Karen Tarrant will be a familiar face to many of you – she’s been our Lodge Manager here at Jesus College for fourteen years. In normal times, Karen and her team play a vital ‘front-of-house’ role, welcoming visitors and guests to College, but all that changed last March when the virus took hold and the UK went into lockdown. She tells us about Lodge life during the pandemic, and how’s she’s looking forward to welcoming visitors back in the future.  

“Ordinarily, the Lodge team provides a range of services to College –everything from running the main reception desk and providing advice, assistance and support to students, staff and visitors to the College, through to postal services and booking teaching and meeting spaces. We pride ourselves on our professionalism and friendliness, and make sure that every visitor is looked after well when they arrive. We do have lots of special visitors to College, but everyone is treated the same, with a welcoming smile and a listening ear.

 

My favourite guest by far was Sir David Attenborough, who came to attend a lecture in the Habakkuk Room. He was such a gentleman; genuine, down-to-earth and lovely. He let us all take photos with him after the lecture. Brian May (from rock band Queen) also caused a buzz when he came in for a meeting with the former Principal, Lord Krebs. Everyone was out in First Quad to take photographs with him too!

Last March, as part of our annual Welsh celebrations, we welcomed HRH The Prince of Wales to College. A lot of planning went into the visit, especially around security, and my team worked with Thames Valley Police, OUSS and the Prince’s security team to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day, as well as working with colleagues to ensure the College looked at its best for our royal guest (which it did!).

Just a few weeks later we went into the first lockdown. I asked some of the team how they felt at that time and they said ‘scared’. So much was unknown about the virus at the start of the pandemic. We just hoped that everything we were doing was enough to keep us safe and keep other people safe. Jesus is a friendly college but we couldn’t be welcoming anymore; the team had to become gatekeepers and stop people coming in, which is, of course, against our nature and feels very alien. It was very difficult. The College was so quiet; very few students or staff were about – it was mostly just us, and Nigel and Bev in the Principal’s Lodgings.

“Attitude is as important as ability in a team”

The Lodge team has kept each other going over the past year – we all get on so well. We come from different backgrounds and countries, and have had different life experiences but I think that’s what makes it work. Attitude is as important as ability in a team. We respect each other; any issues are resolved through talking – and then we all move on.  In fact, the best part of the role is the people that I work with, not just in the Lodge but also the wider DACC team and the Heads of Departments Team. We all really care about the College.

“What I’m looking forward to most for the future is being able to have contact without fear”

This third lockdown has felt quite different to the first for us. There are more students in College and therefore more staff, so we’re busier this time around. It can be difficult sometimes because people want College to be like it used to be, before the pandemic. Of course we all do, and the current restrictions are tough on everyone. But we understand more about COVID-19 now and how to keep each other, and our community, safe and that’s the most important thing to focus on. We’ve got to be hopeful now that the vaccination programme is underway.

What I’m looking forward to most for the future is being able to have contact without fear; not just with family and friends, but with colleagues too. And to be able to return to a situation where we are welcoming visitors back to the College. I know we’ll get there.”