Monah Shah is a 2016 graduate of UT Tyler who ran cross country for the Patriots. Shah is a registered nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital in upper Manhattan.

Editor’s Note: Joe Reinsch, UT Tyler sports information director, contacted Monal Shah, a former track and cross country runner for the Patriots, Class of 2016. Alumni of UT Tyler Athletics include a group of nearly 300 graduates from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Shah, from Spring, was inducted in 2015 to UT Tyler’s Chi Alpha Sigma honor society, a national scholar-athlete society honoring collegiate student-athletes who excel both in the classroom and in athletic competition. Shah is a registered nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital in upper Manhattan. The following is a question and answer:

Reinsch: Describe how your UT Tyler Athletics experience has impacted your career.

Shah: I ran cross country for only one semester at UT Tyler, but it was my favorite semester in college. I was recruited by Coach Grant Spencer because I was running on the treadmill at the same time practice happened. I was by no means fast; in fact, I was one of the last to always finish the races. But my team and my coach didn’t care because they were more concerned about teaching me perseverance. They taught me it isn’t about the result; it’s about giving it your all and knowing you’ll always have the support of your team family.

I took that concept and ran with it (pun intended).

Running cross country at UT Tyler gave me discipline, confidence, and most importantly, resiliency. Discipline in waking up 6 a.m. (regardless of what I did the previous night), confidence in knowing that I’m capable of all, and resiliency in bouncing back stronger from any setbacks.

To this day, running is the only thing that is keeping me sane, and I got that training from UT Tyler Athletics.

Reinsch: Describe your normal job duties; have those changed due to the coronavirus pandemic? If so, describe how your job has changed.

Shah: Being an oncology nurse in New York City, my normal job duty is to care for those who have cancer, whether that’s administering chemotherapy/biotherapy, educating, or providing comfort.

During the pandemic, my patients are not only battling cancer, but also now battling COVID-19. The lifesaving agents we give for cancer-fighting purposes take away our patients’ immune systems completely, leaving them as the most vulnerable population in the world.

For now, I continue to work solely with oncology patients, but with the added burden of many of them having tested positive for COVID-19. This means that we must take extra precautions like never before, both for our patients and for ourselves.

This virus is serious — I have seen patients who have beat cancer but only to succumb to this virus. We are not allowing family members of our patients into the hospital any longer. I miss those interactions with loved ones, but it’s critical that they stay home to minimize the risks both to the patients and me.

Reinsch: What encouragement or advice would you like to pass on to the student-athletes, alumni, coaches, and fans of UT Tyler Athletics?

Shah: It may seem like you’re in a small town/college, but just know that you can make it BIG. Four years ago, when graduating from UT Tyler, I would have never believed in a million years that I would soon be living in New York City, serving as a front-line worker during a pandemic. What’s remained the same is that I’ve still been practicing the lessons and feeling the love from my coaches and teammates.