staff that take care of them.  They’ve been sicker than any other patients that we’ve had.  They’re sicker than a regular flu patient.  Their respiratory failure is much worse, and it requires a lot more specialized care that can only be provided in the intensive care unit.

What has been the biggest challenge of treating patients?

The biggest challenge through all this has been the need for the hospital to limit visitors and not let families be there to see their loved ones.  It’s not just COVID patients.  The hospital hasn’t allowed visitors for other patients.  There have been exceptions made for patients who are actively dying. It’s been really hard to communicate with families.  We try to do it over the phone or on FaceTime, but it’s just not the same as having family there in person to support their loved ones.

When did you find out you would receive a vaccine?

Rumors started at the beginning of December that in mid-December, vaccines would be available at Ohio State.  Since we are part of the group on the front line taking care of COVID patients, they told us we would be in the first group to get the vaccine.

What went through your mind when you found out you would be one of the first people to receive the vaccine?

I was pretty excited.  I think everyone I work with has been excited because we’ve been looking for an end to all this.  The work has been exhausting, and we’re always overflowed with patients who have been sicker than our other ICU patients.  Everyone is wearing down, so to have a vaccine available and know that we are top priority so we can stay healthy to take care of the sick people.  Hopefully soon, it will be available to the public so that we have less patients so that our work can go back to normal.  I think everyone on my team is excited and anxious to get the vaccine.  We understand that even though this is a new virus and a new vaccine, the vaccine technology itself has been around for a long time.  Everyone feels safe and confident to get the vaccine.

What are some of the lessons you learned at Carroll that have helped you navigate this situation?

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a nurse and help people.  A sense of giving back, doing good, and helping others is something really was instilled in me at Carroll through volunteer work.  Just wanting to be a productive member of society and somebody who is trained and available to help others is the biggest thing that my Catholic education at Carroll instilled in me.

What should people know about staying healthy as the vaccine becomes more widely available?

I would impress on people the importance of social distancing and wearing masks for hopefully just a few more months.  Hopefully, this is the light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s still important to avoid getting sick and getting others sick because it has been terrible in the hospitals with how sick these patients are.

Twenty-five years from now, what will be the most important memory of our students' high school years?   For many, I’m guessing that "surviving a 100-year pandemic" will be one of the most significant.   

The coronavirus pandemic has already affected all of us in varying ways and to differing degrees.  Aside from the obvious cancellations, postponements, and shifts to online and/or remote learning, this once in a lifetime event has had ripple effects on many different aspects of our lives — mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.   It’s at times like this that we discover what really matters in life. 

The Thanksgiving season has always been a reminder to me that no matter what challenges I am facing in my life, there are always things that I can find to be grateful for.  In every challenge (including coronavirus), there is always a silver lining that we may not clearly see until it is in the rear-view-mirror of our life.   It is often in gratitude that we find the much-needed perspective on what is most important in life.   As St. Paul says Colossians 3:15, “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."

In this spirit, I share six things that I am grateful for, and challenge you to find some of your own!

Family

During this pandemic, I have been reminded just how important my family is and how much I need them!  We spent much of the lockdown in the spring playing games, sharing bonfires, and enjoying the great outdoors together.  I know that when everything else is stripped away, the one constant in my life is a family who loves and cares for one another.  I hope your experience of family is the same. 

Friends

I have appreciated the friends I have that have made an extra effort to connect with me, whether by phone, a Zoom meeting, or a walk in the park.   While communicating with friends online is important — hopefully you’ve begun to cherish even more the time you get to spend with people face-to-face!

The Body of Christ

During the pandemic, even churches were shut down for awhile!   Like many other Catholics, my family participated in ‘online’ mass for several months until our parish began in-person masses again at the end of May.  While we enjoyed some great homilies in the online masses, I really missed the Eucharist and fellow members of the body of Christ sitting next to me in the pews.  For the body of Christ in its different forms, I am grateful!

