Editor’s note: What activities and practices have gotten us through the pandemic? What have we learned about ourselves during this dismal time? Baltimore Watchdog reporters wrote personal essays and interviewed people on this topic. Here’s what they found.
By Sierra Hunter
While many people have gotten through COVID-19 by escaping into television shows or playing video games, my escape is working at Wegmans Food Store on Reisterstown Road. This is my chance for normalcy during extreme circumstances.
An everyday routine became a reprieve from the bombardment of bad news on my television screen. I wake up for my morning Zoom classes, do some homework, lay around and watch TV, work out with my mom and sister in the family room, then many days I’m off for six- to eight-hour shifts.
I am a control freak and a bit of a workaholic. I struggle with bouts of anxiety that usually stem from stress and feelings of uncertainty. This level of anxiety was very prevalent during the early stages of COVID-19. Despite having an everyday routine and having a place to go to every day, most of the time at work was unstructured. My job as a food runner for the self-serve bars did not exist anymore, and corporate temporarily shut down the prepared foods department during the start of COVID with the exceptions of sushi, the dish room and meal center. I was (literally and figuratively) floating. Still, working and keeping busy gave me a sense of purpose and a paycheck. I am blessed to have both still.
Before finding stable job placement in the bakery department, I worked in the store areas that needed me. Which, in a way, made me feel needed. I was constantly bouncing between front entrance crowd control, safety sanitation and customer service. However, despite the constant changes in my daily work activities, the one thing that remained constant was the social aspect of working with my friends and co-workers who are going through similar experiences, which made it seem like, outside of my workdays, nothing changed.
One week, I was roped into a romance plot that all started from the question of what anime I liked. It seemed like a simple question, so I gave my co-worker, Travon, a shortlist of anime that he might enjoy. The topic became a huge breakroom talking point, with many of my co-workers chiming in with their suggestions. To provide context, Trevon never pays attention. My sister was out for a month on medical leave, and he still called me Kierra despite numerous times of me telling him she won’t be back until next month. Imagine my surprise when five minutes later, he relayed the entire conversation in the break room verbatim to his crush, Jenny, an avid anime lover, to everyone’s shock. He may not have gotten the girl that day, but I was impressed.
I still talk to the employees to this day when I walk past their departments. It got to the point during the pandemic where my market became a social club for customers, seeing family and friends they have not seen in months, and as annoying as it was to see people who were clearly not there for groceries, I look back, and I understand why. In a way, because I got to see my friends and family every day in school (virtually), working, and at home, I think I needed the store just as much as everyone else for social interaction with friends. Working keeps me busy, and I’m less anxious and stressed. I know what to expect, and for four days out of the week, I know where I am going.
By Nick Palazzo
People have sought out different ways to get their mind in a good place during the pandemic. For some it is picking up a new hobby or watching a new show. One Towson University student decided to get to work instead.
Sofia Novachic, a senior studying biology, recently took a job as a lab technician at the University of Maryland’s COVID-19 testing lab. She is paid hourly to test incoming samples in order to see if the person is positive or negative. It brings her a step closer to acquiring a job in her field of expertise.
“I’m making the most out of the pandemic,” Novachic said. “This is the most valuable experience I will gain to further my career.”
She wanted to learn what it means to work on the frontlines during a pandemic. Upon arriving to work, she visits her boss’s office to learn her tasks for the day. If she is put on to test the daily samples, the use of a hazmat suit is necessary to prevent possible infection. When in the lab, Novachic sorts the sample tubes and take swabs out for testing.
The samples are transferred to a machine that is able to separate the DNA and places it in a PCR plate. These allow her to store each sample separately. The most exciting thing about the work is getting the opportunity to use the equipment. This includes the hazmat suit required in the lab. She had never worked with these suits in the past and gave her a chance to step outside her comfort zone.
Although the suit can be awkward at times, it’s something that is going to become more common as she progresses in her career.
“Although I love the time I spend working in the suit, it gets uncomfortable during the long hours I’m there,” Novachic said.
Her main purpose at her job is to get through as many samples as possible. It is especially crucial because this lab covers local colleges to ensure students safety. This includes Towson.
The lab has become a reliable place for everyone in the area to send their test to feel safer in these uncertain times. She spends her entire shift registering samples one by one.
Not only is this a chance for her to build her resume and further her career, but it also helps people stay safe. Novachic said she’s exhausted coming home every day after working in the lab for long hours. Yet she wouldn’t change a thing as she believes the work she does is for a good cause.
“As long as people feel they can get results back quickly, it solidifies the benefits of constant testing,” Novachic said.
She believes they are providing a useful service to the citizens of Baltimore and the surrounding area. Not only that she believes she is helping not only the patients but the higher-ups at the University of Maryland lab.
She explains that as long as she completes her tasks as smoothly as possible, the more experienced of the crew can focus on other pressing matters.
“I know I’m doing a good job if the higher-ups can focus on the crucial situations without distraction,” Novachic said.
By Nick Palazzo
I would have never thought I’d miss working in the service industry. But I did after COVID-19 meant I could no longer work as a waiter.
I had to adapt and search elsewhere with my brother. After working together for years at the Winward Tavern, we were on the hunt for a paycheck no matter the task. We bounced around doing odd jobs ranging from laying mulch, clearing out houses and even putting up a whole fence just to earn some cash.
It wasn’t until early July that we both got a call to work 30 minutes away making pizzas at Maruca’s Pizza at the Asbury, N.J., boardwalk. We immediately jumped at the opportunity and decided to meet the manager of the pizzeria the next day in person.
We wanted to make a good impression so we dressed in button-down shirts and jeans to ensure we would get the job. What made me laugh the most is that our first impression to the manager was our first day on the job. Once we arrived, I shook his hand and thanked him for giving us an opportunity to interview.
“You guys are a little over-dressed to start flipping pizzas,” said Charlie, manager of Maruca’s Pizza.
Our official job interview was as easy as us just showing up and saying hello. We then toured the small pizza shop which was a refurbished storage container placed on the boardwalk.
The restaurant has a single rotating oven in the center with shelves in the front to display the pies and register. After quick introductions we were immediately taught how to make Maruca’s signature pizza. They put the cheese first then pour the sauce in an expanding swirl. It’s their trademark style.
Right away, I made multiple misshaped and ugly pizzas. Even though Charlie explained that I wouldn’t master it yet, I felt pressure every time I ripped the dough. We had been there for only two hours and my clothes had been covered in cheese, sauce and flower.
The entire shift threw me off guard and I quickly had to adapt to the new environment. The entire drive home I thought about how I need to be better just to make sure I can hold onto it through the summer.
This job made me appreciate the jobs I have had in the past and to never take one for granted. I have had various jobs and at times felt belittled by management. I was fed up with the work. I never took myself seriously when thinking of quitting, but the idea always lingered in my mind.
This past summer has made me rid the idea from my head for good. I have experienced how hard it is at times to land a job, especially during a global pandemic. It gained a deeper appreciation for the steady jobs I have had, even in bad times.
Maruca’s gave me the chance to feel normal again in a time when that’s not a viable option.