An interview with ICU nurse Alex McCahill

The words “hero” and “heroic” are often thrown around carelessly and without much thought. For the next two editions of the Pandemic Papers series, I’m here to tell you that we have heroes in our midst in the world of Marist Running. As the projections and the news get more and more grim with each passing minute and hour, brave women like our Forever Fox Alexandra McCahill (Class of 2015) continue to work 12-hour shifts on the frontlines of the Coronavirus. Alex is an ICU nurse at NYU Langone, in a hospital devoted 100 percent to Coronavirus patients. Knowing Alex, she’s probably waking up with a smile on her face, eager to help others during this scourge of a pandemic.

Alex was a member of our sprint team from 2011 until her graduation in 2015. She came to practice – and yes, even the 5:45 a.m. morning lifts! – with a smile on her face and a positive attitude. And when I say that, I mean unfailingly positive; like, every darn day. I don’t ever recall Alex McCahill being any other way, and Coach Horton, Coach Chuck and Coach Cuesta would almost assuredly agree with this recollection. So, it’s no surprise that she willingly agreed to take a few minutes to answer my Quarantine Questions, despite the fact that her world is filled with the unfathomable stress and anxiety of life-and-death health care in the epicenter of this pandemic.

I feel like it is becoming a cliché when I say day after day how proud we are of our Marist Running alums, our Forever Foxes. As I continue to reach out to our alums for this series, their willingness to share their amazing stories continues to leave me in awe. Here, then, is today’s interview, with Alex McCahill.

When and how did you decide on Marist? As a non-distance athlete, did our lack of on-campus track facilities affect your decision-making process? Were you recruited (I cannot remember!)?

I decided on going to Marist quite literally one week before the national deadline in 2011 (May 1). I had narrowed down my decision from a pool of about eight to four schools. I looked at their majors, their athletic facilities and their amenities. For me studying Biomedical Sciences, I saw Marist had a lot of opportunities for research and internships. The campus was gorgeous, and everyone that I met when visiting were incredibly welcoming, both on the track team and on tours. At the time, Marist did not have any form of track on campus which was a bit of a deterrent. I met with Coach Chuck, Coach Pete and some of the girls from the team twice before making my decision to come to Marist, and their welcoming nature were a big part of me picking Marist. They toured me around campus and ensured that I felt welcomed.

What are some of your fondest memories of Marist -- athletically, academically and anything else?

Some of my fondest memories of Marist are in the simple moments. The campus is simply something else. You are nestled on the Hudson River, in the Hudson Valley, an area which thousands of people from all over the country come to visit a year for its beauty. Many times, my friends and I would get lunch at one of the (many) local eateries and bring it down to the river on campus to eat.

Academically: There are so many ways to advance yourself. If you are truly passionate about something, odds are they have a club for it. One of my most favorite academic memories involves another Track and Field Athlete and friend of mine (Bryan Buttigieg). Bryan and I both studied in the science department at Marist and he and I did research with our professor for two years. We had the autonomy to run, develop, and execute a research project. We even got to present at CURSCA (Celebration of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity) and we won an award!

Athletically: Whether you are participating in it or not, MAAC weekend for Outdoor Track is some of my favorite athletic memories. There are meet records, school records, it is basically one giant celebration for our team and a poignant way to send off seniors. No matter if you’re running or not everyone on the team travels and comes out to support you. The emotional highs and lows of that weekend are feelings none of us are easy to forget.

From a track standpoint, what were some of the challenges and rewards of being on the team? What are your favorite highlights of being a student-athlete here at Marist?

When I went to Marist, definitely one of the challenges were the lack of facilities. When we went to practice for indoor track we would have to drive to New Paltz in vans and practice there, and for outdoor track we would drive to local schools to use their facilities. Even with the weight room, we had to share our weight room time with other teams and non-athletes. We made this work by going to lift at 5:45 a.m., but it still made for a complicated workout routine. The indoor track and the new McCann center are AMAZING. The students now are definitely lucky!

Being a student-athlete in college I think, has helped mold me into the professional I am today. Being a student-athlete cultivates your time management skills, it fosters discipline, teamwork, and camaraderie. All of these qualities you can transfer to a job after college! I think besides gaining life-applicable skills, my favorite highlight of being a student athlete is the friend exposure. What I mean by that is, being part of the team gives you 100-plus friends that you get to practice with every day, and one of my greatest joys was blending my track friends with my non-track friends. The track team is really inviting and they took my other friends in with open arms.

If you were to give advice to a current Marist student-athlete on the track team, what would it be?