Technology

The amazing technology we have access to has enabled us to continue online instruction and communicate with relatives in hospitals and nursing facilities.  People who know me well know that I have never been a ‘first adopter’ of technology.  However, I am very grateful for the connections it has enabled me to have with my loved ones.  How about you?

Nature

This summer, my family and I participated in the MetroParks Challenge which introduced us to hiking, biking, and kayaking trails throughout our beautiful Dayton area MetroParks.  The beauty of God’s creation has a healing power to it.  It encourages recreation, reflection, and prayer.  For God’s gift of nature, I’m eternally grateful! 

Medical Science

The pandemic has shined an important light on medical and emergency professionals who heroically serve others each day and who exercise the ministry of healing and comfort to those who are sick.  I can say the same about the scientists who are amazingly on the cusp of a vaccine in less than a year from the time COVID-19 first appeared.  It is a reminder of how much good humans can do when they use their God-given gifts for a purpose beyond themselves.  For this, I’m grateful.   Hopefully this awareness will inspire many of you to consider a calling to one of these fields. 

While we all share a hope that things will be back to ‘normal’ very soon, I pray that this shared experience we’ve all had will help us to grow in the virtues of faith, hope, love, and gratitude!

As a small business owner, Sarah (Sidell) Seagraves '09 knows the challenges her clients have faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic.  Her bookkeeping service, 67b Bookkeeping, has been a crucial element in helping her customers keep their doors open.

What are your job responsibilities and duties?

I own 67b Bookkeeping business, and I specialize in helping entrepreneurs in the marketing and creative industries learn, figure out, and manage their business finances. Day-to-day, I’m working with companies to either manage their books for them, or I do consulting and teach entrepreneurs how to keep their books and finances organized so that they can better understand their financial position.

How did you assist your small businesses clients with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process during the coronavirus pandemic? 

When the coronavirus happened, and all of the PPP (information) came out, I have had to learn it as quickly as it happens and be super flexible because it’s Congress, and things are going to change.

It was so beneficial that I had clients set up and ready to go with all of their financial information organized and ready. All of my clients that I had been working with prior to the pandemic received PPP loans.

What does it mean to you as a small business owner to be able to provide this service and help people keep their livelihoods?

It’s incredibly important to me!  When you shop at a small store, or you order from a small, mom-and-pop shop or local business, that is supporting their livelihoods, and that can affect whether or not they can buy groceries at the end of the week.

I love Target and Starbucks as much as the next girl, but I have renewed my energy of going to the small, local coffee shop and buying as much as I can from smaller, local, family-owned businesses because now, being a small business owner myself, I understand how critical one or two sales can be to someone.

What are the lessons you learned at Carroll High School that are helping you give back to Dayton entrepreneurs? 

Often, entrepreneurs may not have been given the resources or lessons on what you can do to help your neighbor like we did at Carroll. Being in an environment where Catholic Social Teaching was so instilled and part of every day at Carroll definitely has impacted my business. 

I’ve given presentations to the Dayton Entrepreneurs Center’s Fast Track program for Dayton entrepreneurs on the basics of bookkeeping, how to manage your finances and keep records, and use all of that data and information to really analyze your business. So, being able to give my time and really help local Dayton entrepreneurs figure out how to manage their business is awesome. 

For readers interested in starting a business in the Dayton area, what other resources are available?

There are definitely resources for people that want to start a business, are thinking about branching out on their own, are expanding on a hobby, or want to have a good, solid foundation and education (for bookkeeping). There are resources from the Dayton Entrepreneurs Center, Launch Dayton, the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations.

Most of these resources are free or very inexpensive, and they have programs that are built and were created to help the Dayton Community to grow and to give back.

Business owners and those interested in learning how to manage their books can contact Sarah to book a discovery call and get a personalized quote at 67b Bookkeeping.

In November of 2019, the music staff and design team began planning the Marching Patriots’ 2020 production, totally unaware of the global crisis that would occur months later and the impact it would have on our marching band season.

Even though this year was vastly different than I had hoped, we were still able to accomplish much and be proud of what we were able to do. 

