Few of us, if we鈥檙e honest, paid full attention to the actions of task forces or crisis and emergency managers 鈥� until mid-March. Now, the world practically turns on their every move. At a most coincidental time, 麻豆原创 is about to graduate its first three students from the Masters of Emergency and Crisis Management (MECM) program. They happen to be at the leading edge of an oncoming wave.
鈥淏ecause the program is so young, we can adjust the lessons to reflect whatever is going on in real time.鈥� – Claire Connolly Knox, director of the program.
鈥淪tudents are attracted to the program because they鈥檝e been directly impacted by recent disasters 鈥� , the BP oil spill, the Pulse Nightclub massacre, and now the pandemic,鈥� says Claire Connolly Knox, director of the program. 鈥淚nterest has taken off almost exponentially.鈥�
Both the 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 and master鈥檚 programs in emergency management launched in Fall 2018. Initial projections of 20 students taking up the major by 2020 has been raised to 150 for the coming fall. And U.S. News and World Report ranked 麻豆原创鈥檚 MECM program No. 2 in the nation.
The first three graduates, and Knox, provide a wide-lens picture of who is at the heart of emergency and crisis management.
The Director
It takes only a few seconds before Knox鈥檚 passion for the environment can be heard clearly. A minute later, the Louisiana Cajun accent also sneaks in.
鈥淕rowing up in the coastal wetlands, I understood how fragile our relationship is with nature, and the impact it can have when it breaks down. The wetlands are the first line of defense against hurricanes.鈥�
Still, she had no idea how bad it could be. While studying for her master鈥檚 in public administration at Florida State University in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated her beloved Bayou State. The scrambled response became a series of tragic lessons learned 鈥� communication, collaboration, basic preparedness. The aftermath also kick-started Knox on a path that drew her to 麻豆原创, in a region with more than its share of crises and at a school willing to adopt new ideas.
鈥淏ecause the program is so young, we can adjust the lessons to reflect whatever is going on in real time. That鈥檚 essential in this dynamic and complex profession,鈥� she says.
At the moment, she and other program faculty are literally creating new teaching modules derived from the ongoing COVID-19 experience. The team in the MECM curriculum includes some of the most published and cited scholars in this discipline, as well as an advisory board of practitioners from every sector. Knox also points to a group just as valuable: the students.
鈥淪omething other than fancy titles and hats is driving them,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 their hearts. They make the program real because of their own experiences.鈥�
The Security Specialist
Jaime Garcia first recognized a whole new world opening in his field of expertise, ironically the same day he had to close himself off.
On March 16, Garcia was thinking about graduation, job prospects, and finishing up his internship with the Osceola County Office of Emergency Management. At the door of the county building, he was asked if he鈥檇 been in any crowds the previous weekend. As a then part-time security guard at the Magic Kingdom, Garcia had. He spent the next 14 days in quarantine watching the news. What he saw and heard from Ecuador, where he was born and raised, only emboldened his reasons for pursuing his MECM.
鈥淧eople were dying, the morgues were full, and they didn鈥檛 know what to do because there had been no planning,鈥� says Garcia. 鈥淗ere, even though I didn鈥檛 like being quarantined, I knew there was a good reason. The contrast proves why we need good people making decisions before and during a crisis.鈥�
Garcia鈥檚 first lessons came from his father, a doctor. While many people in authority, including doctors, used their positions in Ecuador to hoard essentials and profit from them, Garcia鈥檚 father would drive into rural areas and distribute vaccines and treatments for free.
鈥淗e said helping people was always the right thing to do.鈥�
As a teenager, Garcia coordinated a group of classmates to collect food and clothes for families following a mudslide. After moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, he took a group of security colleagues to deliver water to evacuees in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina.
