There will be moments when you just wake up, you see it's raining again, you remember you have a paper due and a quiz to study for, and of course you have not done the laundry yet, and it will be so hard to be grateful.
Try to remember how many things had to allign perfectly for you to be here in this very minute though, and how amazing this chance is.
Something this school does well in my eyes is the emphasis on gratitude. The whole past week has been centered on it - we have had a gratitude tree in front of one of the academic buildings where students get hot cider if they write something to add, we've had several activities for writing personlized notes for other students, there's a wall of advice and help in the library...
The event I have been the most involved is thank a donor day! A great day you will not miss for sure, because you can get donuts the whole school day! There were two tables operating in the Trail room and at JR Howard, with dozens and dozens of delicious goodies prepared for all community members.
The premise is simple - write as many thank you cards intended for donors as you wish, and get that number of donuts!
Working with Phonathon, I've called many alumni who are regular donors, and sometimes it simply does not feel enough to say thank you over the phone, becuase they really do change lives. From my persepctive, I'd never even go here if there were not many wonderful donors hoping to help us, no matter how big the donation is. So getting to write these cards, felt a bit more personal and sweet, and I hope all of them appreciate it as much as we enjoy writing it.
Donors improve our community, our opportunities, our L&C experience, and never forget to be thankful for that. I even heard a rumor that someone donates under the condition there will be ice cream in the canteen every day. How true is that? Who knows but I'd like to believe it.
Be thankful, and get a donut in return :)
-Mwuah,
Mia