OneTribe: Our Staff Stories

Florida State athletics has not been immune to the world-changing COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few weeks we have been chronicling the stories of our student-athletes in our #OneTribe #OurStory series, and we aren’t finished yet.

While the health and welfare of our student-athletes remains our focus, there are countless untold stories out there about what members of our FSU administration, coaching and support staffs are going through in their lives.

In the spirit of our #OneTribe series, the Florida State sports information staff has provided a forum for those who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to help our student-athletes cope with their new normal, to share their stories. It is our hope that by providing this canvas, Seminoles everywhere can make relatable connections with those they might only know from the athletics arena, if at all.

This is the first installment of #OneTribe: Our Staff Stories:

Dr. Kacy King

Associate Athletics Director

Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services

The new norm in the King household is about what you might expect when you have two work-at-home professionals juggling their job responsibilities while sharing the home-schooling responsibilities of two elementary school children with a willing, but over-qualified grandmother.

“I’m extremely fortunate,” said Kacy King, Associate Athletics Director and Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services. “My mother, Jane Baldwin, is here assisting us as well, because she happened to be here when all of this shifted. I have the biggest help in the world because she’s here. She’s a retired college professor and has been an educator for 50-some years.

We have a sort of a combo of us tag-teaming the situation because she does not care to be involved with the technology. She is very tech savvy, but she’s not interested in worrying about who’s getting on their Zoom call or their Teams call. I take care of all the technology meetings. They have a lot of packets. I had to end up ordering a printer because we hadn’t had one for years, so we can print out their work.”

King juggles her professional “worries” – heading the academic support of more than 500 FSU student-athletes who have been thrust into an online learning environment, minimally, through the summer – with the needs of daughters Ellery (9) and Fiona (6). Third- and first-graders, respectively, at Kate Sullivan Elementary, they too are getting a first-hand, first-look at online education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re all here,” said King, who shares the living room school house with her husband Andrew, who is remotely managing his Auto-Owners underwriters when he’s not taking his turn with tutoring their girls.

While Kacy and Andrew are working their full-time jobs, Jane Baldwin – “Peaches” to her granddaughters – is running the “classroom.”

“They call her Professor Peaches,” Kacy said, describing her mom as a “no-nonsense” educator. “Yesterday there was some disagreement happening and my mother said, ‘Fiona, this is school, you can’t act like that.’ And Fiona said, ‘This isn’t school, this is home. I wish I was at school.

So we’re managing those emotions. We’re all figuring it out.”

From determining what time to wake the girls to start their school day to getting them on the proper video conference, it’s a work in progress.

“We don’t have the perfect formula,” Kacy confessed.

Perfection isn’t always attainable, when you’re managing a full-time staff of 12, plus tutors, while facing unique challenges every day as the home-school mom to 500 Noles with varied needs.

“I can’t take credit for all of that. Our staff has been phenomenal,” said King, whose supportive staff recently shared a “shoutout” for their first-year boss at one of their daily meetings.

“Shoutout to Kacy for managing all of the things the students don’t even know she’s managed for them…That’s where I see my role; making sure that our staff has what they need for our students, and also that our students are taken care of.

Sadly I’m not seeing students at all right now, which is heart-breaking. I’m used to seeing them walk in and out of the office…As you move up you see students less. I haven’t seen students that much, while our staff is seeing students even more than they’re used to because students who didn’t need as much help need help right now, because this is all new, whether you’re a high-achieving student or a student who needs more hand-holding, everyone needs something right now.

I’m trying to manage this 30,000-foot view for these students.”

One of King’s biggest challenges is how to distribute books to students for summers.

“The books will magically appear for them, but they’ll have no idea how many weeks I’ve spent working on this…

You don’t get into academics for the glory. You get into it because it’s a helping profession and you like help people and see people get it; those ah-ha moments…It’s lost some of its shine; those little moments that you really get excited about. We don’t have those right this minute and that’s hard.”

That’s not to say there aren’t some special memories being made, both with the student-athletes and in the King household.

“I do keep reminding myself how special it is that the girls get to spend this time with my mom.”

She recalled a moment the other day when, while on a work conference call – with her mic muted – Fiona climbed into her lap for a hug and some attention.

“[Fiona] said, ‘Why do people keep talking? What are they talking about? When’s it supposed to be over?’”

It was one of the small treasures that aren’t part of the pre-COVID-19 workdays.

