嘿嘿视频

Stories from the Pandemic

Alumni from multiple fields share their experiences.

A woman doctor stands by graffiti that says 'thank you for keeping us safe'
Archana Maniar (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频)

The Epidemiologist

Preparing a hospital and health care system for the coronavirus pandemic wasn鈥檛 like reinventing the wheel. It was like inventing a wheel. 

That鈥檚 how Archana Maniar, M.D. 鈥00, who does double duty as an associate professor of internal medicine at UC Davis Health and head of infection control at the VA Northern California Healthcare System, described this spring. 

鈥淚f I excavated my desk I could probably find what I was doing before COVID at the very bottom and since then it鈥檚 been overwhelmed by papers,鈥 she said. 

Before the pandemic hit, Maniar did things like monitor pneumonia infections among patients who are on ventilators, track flu activity and provide information about vaccines. Then COVID-19 hit and was 鈥渁ll consuming,鈥 forcing Maniar and others to create policies for isolating patients, tracing potential exposures and protecting the health care workers at the dozen or so clinics and facilities that make up the Department of Veterans Affairs network in Northern California. 

That network 鈥 dispersed over an area spanning Redding, Oakland and Sacramento 鈥 created challenges as each region saw different numbers of cases. 

The demographics of veterans are also broad, as more younger men and more women serve in the armed forces. But young patients aren鈥檛 reasons to get careless. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e at a point now where that level of vigilance is required regardless,鈥 she said, noting the importance of precautions like wearing protective gowns and masks. 鈥淚 may be taking care of somebody who is less likely to have complications, but if I鈥檓 not [taking the proper precautions], I could spread infection to somebody older and they may have complications. 鈥 That level of vigilance is required to break the cycle of transmission.鈥 

Maniar said her experience with UC Davis Health, where she regularly treats patients who are hospitalized or being treated in outpatient facilities for infectious diseases, helped her better plan the VA鈥檚 COVID-19 response in the area. 

鈥淚鈥檓 not always rounding in the [UC Davis Medical Center], so I get snapshots as I rotate through,鈥 she said. 鈥淏eing a front-line health care worker helps me step into the shoes of people we鈥檙e working to protect.鈥 

Still, it hasn鈥檛 been easy. 

鈥淚 think early on it was to the point [where] I was losing sleep at night worrying about not just me individually, but worrying about the people I work with and the people who I鈥檓 trying to protect,鈥 she said. 

Maniar also said preparing for a short-term spike in cases is much simpler than working through a pandemic that shows no signs of disappearing. 

While the initial surge in cases had calmed by this summer, the fall holds uncertain challenges, like managing an ongoing number of COVID-19 cases while distinguishing them from the flu, she said. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking about how to sustain this level of response for the long haul,鈥 Maniar said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to know where we鈥檒l be in two weeks, much less two months.鈥 


A man stands in front of a school administration building
Ed Manansala (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频)

The County School Superintendent

Few things have underscored the importance of education like closing public schools. 

Schools not only educate, they help children grow socially and emotionally, and support the local economy by caring for children while parents are at work, said Ed Manansala, Ed.D. 鈥11, El Dorado County superintendent of schools. 

鈥淭he value of education has become that much more accentuated in the midst of the pandemic 鈥 how education is very much integrated in the fabric of many aspects of our communities,鈥 he said. 

And just as education is connected to things like the economy, allowing parents to focus on work, Manansala鈥檚 work is connected to what happens in other parts of the state and country. 

As superintendent, he is helping coordinate between the 15 school districts in El Dorado County and public health officials, the state and members of the community. During the pandemic Manansala鈥檚 office has ramped up public outreach, releasing regular video updates to parents and media outlets. 

Two days of typical meetings this summer had him talking with statewide, regional and local officials, and he said he is applying his knowledge regularly. 

An added difficulty: the diversity of El Dorado County, which includes schools like Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, which has about 2,800 students and staff on campus during a regular year, and Indian Diggings School in Somerset, an elementary school with a total enrollment of 22. 

Manansala said the pandemic has also given him the opportunity to strengthen partnerships with researchers like those at the five universities 鈥 including UC Davis 鈥 that oversee Policy Analysis for California Education, an independent organization that examines educational governance, effectiveness, finances and more. 

鈥淚f I had to simplify 鈥 as educational leader I鈥檓 trying to be very collaborative in nature on multiple levels,鈥 he said. 

The situation has also given him many more family dinners with his two children, recent college graduates who are at home working or preparing for grad school.


Solie Laughlin (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频)

The Olympic Hopeful

The pandemic has forced many to put their lives on hold, but it changed Solie Laughlin鈥檚 future. 

Laughlin 鈥19, the most decorated swimmer in Aggie history, was a year into training for her second trip to the Olympic trials and had already qualified to compete for spots in two events when all future qualifying meets 鈥 and the Olympics themselves 鈥 dropped off her calendar. 

鈥淚鈥檓 kind of a retired athlete now,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know my last meet was my last meet.鈥 

She had been training in Davis with Pete Motekaitis 鈥83, associate head coach of the UC Davis swim and dive team, and knew she was physically ready to compete but wasn鈥檛 sure if she could mentally commit to another year of training. 

Laughlin went home to Ventura after the cancellations. By early June, she was aching to train again and was trying to use running 鈥 not one of her favorite activities 鈥 to keep up her endurance. She also took occasional swims in the ocean. 

鈥淭here are no lane lines so I have no idea where I鈥檓 going,鈥 Laughlin said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 thankful to be able to get a 30- to 40-minute swim in sometimes.鈥 

She spent free time picking blueberries and lost her voice at a Black Lives Matter protest. 