-Frankie Kosir '21

 

We decided on the title Alone.  The idea was based on some inspiring source music by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Eric Carmen.  Our vision was to produce a competition show that would feature several soloists and use theatrical staging to isolate individuals from the rest of the group.

Fast-forward to March 13th, 2020 and this concept became quite ironic.

Would we be allowed to compete?  Would it be possible to get the students together for rehearsals?  What motivates the students to perform at their highest level?  The unknowns were overwhelming for students and staff alike, but collectively we stayed optimistic. 

"It was a great opportunity to enjoy time with people I care about while doing something I love,” Josie Rose '21 said.

Once July rolled around, it was clear that we would not be traveling, competing, or rehearsing in the same fashion that we traditionally had, but one thing became clear: the students were ready and willing to work.  As a staff, we had numerous conversations about our goals for the students.  Safety was our first priority.  Secondly, we agreed that every day together was a blessing and that we would do everything in our power to make the experience fun and memorable for the students.  The kids recognized that their efforts yielded rewards in different ways, through personal growth, appreciation of a creative outlet, and development of interpersonal relationships.

“The 2020 season was a much-needed break from isolation," Drum Major Audrey Kneer '21 said.  "It was different with no competitions to look forward to, but it meant that we were honing our skills for our own growth.  I’m grateful for the opportunity we had.”

The season pressed on without a competitive outlet, but the band and guard members gave it their all.  We were fortunate to have several unique performance opportunities for families and friends of the students.  Most importantly, the students pushed each other to perform every day to their fullest potential.  Despite being “Alone” throughout much of this school year, we are reminded of this inspiring quote by legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi:

“Individual commitment to a group effort: this is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

Our last day in school last year was Friday, the 13th of March.  In my Personal Finance classes, we had recently learned about the value of saving for unexpected events.  I teach the students that a good amount of money to save for emergencies is three to six months of annual expenses.  That seemed like an unachievable goal for most of us, up to half of our annual income.  How would we save that?  How long would it take?  Why would we ever need that much money for an emergency?

As we continued through the months to the end of the school year, we all realized that this was not a one month and done event.  This was going to take a while.  We would not be able to start economic recovery until the pandemic slowed down and allowed us to go back to work and find financial stability again. 

The lesson of saving for unexpected events became all too real, even more than I would ever want them to experience.  I teach my students that under normal circumstances it can take as much as three to six months to replace a career job that will provide the income to allow us to continue to live in the ways we are accustomed.  They understood that, but for someone else.  

This was a life lesson that I’m betting will change their generation as they manage their own future wealth.  They had the unfortunate opportunity to witness the struggle so many Americans have experienced; but, true to fashion, our young people will take this lesson and learn from it.   They will value financial stability that will allow them to provide for themselves and their families.  This is the generation that will be prepared!

The landscape of college exploration and admissions has changed due to the pandemic.  From testing requirements to college visits, we are highlighting some of the biggest changes.

ACT/SAT Testing

Colleges are moving to four variations of testing requirements for the current senior class:

1. Testing Required: Students are required to send their ACT or SAT scores to the college.  Some colleges require the scores to be sent directly from the testing agencies.  Please check with specific colleges to determine their requirements.
    
2. Test Waiver: Students are required to send their ACT or SAT scores to the college unless they are able to show that they were unable to take standardized testing due to the pandemic.  Those students may request a Test Waiver by calling the admissions office.  Bowling Green State University, Cleveland State University, and Shawnee State University are examples of Test Waiver colleges.  In these examples, they want to see test scores, if possible, for class placement (not for admissions).
    
3. Test Optional: Many colleges have moved to asking students whether the students want their test scores to be included as part of their admissions review.  Students will make their choice known on the college application and cannot change their mind after submitting the application.  Examples of Test Optional schools include University of Dayton, Miami University, and The Ohio State University.
    
4. Test Blind: Test scores will not be reviewed during the admissions process.  Wright State University is using a Test Blind policy this year.

ACT and SAT are currently offering test dates this fall.  Be mindful of the last testing dates available before college deadlines.

