Practice English Speaking&Listening with: A Video Message from Dr. Amy Morrison, April 7, 2020
Hello Lake Washington Tech students, I am Amy Morrison, your president.
Welcome to Spring quarter I know it's been a rough few weeks as we have
navigated through this COVID-19 pandemic, together. First. I want to say thank you.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we moved Spring quarter
classes and college operations, online. For your safety and that of our faculty.
Today I'd like to share with you some information for Spring quarter, which
officially starts today and beyond. I've included specific information in the
email that accompanies this video, about technology distribution later this week
and how you can get your textbooks from the bookstore. I would also like to give
a huge thank you to our student government leaders for their exceptional
leadership. They have been working hard to allocate funds for technology. They
also reached out to their fellow students after our winter pizza with the
president was cancelled in March and sent out a survey to gather questions
from all of you for me to answer. You can find the Q&A, and the student
questions and my answers, in the accompanying email. We will be scheduling
a Zoom Student Forum during Spring quarter, where we'll be able to talk
together, online of course, and I will be able to answer any questions that you
have. We'll have more information about the student forum to you, soon.
So, here's where we are for Spring quarter. For some classes that normally
require significant face-to-face instruction, the lecture component will
take place online during Spring quarter, and the lab time will be offered Summer
quarter. It is important that we created an equitable way for you, our students, to
stay on your educational path, with as little disruption as possible during
this pandemic. That includes making sure you are able
to receive financial aid, and only pay for the instruction that you receive.
Since we could not guarantee our ability to provide in-person instruction in
Spring quarter, we made the decision to move all classes online.
This means we divided some classes into two parts; with the online lecture in
Spring quarter and face to face in Summer quarter. This prevents a situation where
you could not finish the class you started and helps you preserve your
financial aid eligibility for the future. I know and recognize, that this is not an
easy time for you, especially for those of you in classes that require
face-to-face time. I also realize that burden it puts on our students who do
not have technology or internet access at home. With that in mind, we will once
again make available a limited number of basic tablets this Thursday, April 9th
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for those who qualify. For specifics please see the
accompanying email.l I continue to be so proud of the creative and innovative
ways our faculty in teams and Instruction and Student Services are
serving our students. Faculty will be delivering online lectures and providing
video demonstrations. Our teams in Instruction and Student Services will
continue to provide the same incredible support to students, online as they have
in person. Thank you to my incredible colleagues who are working so hard to
deliver the same outstanding student support services to our students online.
Now I'd like to talk about Commencement. Some of you have asked about our plans
this year for Commencement, as well as other milestone events, like pinning
ceremonies and the Phi Theta Kappa celebrations, for Winter and Spring
quarters. I am pleased to share with you that we have made the decision to move
meant from June to August. Commencement will now be Friday, August 21st 2 p.m. at
the Maydenbauer Center in Bellevue. It is so important to all of us that you,
along with our faculty and staff and your family and friends, are able to
celebrate your great accomplishments. In addition to holding Commencement in
August, we are also planning LWTech's Lions Celebration Week. This week will include
a number of celebrations around Commencement, including but certainly not
limited to our Nursing and Physical Therapist Assistant Pinning Ceremonies,
Phi Theta Kappa recognitions for Spring and Summer quarters. And we are working
with faculty and staff to build this week of celebration, so that we don't
lose sight of the many important accomplishments that have occurred
during this pandemic. We will be sharing more about this celebration week with
you soon. Finally, I want you to know that I know
these are very uncertain times for all of us. I am 100% certain of our resolve
and strength as a college community. I have seen it time and time again this
past month. I also know that you are strong, and dedicated, creative, and
innovative. You will persevere through these uncertain times and achieve your
educational goals. I have no doubt. I look forward to the time when I see you walk
across that stage, and I shake your hand at your commencement
Thank you for hanging in there with us. We will get through this together. Please
feel free to reach out to me anytime. Stay well. Take care of yourselves and
each other. Thank you again.