July marked nearly five months out of a swimming pool, and she decided that was too long. She began researching graduate schools for a master鈥檚 degree in social work. She described herself as a driven person and said working toward something again felt good. 

鈥淗aving this possibility in my future makes me feel like I have a path and a goal again and eases the pain of leaving behind something that is such a big part of me.鈥 


Portrait of Jesse Means
Jesse Means (courtesy photo)

The Music Teacher

When New York City asked residents to stay home, Jesse Means 鈥91 figured he wasn鈥檛 going to be having any visitors anytime soon, so he might as well turn his living room into a studio. 

Means, a Broadway actor turned elementary school music teacher, uses that studio to record weekly lessons that he said seek to not only educate but to uplift and encourage.  

鈥淢y job is teaching, but my ultimate work is building up people and making sure their spirits are all right,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 became the modern-day Mr. Rogers, as some have referred to me.鈥 

Mr. Means Music, his YouTube series, teaches rhythm, songs and vocabulary, but also includes assignments like asking students to write down something kind they did recently or a fond memory with a parent. 

And because his lessons are public, he said he鈥檚 received fan mail from as far as the United Kingdom and Kenya. 

鈥淭hese little kids really need to have some normalcy,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e used to seeing specific faces every day, mine being one of them.鈥 

While Means said he works almost straight through every weekend on new 10- to 20-minute episodes, he said seeing video reactions showing strengthening bonds between parent and child has made the extra work worthwhile. 

One father, for example, regularly submitted videos of his daughter, sitting alone and responding to Means鈥 weekly questions. Partway through the school year, the videos changed. 

鈥淭here was this very burly man who is now in the video with his daughter singing 鈥榯he bell on the buoy goes ding ding!鈥 and touching his nose,鈥 Means said. 鈥淵ou can see how much he loves his daughter. 鈥 That鈥檚 what keeps me going in those moments when I can barely keep my eyes open.鈥 


A woman stands under an arch
Angelique Ashby (Gregory Urquiaga/嘿嘿视频)

The City Council Member

Being a parent of school-aged kids may be a universal struggle during the pandemic. 

鈥淢anaging my own kids鈥 education 鈥 that鈥檚 a challenge,鈥 said Angelique Ashby 鈥99. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a challenge lots of moms are facing. I just happen to be mayor pro tem of the city of Sacramento.鈥 

With her husband working long days managing the emergency room of Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, Ashby said she鈥檚 spent much of the pandemic 鈥淕oogling the answers to math questions I haven鈥檛 done in 15 years.鈥 Of their three kids, two are still in school. 

Ashby鈥檚 experience with remote education included assignments from her daughter鈥檚 first-grade teacher to watch YouTube videos of children鈥檚 books being read, a concept she thought could be localized. 

鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃ouldn鈥檛 it be great if these stories were read by the local police chief or the chancellor of UC Davis?鈥 鈥 she said. 

Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn and Chancellor Gary S. May eventually did lend their voices to what became Story Time Sacramento, a video series on Ashby鈥檚 website featuring Sacramento first-responders, athletes, health care workers and more reading their favorite children鈥檚 books. 

鈥淓verybody says we鈥檙e all in it together 鈥 and we are 鈥 but sometimes it doesn鈥檛 feel like it when you鈥檙e at home and feeling overwhelmed,鈥 Ashby said. 鈥淪ometimes it feels nice to click on a website and hear a story from somebody in your community that your kids can enjoy, too.鈥 

She鈥檚 sought to connect members of the North Natomas community she has represented since 2010 in many ways. Recent initiatives from her office have included a book club for teens led by Sacramento Republic FC player Sam Werner, subsidized Wi-Fi for those studying at home without internet access, grocery deliveries for seniors, and outreach to share mental health resources with teens after two separate Natomas suicides in April. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 really our goal to just try to connect people and make sure no one feels alone as we go through COVID-19.鈥 


Ignacio Torres (courtesy photo)

The Journalist

Journalist Ignacio Torres 鈥10 began one of the biggest news stories of his life unable to leave his room. 

鈥淒uring the first two weeks of the original shutdown in New York City I actually came down with no smell, no taste and a small fever,鈥 he said, recalling being told loss of taste and smell weren鈥檛 considered symptoms of COVID-19 at the time. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 get a test. I ended up testing positive for antibodies [two weeks later], so I knew I probably was exposed to it.鈥 

He stayed in his room for two weeks to avoid exposing his roommate and now does much of his reporting from home, coaching interview subjects to film themselves on their phones or take other video of their surroundings. 

Covering the pandemic has required several shifts in perspective for New York-based Torres, who works as a producer for ABC鈥檚 Nightline, a late-night, in-depth news program. 

The changing nature of the virus鈥 spread has meant journalists are learning new information at the same time as other members of the public, he said. 

鈥淓verything is so new it鈥檚 hard to get information prior to everyone else,鈥 Torres said. 鈥淭he briefings [from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo] 鈥 we were sitting there watching them along with the rest of the public.鈥 

And that has meant context is more important than ever, like the way COVID-19 disproportionately hurts disadvantaged communities. Torres saw it firsthand on a May reporting trip to Mexico, where he filmed makeshift graves and a 30-year-old doctor wondering if he might be next. 

鈥淚鈥檝e seen how bad it can get, and trust me, it鈥檚 scary,鈥 he said. 

And amid the rising uncertainty of COVID-19, he said he doesn鈥檛 worry about distrust being directed at the media 鈥 he worries about people no longer believing scientists. 

鈥淭he facts are the foundation of the human story I鈥檓 about to tell you,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he foundation of it all is the science. What I鈥檓 doing is just putting a face to it.鈥

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