ACT Registration

SAT Registration

College Visits

Carroll High School typically hosts between 50-60 colleges on our campus yearly to provide information sessions to our interested juniors and seniors.  Most colleges are not making in-person high school visits this year, but we are hoping to schedule some virtual visits.  Also, some colleges are not currently offering on campus college visits for prospective students.  Those colleges who are (which, actually, is many) have had to reduce the number of visits they can allow.  If you were planning to make some visits this fall or winter, still attempt to set those up through the universities!  Juniors and seniors each get three excused absences for college visits (bring the College Visit Checklist and get it signed for an excused absence).  Because of less in-person options, colleges have REALLY upped their virtual marketing.  Check out their websites for virtual visit options take a look at Ohio’s Virtual College Exploration Program.

Talk with your Counselor

Carroll’s school counselors are happy to help you with any of your college exploration and admissions questions.  Send your counselor an email to start planning your future!

Students last names A-G: Mrs. Courtney Graham

Students last names H-O: Ms. Jennifer Urbaniak

Students last names P-Z: Mr. Chris Pennington

Hello, Mike Lakin here with another great blog (and yes, I am still teaching)!

The goal for Industrial Technology classes this semester will be similar to the past few years but a little different for a few reasons.  Of course, the coronavirus pandemic changes how I instruct my students.  The first four Wednesdays of the year will be Remote Learning days at Carroll, and I plan to show YouTube videos on those days that reinforce what I am teaching that week.  When I showed videos during remote instruction last spring, I found that the videos gave students a new perspective on the lessons as well as inspiring me with some new ideas for class.

The other big change this semester is that I will not have student teacher's aides.  This will make slowing down the pace of the class and empowering students with more responsibility a top priority.  I will also let any student who wants to learn how to use the Computer Numeric Control machines come in after school for extra instruction.  This will not only grow their personal knowledge but enable them to help their classmates.

The skills that students learn in this class are valuable for many reasons.  Not only do students learn basic skills, they improve on them throughout their lives to use when they become homeowners.  A career in skilled labor is a major possibility for my students as well.  Demand for skilled labor is high, and many careers in those fields pay very well and can surpass $100,000 each year.  No matter what path a student chooses, I know they will retain many lessons learned in these classes.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my blog, see you next time!

P.S. Don't get cut - Amen!

What are your job responsibilities and duties?

I'm the Medical Director for Infectious Diseases at TriHealth hospital system in Cincinnati.  I’m responsible for setting the policy for management of patients with infection problems.  In this setting, we have a large steering committee for our COVID-19 preparations and management, and I help run that.

What are the daily tasks you perform?

We monitor the data about how many cases we are seeing.  We monitor how those patients are doing, what their outcomes are, how many are discharged, if we have any patients that die from the infection.  We also monitor the infections among our healthcare workers to make sure that they’re not getting infections from our patients.  We monitor the protective equipment that’s available to make sure we have adequate supplies.  We monitor our testing capability to make sure that we’re able to provide testing for both our patients and any employees that need it.  Then, we basically troubleshoot to make sure the whole system is working properly, that patients and employees are protected and getting the treatment that they need.  We also work with our research department to try to get clinical trials of medications, experimental medications that are available for our patients that need them.  I also see the patients. Some of the patients that are sicker, we get consulted on to help with their care.

How has the pandemic changed your job responsibilities?

It’s the same kinds of things that I was doing, but obviously it wasn’t COVID-19 that we were worried about.  It was more common things like antibiotic resistant bacteria or other infections that people can catch in a hospital.  We spend a lot of time trying to prevent those kind of infections.

Why is your work considered essential?

It’s very important that we provide the best care we can for patients who have this novel virus and protect our health care workers who are at risk of getting it and deserve to be protected.  If the health care workers can’t stay healthy during this time, then we won’t be able to provide care for any of the patients who come in.

What precautions are you taking to ensure coronavirus safety?

