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Iris Meda retired in January, excited to start her new life. After a 35-year career as a dedicated RN, Iris had planned to spend more time with her grandchildren, reunite with her siblings and join her local senior center.
But soon after his retirement, the pandemic arrived and with it, a change of plans.
“She was really surprised at this turn of events,” Selene Meda-Schlamel, daughter of Iris, told NBC News on Tuesday. Selene said during the lockdown, her mother was closely monitoring the virus and, dismayed by the growing problems facing healthcare workers, ultimately decided she could no longer stand idly by.
In August, she accepted a job teaching in-person dual-credit college and high school students at Collin College in a northeastern suburb of Dallas. Teaching future frontline workers amid the pandemic was Iris’ way of giving back, Selene said, and she loved every minute of it.
“She lit up,” Selene said. “She loved it. It made her so happy because she really enjoyed giving presentations and she knew her skills because she had been a nurse for so long and had worked in so many different types of facilities from correctional medicine to hospitals in passing through the severe burns unit.
Iris was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and at the age of 7, moved to Harlem, Selene said. The eldest of five children, Iris looked after her younger siblings and raised them when her mother, a domestic worker, and her husband, a longshoreman, were away for long periods. Iris eventually dropped out of high school.
“She was planning a life where she would meet someone, get married and raise a bunch of kids,” Selene said. “But my dad told her she was really smart and convinced her to get her GED.
From there, Selene said, Iris would graduate with a nursing degree from New York City College in 1984 and work in various hospitals around the state. After working as a nurse at Rikers Island Correctional Center, Iris moved to Dallas, where she helped set up an HIV clinic, Selene said.
At 70, Iris retired as a nursing clinic administrator with the North Texas Job Corps, believing it would be her last job. Selene said her mother could not have imagined that at age 70 she would continue to work, and in the midst of a pandemic like this.
“When she started labor, there weren’t a lot of students in the class so she felt comfortable,” Selene said. “She was worried about the risks, but she thought she had enough PPE and enough distance from the students that she was fine. I’m not sure if there was a time when it was clear his risk was significant. I think she downplayed the risks to her love of teaching.
In early October, Iris came into close contact with a student sick with Covid-19, according to an email from the school obtained by Inside Higher Ed and confirmed by NBC News. A few days later, Iris herself tested positive for the virus and began to experience symptoms. On October 17, she was hospitalized and, despite receiving antibody transfusions and remdesivir, was intubated as her condition worsened, Selene said. On November 14, almost a month later, she died of complications from the coronavirus.
“She was doing what she loved,” Selene told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. “Despite the risks, she was living her life to the fullest. On his own terms at the time. Try to prepare future nurses for this country. “
Selene said one of the reasons her mother became a nurse educator was that some of her earliest memories were caring for her siblings. “She gave love generously and without regard,” she says.
“She was looking for an opportunity to give back and teach in the college health professions seemed like a perfect fit,” read an email from Collin College President H. Neil Matkin obtained by Inside Higher Ed and confirmed by NBC News. “She was 70 years old, although her daughter said her mother was so excited to teach at Collin College that she looked much younger.
In a statement provided to NBC News, Matkin said, “On behalf of our board, students, faculty and staff, we extend our deepest condolences to the Meda family. Prof. Meda’s family shared that she was honored to serve as an instructor at Collin College, and we are sincerely grateful for her service to our students. “
Selene pointed out how much Iris enjoys working with students.
“She was saying how she could pick those who were struggling and would stay with them and give them a hand because she had received so much encouragement in her life,” Selene told NBC News Dallas-Fort Worth.
During an online fundraiser set up by a family friend of Iris Church for medical and funeral bills, donations will also go to a scholarship fund on behalf of Iris.
“Iris was passionate about education and it will be a fitting tribute to her,” reads the description of the fundraiser.
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