Thinking about the impact of COVID-19 can stir a variety of emotions. For some, the past year brought us closer to family, taught us how to stay active without a gym or showed us new hobbies that spark joy. For many of us, COVID-19 also brought feelings of isolation, pain, anger, sorrow or even numbness. Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re fundamentally different than we were one year ago. But we’ve learned we are resilient.

To reflect on that change and see just how far we’ve come, we’re looking back on our journey — to honor loved ones we’ve lost, celebrate our front-line heroes and prepare for the continued trek ahead until the virus is defeated. From developing masks made from existing hospital materials when demand was critically high at the start of the pandemic to designing low-cost, open-source ventilators, from launching the UF Health Screen, Test & Protect program to help reopen campus, to administering the first vaccine dose in Florida, see how we’ve come together to help serve each other, the community and the state of Florida.