We’re a lot more careful about making sure we have the right equipment and wear it correctly.  Around all the patients who we know or suspect might have COVID-19, the healthcare workers all wear gowns, gloves, face shields, and special kinds of masks called respirators that we have to have each worker fit-tested for so that they wear them correctly and we know that they’re not breathing air that hasn’t gone through the filter.  That takes a lot of time and is a pretty expensive proposition that came out of nowhere.

What makes coronavirus different that more typical infectious diseases?

It is highly contagious, and it is a lot more dangerous than the flu.  The number of deaths is far exceeding what we would expect in a typical flu season, and it’s really been compressed within a very short timeframe here in the United States.  There have been 70,000 deaths in a two month period which is at least three or four times what we would see in a typical flu season.  It’s a lot more dangerous because nobody has any immunity to it, that’s the problem.

What are the lessons you learned at Carroll High School that are helping you navigate this situation?

Carroll was really essential at learning to look at the whole picture of a problem, analyze it, and come up with a rational approach to dealing with it.  One of my mentors was Mr. Joe Sens who taught chemistry at the time.  He was just great at being calm, evaluating an issue, and coming up with rational solutions.  There’s been a lot of panic around this whole COVID-19 issue that really doesn’t need to be.  It’s just a matter of understanding it as best we can and applying rational solutions. 

What are your job responsibilities and duties?

I'm a volunteer with MedSupplyDrive.  It’s a nationwide, student-run effort to donate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals.  It started at Georgetown University by third year medical students on March 18 and has grown to include more than 650 volunteers in over 40 states.  So far in Dayton, we have given gloves, alcohol pad, shoe covers, and isopropyl alcohol to several hospitals.

What are the daily tasks you perform?

A lot of days, I send emails as often as I can.  Some times, I’ll go to different stores and find gloves or alcohol that we can donate.  A lot of it is waiting from responses from hospitals or individuals.  We also pick up and deliver donations that we receive.

Why is your work considered essential?

If hospitals run out of any of this equipment, they’re unable to help patients properly.  As much as we can give them, it helps them do their jobs.  They’re the real heroes here, but we want to do something that allows us to be helpful.

What precautions are you taking to ensure coronavirus safety?

We’re required to wear PPE when we donate.  We talk to the hospitals beforehand, so we know exactly where to go, and we talk to people who are making donations so that we’re not coming in contact with too many people, just doing what we can to minimize contact.  I encourage everyone to stay healthy and safe.  Minimize exposure to others as best as possible. Follow the advised cleanliness guidelines recommended by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.  Also, try to stay optimistic.  I know it is difficult now during this time of crisis, but we just have to remember that things will get better and life will go back to normal in time.  We are all in this together, and together we will overcome.

What are the lessons you learned at Carroll High School that are helping you navigate this situation professionally and personally?

Academically, Carroll was an incredible school for me to go to.  It really prepared me for [undergraduate studies] at Miami University and Wright State’s graduate program, and I’m really thankful for that education.  In terms of volunteering, Carroll pushed me to volunteer in the beginning.  I first started with Habitat for Humanity my junior year.  Since then, I’ve still been in contact with Habitat for Humanity and help them.  I wouldn’t have been able to do that except for that fact that Carroll opened up that opportunity for me.

How can someone get involved with MedSupply Drive?

You go on the website, become a volunteer, and you’re assigned to a regional manager.  We email different institutions like universities, stores, high schools asking for donations.  Then we figure out what hospital we can donate to and drive the donations to them.  I’m pretty sure all the people in this are just volunteers.  None of us are actual health care professionals yet.  There are a lot of volunteers who are in medical school or pre-med, but you don’t have to be either of those to volunteer.  You can also donate PPE or cash.

Paige Bey '20, Trinity House (Nominated by Mrs. Ashley Bowers)

"Paige always has a smile on her face and a positive attitude.  I don't know if you've seen that video of our seniors going around social media, but I guess that was all Paige and that
was a class act!"

-Mrs. Ashley (Dunham) Bowers '14

What activities do you participate in?

Head wrestling stat, volleyball, and Army National Guard

What's your favorite art of being a student at Carroll?

