The following message was distributed to all Conestoga employees on behalf of President John Tibbits on December 18.
With the holiday season almost here, I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all of you for your hard work and commitment over the last few months.
This has been a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed both the way we work and the way we conduct our lives outside of work. For Conestoga, it’s required a complete transformation in our approaches to teaching, learning and delivering services. On-campus operations will continue to be limited to essential activities only for some time, with strict infection control and prevention measures in place to protect the health and safety of our college community.
I recognize how difficult this year has been - faculty, support staff and administrators have all faced unique challenges that we could never have foreseen. It’s been difficult for students as well.
But through it all, we’ve pulled together, putting students first, and doing whatever we could to help them achieve success despite the unprecedented circumstances. We’ve transitioned to remote delivery of both programs and services, and delivered face-to-face learning activities for thousands of students in labs, studios and shops, with no transmission of the virus on our campuses. This is no small achievement, and I am sincerely grateful for the contributions that you all have made to our success.
I hope that you will all get a much-deserved break over the holidays to rest and relax with your families in advance of a busy year ahead.
With all the talk of vaccines that may eventually lead us out of this pandemic, I want to emphasize the need for continued caution and vigilance. We are not through this yet: COVID-19 is present and spreading across our community, and that is unlikely to change for at least the next several months.
Please continue to be safe. Take care of yourselves and your families, and follow the guidelines from Public Health.
It will be an untraditional holiday at the end of an untraditional year. But I wish you all the joys of the season and look forward to seeing you (in person or online) in 2021.
With best wishes,
John Tibbits