There is no easy way to say this: 2020 has been a typhoon of uncertainty and change and has required a lot of creativity in every aspect of our lives. It’s almost like being back in our adolescent period, a time in all our lives when emotions run high and the consequences of small actions take on great significance.
In a similar way, this year has been a time of great upheaval. Some of these changes are glaringly painful and disruptive, but may fade away as we solve the problems of the pandemic. Other changes may be barely perceptible, but their whispers will ring through the decades in ways we don’t yet understand.
Despite the unusual circumstances of the world and especially our holiday season, I have a lot to be grateful for:
My family’s health and the health of our Yardstick-ProctorU team
While it wasn’t an easy decision, nor a popular one back in March, we resolved to move the entire company to remote work and paused our exam delivery in test centers out of concern for everyone’s safety. This proved to be the right decision, and one I would gladly make 100 times over. So far, our team has been lucky and I certainly hope that we continue to stay safe in the coming months.
We are still here
Many businesses have suffered throughout this pandemic and either laid off employees or closed their doors entirely. The world continues to adapt to the new digital rules of business at break-neck pace, and we have been lucky enough to stay afloat through the pandemic. The trend of adapting services to remote operations was nothing new before 2020, but has simply accelerated out of necessity.
The holidays are not going anywhere
Thousands of years of society rising and falling have not been able to destroy our need to gather together for special moments. Though it sometimes feels like our traditions and practices are dissolving before our eyes, I predict that staying apart from loved ones to keep them safe will only steel our resolve to pull each other closer next year. Absence has the terrible, but wonderful effect of making us miss one another and decide to appreciate the small moments even more.
Hope is just on the horizon
This month, vaccines in Canada and the United States were approved and deployed to the most vulnerable sectors. We are not out of the woods just yet, but a few of the rocks and trees are starting to look familiar. Winter in the woods might be dark and scary, but home hasn’t gone anywhere. We have to persevere, remain careful, and take care of each other until we cross the threshold once again.
On behalf of the Yardstick-ProctorU team, I wish you all health and happiness in the new year.
Let’s keep going and be creative, there are so many opportunities ahead of us.
Sincerely,
Isabelle Gonthier, PhD
President, Yardstick