My favorite part about Carroll is how supportive all the teachers are.  They go above and beyond with their jobs, treat you like one of their own kids, and are always lending a hand out to anyone.

What should school "do" for you?

School is a place where your education should come first but also a place where you should feel welcomed and embraced by others. 

What’s a lesson you learned when you overcame a difficult obstacle?

I have learned when it comes to overcoming difficult things, that hardships pass.  They don't last forever.  Also, I learned you have to surround yourself with the right people.  It may take some time to figure out who they are, but if you do, they will help you get through the hard things that come. 

What’s your biggest dream in life?

My biggest dream in life is honestly to be happy, being stable and having a family.

How do you like spending your free time?

Being around people I love.  I like spending my free time with mostly my friends.  That could just be hanging out or going out.

What are your job responsibilities and duties?

My biggest responsibility is overseeing the operations of everybody assigned to the Riverside Police Department road patrol. 

What are the daily tasks you perform.

To cover the day, we have two, twelve-hour shifts.  My direct link to the 22 patrol guys are my four sergeants.  I monitor them, and they monitor the patrol guys. I’m not actually out on patrol unless needed. If there is a critical incident, I respond.  On a day-to-day basis, it’s a lot of policy revision, and I split grant writing duties with the other major. There’s also a lot of use of force reviews, pursuit reviews, and any felony reports I review after the sergeants. 

Why is your work considered essential?

At a time when we’re dealing with COVID-19, but also in general, police are often referred to as “The Thin Blue Line”.  We’re a nation, state, city, and county of laws.  No matter what, we provide support to people who can’t take care of themselves. There are still people who victims of crime and medical emergencies. Even during a pandemic, nothing stops.  We prepare our operations for how we’re going to respond to [particular cases], how are we going to patrol, how are we going to keep our guys protected, how we’re going to support our fire department.

What precautions are you taking to ensure coronavirus safety?

With coronavirus, [criminal] activity has dropped greatly, and we’ve rolled into Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and Emergency Command Center.  Those have been up and running since early March.  As this whole thing has unfolded, we’ve done it in stages with a blend of what the Centers for Disease Control has been sending us through update portals that go directly to police departments and other services we subscribe to.  We’ve also been monitoring what’s going on globally, within the country, and most importantly to us, what’s going on within the state of Ohio. Initially, all we drew down our response to different types of calls and instead doing everything we can over the telephone.  This has become vital for us to lean on our dispatchers.  They’re screening calls to see if it can be conducted over a telephone call.  That has allowed us to dramatically decrease the in-person response.  When it all kicked off, we started social distancing and pulled all of [the City of Riverside’s] Personal Protection Equipment out of storage and took count between us and the fire department to determine how much we have and how long we can go on with it.  The mayor also declared an emergency which gives us the ability to supersede contracts to give us more flexibility with our staff.  Our guys are wearing N-95 masks and gloves when they respond to calls. When we’re arresting somebody, we put them into a surgical mask, and they’re evaluated at the Montgomery County Jail for COVID-19 screening.

What are the lessons you learned at Carroll High School that are helping you navigate this situation professionally and personally?

The biggest thing is the quality and level of education that I was able to receive at Carroll, and part of it is faith-based.  You understand that you have to be prepared. Going through Carroll, the University of Dayton, the police academy, and 25 years of working in law enforcement prepared me for the moment; it isn’t too big.  It gives you a chance to think critically. The worst thing you could do is just react without sitting down, planning, and thinking about the consequences of which direction you’re going to go. Dealing with my job in general, it’s always easier when you have a strong faith to fall back on.  You see the worst in people, and it’s easy to get cynical about why things are happening. My faith has allowed me to realize always that there are way more good people in the world than bad.

Editors' Note: During the coronavirus pandemic, we are featuring alumni who work in essential fields to learn more about how social distancing and other changes are affecting their critical professions.  Please contact Director of Communications Michael Franz '05 if you know an alumni with an essential job who would like to share their story with the Carroll community.