This is simple but important: “Be present.” College goes so fast, faster than any time in your life. One morning you’re moving your stuff into your freshman dorm in Champagnat Hall and the next morning you’re walking down the walkway to your last immunology final as a senior. Soak up little moments every day. Be present. Be mentally present in your classes. Be physically present during your workouts and give each and every one of them your all. Be present when hanging with your friends. All those little moments will mean the world to you later on.

If you were to give advice to a high school student considering Marist (or any other college) what would it be?

For me, I am an indecisive person. If you are still trying to consider a few different options what helped me is taking notes on tours (so that I could have that information for later) and then using that information to make a pro-con list. I made pros and cons about location, majors, sports, amenities, food options etc. It helps really highlight the differences between schools!

Talk about your academic pursuits: How did Marist prepare you for your future schooling and career?

I have nothing but positive things to say about the science department at Marist. The science department is not their most popular department for majors (they have a really popular business/communications program) but I had so many amazing academic pursuits through Marist. I was able to be a Teacher’s Assistant, I had internships at local hospitals and with local medical facilities, I volunteered as an EMT locally, I did research with fellow science nerd, friend and teammate Bryan Buttigieg, and I got to present my work alongside him at multiple conferences. I even had a biology research opportunity in Mexico for a week! The professors are amazing, to the point where I am still in communication with some of them to this day. All the experiences I gained at Marist made me a very competitive applicant when it came to getting a career in nursing, and being a student-athlete made me a disciplined worker.

After Marist, where did you go for post-graduate education, what did you study and what are you doing now?

After Marist I pursued an accelerated Bachelors in Nursing. Through all of my interning at Marist I was able to see that nursing was the field I wanted to be in. Marist did not have a nursing program, so I finished my Biomedical Sciences degree and that gave me the prerequisites to do the accelerated nursing program at Wagner College. I have been a Registered Nurse at NYU Langone in Manhattan for almost four years now, and am currently working towards my Masters in Nursing Education at New York University.

How is the Coronavirus pandemic affecting you professionally and personally? How BAD is it for you? Describe what a day at work is like for you now!

Personally and professionally are kind of intertwined. Working as a nurse in the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States is certainly stressful. I work in the ICU, and in my four years of nursing I have never seen anything like the Coronavirus. It is certainly a scary time. An average day for work now consists of me checking in on my floor and getting assigned to specific patients for the day. I gown up, glove up, put a mask and a face shield on. For 12 hours. Our whole hospital was completely converted into Corona care. That’s almost 500 beds solely dedicated to coronavirus. We are 100 percent full. But I just take it day by day. We will all get through this! Just stay home and stay safe J.

Where are you living currently, and what are your future aspirations -- personal and professional?

I am currently living in Westchester County. I originally hail from New Jersey, an easy 1.5-hour drive to Marist. I moved to Westchester a few years ago to make my commute to work easier. My future personal aspirations are professional: I am working at my Masters in Nursing Education at New York University. I would love to be able to teach nursing students and have the same positive affect on them that my professors had, both from Marist and Wagner. Who knows, maybe I could even help start a nursing program at Marist? As for personally, I actually met my significant other through Marist J. We both have aspirations to move back to the Hudson Valley because we fell in love with it there so much!

As a brave medical professional during this time, what advice can you give to us all regarding this pandemic?

So I actually wrote something on my Facebook a few days ago that got surprisingly a lot of positive feedback:

“I am just one voice but I feel it’s time I say something. Most of you saw the April 30th extension to social distancing. Listen, I get it. I know it’s frustrating. I too feel that it’s hard to not see friends or family. I know working from home has its serious difficulties. I recognize that online teaching is a legitimate battle. I see the economy declining, people losing their jobs and livelihoods, and it breaks my heart. But, what we are seeing at work as healthcare providers, is truly a nightmare. A living breathing nightmare that will not end unless we stop the spread of the coronavirus. Young, old, healthy or not people are DYING. There are scarce supplies, improper PPE, and lessening hospital beds. People are recovering, I do not want to spread fear. People can survive this. But I am sitting here begging everyone, to please just #stayhome. I am asking you to change your perspective. You are not STUCK at home. You are SAFE at home. If we can band together and listen and do this properly, you will see your family and friends again. You will go back to work. The economy will come back. Normalcy will return. But we can’t rush it, and we can’t do this half-heartedly. Stay home. Stop the spread.”

From Coach Pete, what’s next: Thanks again to Alex for her recollections and her unique and poignant perspective on the pandemic. Next up in the series will be an interview with Matthew Syzmaszek (Class of 2007). Matt (or “CT” as he was known by all of us during his college days) is a doctor of emergency medicine and critical care in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Like Alex, he brings a uniquely vital perspective to this.