Since the pandemic has shifted the remainder of the year, and as a campus we’re no longer able to meet for assembly, two Williston faculty members have taken matters into their own hands and begun hosting a weekly virtual assembly called “Wake Up Williston!”

Created for students and faculty to still have a regularly scheduled meeting time, this assembly gives everyone in the Williston community the opportunity to come together. Students help run the virtual assembly by sending in images and videos they would like to showcase.

Katherine Garrity, Assistant Dean of Students, co-hosts with Erin Davey, Director of Inclusion and Community Life. Garrity believes the new assembly format is crucial in connecting students who are now all over the world.

“This gives folks a forum for presentations and announcements that we would normally get in the Chapel,” Garrity said. “Personally, I think it’s important to keep that going, as it provides a thread that can connect us all.”

Much like high-profile nightly shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Garrity and Davey adapted their show to the rapidly changing world, and in doing so they’ve tried to cater to what their audience needs.

“What I like about this program is that we can tweak it to whatever we need it to be that week,” Garrity said. “If there needs to be a serious announcement, we now have a mechanism for that. If we need some laughs, we have a way to send those out to everyone.”

Wake Up Williston! has also shed a light on what both students and teachers are doing while at home.

Michael Doubleday, History and Global Studies Teacher, submitted a video of he and his family dancing to “YMCA” for a recent broadcast.

Ji Soo Hwang ’21 and her brother, Jun ’23, showcased a website they created, “Covid-19: A Message from Korea” (jisoohwang.net,) to provide inspiration and information for students around the world in a similar predicament as them.

“We made this website because we wanted to give hope to students who are in countries whose cases are spiking right now,” Ji Soo said, adding that her country, South Korea, is one of the countries severely impacted by the Coronavirus.