Students drive UMass Amherst COVID testing center to success Updated Jan 19, 2021; Posted Jan 19, 2021 Signs at the UMass Amherst COVID-19 testing site at the Mullins Center in August 2020. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican) Facebook Share As the University of Massachusetts Amherst prepares for the spring semester, administrators say operations at its COVID-19 testing center and early COVID-19 vaccination continue to succeed due in large part to student workers. Nearly 90 students play a significant role in daily operation, performing tasks ranging from test collection to contact tracing to administering vaccines. “Our student workers are the heart, soul, muscle, hands and feet of the testing center,” said Ann Becker, co-director of the Public Health Promotion Center and public health director for the university. “Without them, it would be very difficult to stand up this testing center and operate it on a daily basis.”