Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, BVM, can typically be found in her Damen Student Center office this time of year, mingling with Loyola students and staff or anyone who wants to take a picture.
That’s where she was March 9 as students returned from spring break and went about their business as usual. But everything changed three days later when Loyola announced classes would be moved online and the dorms would be emptied within a week as part of nationwide efforts to contain COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus.
She watched on as students stocked up on food from the Damen Food Court and said their goodbyes, leaving campus for the rest of the semester.