Saint Mary’s College of California was founded in 1863 and is one of the oldest schools in the West to educate the children of early San Francisco’s working class. The College’s community is centered on a set of beliefs, including their belief that conversations, focused on essential questions and classic texts, foster critical thinking and ignite a lifelong passion for learning.
COVID-19 took the world by surprise, leaving organizations scrambling to keep the lights on and enable their staff to continue working. This was especially true for organizations in the state of California, like Saint Mary’s College of California, when stay-at-home regulations were suddenly put in place. At a moment’s notice, all students, faculty, and staff were required to shift to fully remote learning and work. This is easier said than done for an organization whose core processes and inner workings were built on the requirement of being in-person.
Fortunately, a few years before the pandemic struck, Saint Mary’s had swapped out their aging phone system for GoTo Connect. However, despite the school staff continuing to utilize their desk phones and fax machines that they were accustomed to and familiar with, Lawrence Altomare, Manager of IT Networks, supported the staff in quickly making the switch amidst the pandemic. GoTo Connect virtual phone system helped Saint Mary's remotely communicate with students and their parents, set up office staff with the ability to fax remotely, and arrange a student-run call center, all of which enabled them to continue their mission critical work.
No matter what comes next, Altomare is convinced that they are well prepared. “Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to need. You may have an event come up and you have new requirements. With GoTo Connect, people will come to me and ask if we can handle this or that. And the answer is almost always yes.”
For the full story of how GoTo Connect saved Saint Mary’s College of California money over their previous PBX phone system and enabled them to continue their mission critical work, click the image below!
Looking for a phone system that adapts to your organization’s changing needs? Visit GoTo.com/connect or call us at 1 800 514 1317 to learn more.