The COVID-19 Pandemic challenged higher education all over the world. Saint Vincent College was no exception.

With each precaution came another challenge. Distancing, masking, quarantining, remote learning—all of these tested the strength of our community. And community is what makes Saint Vincent so special.

President Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., observed, “Having a strong community requires us to be together. At Saint Vincent, our community is our strength.

“Saint Vincent had to adapt in order to navigate the Pandemic, and this was a real challenge. We’re at our best when we’re together,” he noted. “But the stability and strength of our community, rooted in our Benedictine charism, enabled us to meet the Pandemic’s challenges.”

Saint Vincent met these challenges constructively. The College hosted vaccination clinics open both to members of campus and the broader community. Testing was made widely available. Staff personally delivered meals to quarantined students. And the Activities Programming Board fought the isolating effects of COVID-19 by hosting remote events for students.

Saint Benedict knew that the strength of monasteries depended on the stability and adaptability of the monks who lived and worked and prayed there. And so too with our wider Saint Vincent community—we were able to overcome the Pandemic’s challenges because our students and faculty and staff were so committed to Saint Vincent and to each other.

Our learning, human formation, and relationships depend on the community we encounter and create here on campus. The Pandemic created real challenges for that communal engagement. But as Saint Vincent emerged from the Pandemic, we’ve recovered a renewed appreciation for our community and how central that community is to our mission.