“I do work long hours and I don’t get to see them that much during the week at all,” King said. “When it comes down to it I see them for about an hour-and-a-half each day, because I drop them off at school in the morning and pick them up from after-care. Then you do dinners, showers, maybe a little bit of homework if they didn’t do it at after-care, and then they’re in bed…All of a sudden it’s 24 hours.”

She cherishes the time she gets to spend with her girls, and the opportunity to be more involved in their schooling.

“I’m an educator and I like teaching.” – Bob Thomas

Trey Jones

Director of Golf/Men’s Golf Coach

“My daughter Jordan is a freshman at Florida State. She loves everything about this great university, whether it’s the look of the campus, the friends she has made, going to her favorite Starbucks, etc. She bleeds Garnet and Gold. She’ll never look back on her decision to come to FSU.

That’s why when she found out on-campus activities and classes were canceled for the remainder of the school year, she broke down in tears. I was with her when she found out because we were driving back from the beach. She had a trip over there during Spring Break. One of the highlights of her day is roaming that gorgeous campus and physically going to class. I know all of the students have to go through distance learning, but it’s something she’d rather not have to do. Jordan wants to be in class. She loves Florida State.

Her freshman year has been more than she could have ever imagined – it just hasn’t ended in the right way. I think sometimes we forget how much students can really enjoy being where they’re at, and she is one of them. Her first-year experience at FSU is second to none. She loved her freshman dorm, and her randomly selected roommate has turned out to be like a sister.

I think the passion that Jordan has for FSU is how so many of our students feel. It’s a credit to the great environment our teachers, administrators and other university personnel have created. And that’s why all this has hit her so hard. It’s removed so much from her socially and even academically. It’s been an absolute shock. Thankfully, she’s been very studious through all this. She really enjoyed her independence, and although it’s been taken away for now, she has handled all of her school work very well.

These students are resilient. They know how to get things done. I see it with my own student-athletes, whom I’m very proud to coach. I also see the resiliency in my staff. Obviously, we’re so used to doing things face-to-face. The communication may not be totally the same, but I have a very professional group. What we’ve said from the start is we’re not going to sit around and let this pandemic dictate what we have to do. We want to get ahead and be prepared to handle our jobs in whatever way we have to. We’ve put more thought into areas where we didn’t have as much time before: Social media, reorganizing our staff. We want to always know what the next step is going to be and how we are going to adapt.

We’re certainly bummed that we’re not playing golf right now. But in times like these, it’s important to be thankful for what you do have instead of complaining about what you don’t have.” – as told to Steve Stone

Amy Bond

Women’s Golf Coach

Amy Bond played nine holes on Sunday at Southwood Golf Course in Tallahassee. It was the first time she had played golf since last fall.

The pandemic sweeping across the world has hit the Florida State alumna quite hard. Not only was the promising season for her nationally-ranked Seminoles cut short and her golfers sent scurrying to numerous places around the United States and countries around the globe, but her world was made more difficult as the Coronavirus continued to spread.

Bond has lived with Type 1 Diabetes since she was 17 years old, when she was diagnosed with the disease as a senior in high school. Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s blood sugar level is too high for the body to break down into useable sugar to be carried throughout the body. It’s an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks its body.

“When I see news reports of who is most at risk (from the Coronavirus), usually those with Diabetes are second on the list, which gives me a very uneasy feeling,” said Bond. “I have kept myself at home, other than to exercise, walk the dog and go to the grocery store.”

Bond has been unable to do what she does best during this period of uncertainty throughout the world. She can’t coach her student-athletes, she doesn’t see her coaching friends at tournaments around the country, and she hasn’t visited with her close-knit family since before the Seminoles’ spring season began in mid-February.

While most might think this is a period of inactivity for coaches, Bond sees it as a period of proactivity.

“Instead of working with the girls at practice, I am coming up with practices to implement once the student-athletes return to campus,” said Bond. “We have weekly Zoom meetings with each of the players where we have discussions not only about golf, but life as a whole.

Bond also works daily on finding future Seminoles.

“One of the most important things we are doing as a staff is recruiting and talking to prospective student-athletes,” said Bond. “We are challenged to find creative ways to keep them informed while showing them the amazing things Florida State has to offer in a virtual world since they cannot visit us in person.”

Bond takes care of her daily list of tasks as Florida State’s coach while continuing to take care of her health.