鈥淲e have so many blessings in the U.S., but that made me realize we can never take them for granted.鈥�
All of these experiences led Garcia to enter the MECM program when it launched in 2018. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a continuation of what I love doing,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e discuss how things are always changing and how to prepare for anything.鈥�
At work he鈥檚 been in discussions about crises like water contamination or a second outbreak of COVID-19.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also preparing for the possibility of severe weather later this week.鈥�
The Meteorologist
It鈥檚 8:30 a.m. and Maureen McCann is in full stride. A meteorologist for Spectrum News 13, she鈥檚 already been on the air 20 times this morning to give weather updates. In the midst of Central Florida鈥檚 singular focus on COVID-19, McCann needs to find a way to alert us that, yes, a severe storm is a distinct possibility in the next 72 hours. Weather events pay no attention to lockdown orders.
鈥淥ur motto is, 鈥楧on鈥檛 be scared, be prepared,鈥� 鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 true in any emergency situation 鈥� the virus, the weather, a severe storm. The more I know about crisis management, the better I can communicate preparedness to viewers.鈥�
鈥淲atching the meteorologists on TV made me less scared,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 decided that鈥檚 what I wanted to do 鈥� warn people and calm them at the same time.鈥�
After earning a 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 degree from Cornell University, McCann鈥檚 television career led her around the country. Whether she was in Austin or Denver, something about Central Florida intrigued her. Specifically, the storms. When she moved here in 2013, she also had an unfinished master鈥檚 degree. The launch of 麻豆原创鈥檚 MECM in 2018 seemed fortuitous.
鈥淚 liked that it鈥檚 a fresh program and the instructors are willing to adjust so we can collaborate on real-time events.鈥�
She and her cohorts have gleaned lessons from hurricanes Irma, Maria, Michael and Dorian. Even the meteorologist has had her light-bulb moments.
鈥淚鈥檓 a scientist with an opportunity to communicate directly with people who will be impacted by an event. That鈥檚 a form of emergency management in itself.
鈥淎nother big takeaway is the need to network before a disaster, not during. My network has expanded through the program to include security, conservation, a first responder. The boots on the ground 鈥� that鈥檚 an interesting perspective.鈥�
The Paramedic
Chris Goodson is catching his breath. He鈥檚 just finished a workout near his neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and now he鈥檚 foraging for what we鈥檝e all come to know in recent weeks as a PPE kit. A risk and safety specialist for Superior Ambulance, he鈥檚 waiting to find out where he鈥檚 needed next.
鈥淚 like to be on the move,鈥� Goodson says.
He鈥檒l transfer COVID-19 patients to rehab facilities or to McCormick Place, which FEMA has set up as a field hospital downtown. 鈥淭he situation we鈥檙e facing isn鈥檛 one that I enjoy, but the chaos is putting my education into practice.鈥�
His winding route involved uprooting from his home to enter a brand-new graduate program 1,200 miles away at 麻豆原创. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I took the chance,鈥� he says. 鈥淟eaders in Central Florida have been at the forefront of disasters in terms of coordination, action, protocols, leadership. I鈥檇 like to use those lessons here at home.鈥�
Goodson grew up in 鈥淭he Hole,鈥� the most oppressive section of Chicago鈥檚 notorious Robert Taylor Homes public housing project. Gunshots became everyday noise. 鈥淧olice might come or they might not. At some point I thought, 鈥楥hris, you could provide the help.鈥� 鈥�
After high school, he completed two years at Eastern Illinois University before enlisting in the Army, spent time in Afghanistan, delivered aid to Haiti, helped the recovery following Hurricane Sandy, and eventually moved to Roseland in the south-side of Chicago as a paramedic. At 麻豆原创 he learned about cultural competency as a central concept in crisis management. Back home, it鈥檚 more than a concept.
鈥淗ospitals near my neighborhood are underfunded and understaffed. More black people are dying because of underlying health conditions, a lack of resources, and slow response. You have to know how things work at the local level to effectively help.鈥�
Goodson plans to take a grant writing class to round out his credentials. In five years, he sees himself in a role with FEMA or a local governing body. But for now, he鈥檚 checking his gloves and mask. He doesn鈥檛 know where he鈥檒l be 20 minutes from now. And that鈥檚 just fine with Goodson. He鈥檚 ready for anything.