“I carry around disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer, and I am very particular as to what I do and who I do it with,” Bond said. “I literally wipe down everything that I bring into my house. I like to give people hugs, but now I am sure to practice social distancing. I have not been out since the wearing of masks was suggested, but the next time I go to the grocery story I’ll be wearing a mask.”

Bond takes her dog Tucker for two walks daily – one in the morning and another at sunset.

“I’d like to think that I am a healthy Diabetic,” said Bond. “But I don’t even want to test myself against the Coronavirus. I was (obsessive) about washing my hands before this, but now I have significantly increased the number of times I wash my hands.”

Bond is anxious for the world to open back up and for all lives to return to normal.

“I look forward to returning to my hometown of Ocala to visit my family,” said Bond. “My parents, my brothers and their families, my nieces and nephews and my 91 and 95-year old grandmothers all live in Ocala. I have not ventured down there during this time because they, too, are practicing social distancing. I do look forward to being able to spend time with them, and that will be the first thing I do once we are able to do so.

Bond also looks forward to rediscovering her adopted home of Tallahassee.

“I love to eat out with family and friends. I love to eat sandwiches, so I may treat myself to a Firehouse Sub and then have dinner with friends.”

Bond would also like to finish the nine holes of golf she began in early April as she returns to the golf course with her golfers – the place where she has been most comfortable throughout her life. – Chuck Walsh

Dan Carrington

Assistant Swimming Coach

Kim Carrington is a vascular surgery nurse at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, the wife of Dan Carrington and the mother of two.

“Her job hasn’t been affected too much by COVID-19. She’s had a couple days where her schedule changed. She did take a shift at one of the testing centers in town and at first it was really scary, but once she got home and was telling me about it, I thought the work she did was very impressive and awesome. I was impressed with the organization and protective measures they took to keep all nurses safe during the testing for the coronavirus. Kim enjoyed the day because it was something different and she was outside all day.

We didn’t take any risks after that day and followed protocol when she arrived home – having her go straight to the shower instead of a traditional welcome home greeting from everyone, including the dog. Hank had to be put away. We opened all of the doors. For me, it was a bit surreal when she walked in as I just waved at her from the back of the kitchen. After that I just starting of thinking of things. I wiped down the door knob and went out to her car and put it outside and rolled down the windows.

Aside from Kim’s work, we’re set in a routine since the stay-at-home shift began. For me, that includes a bike ride every morning before 9 a.m., when the girls have to get to their school work done. I’ve helped with homework more now, than he ever in my life.

This morning, I was working on a game with coordinates with my oldest Grace. Basically I was playing Battleship. It was fun. I lost.

In the afternoons, Grace takes time to play the piano, while Liana works on dance.

I also have a lot to keep up with since we’re hot on the recruiting trail and planning for next season. I’ve also had some time to do some self-analysis, and talking to other coaches.

We’ve taken on some DIY projects around the house, building a tree house and adding a deck by the pool, which a close to completion. Associate head coach, Dan Kesler stopped by in the early stages to help build the tree house.

You could say we’ve added home economics and shop class to their coursework.

We used to have someone helps us around the house, since we’re always busy, but we divide up the chores, clean the house, make our own lunches and cook for each other, in addition to building the tree house and the deck by the pool. It’s been really fun.” – as told to Christa Salerno

Dr. Pamela Perrewé

Faculty Athletics Representative for Florida State University

“Helping to raise four children has been my biggest blessing. They are kind, bright, they work very hard, and they are all die-hard Seminole fans. Interestingly, even after they leave the nest, moms worry. I realize now, that will never change.

The reason I am expressing myself is that I have two children in the healthcare field during the Covid-19 pandemic – they are essential workers. I have two children who can work remotely; my oldest son is a high school math teacher and my oldest daughter is a senior VP for a global corporation. Thank goodness, they can work from home.

My younger daughter is a sonographer at a major cancer center in north Florida. She is an essential worker who needs to work with patients with (and without the coronavirus). She not only needs to be concerned for herself, but she needs to be careful not to transmit the virus to her husband and daughter.

My youngest son is a physical therapist at one of the largest hospitals in Colorado. His specialty is working with individuals with vestibular problems (e.g., those with traumatic brain injuries and/or strokes). Some of these individuals have tested positive for the coronavirus, so he needs to take great care. He has volunteered to take extra hours to help other physical therapists who have families or who are pregnant.

So very proud of all my children – never will stop worrying, of course. This pandemic is unpredictable, deadly, and so stressful for everyone.”

Florida State University Athletics

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