As I am finishing out the fall term of my senior year at Dartmouth, I am realizing how quickly my time here as flown by. In hindsight, four years at the College on the Hill has gone by in the blink of an eye – though many days seemed to drag on in the moment. Sometimes, I don’t know how I made it this far, but what I do know is that I would not be here without the immense support I have received from so many amazing people at this institution. Of course, my education here would not be possible without the work of my energetic, passionate, brilliant professors. They have taught me more than I ever dreamed possible and expanded my horizons in so many big ways. They are extraordinary, and we cannot recognize them enough. Today, however, I want to go beyond exclusively recognizing professors, who it could be argued still don’t receive the thanks they deserve, and take the time to thank some of the unsung heroes of our campus.
Throughout my four years at Dartmouth, I can say, without a doubt, that some of the people who have had the biggest impact on me have been custodians, dining hall workers, and other resource staff in various offices, and they don’t get the thanks they deserve. My custodian has taken the time to get to know me and my floormates and check up on us even when this is not part of his job description. Just this week I was sitting alone, frazzled, and near tears in my floor common room (you can see how my Week 9 is going), and my custodian saw me through the window and came in to ask me how I was doing because he could tell I was upset. He goes out of his way to ensure that our living space is clean, safe, and supportive. He even brought us candy on Halloween as a thank you to us for keeping our building relatively clean – something we should all be doing, like, always anyway. Small acts like this can truly make all the difference when you feel like you’re drowning and don’t have support.
I also cannot forget to thank the many, many amazing dining hall workers at Collis, Foco, the Hop, and Novack. They take time out of their day to chat with us and try to put a smile on our faces when they know we are under immense stress, and that type of kindness is so important on our campus. That “how are you doing today, boss,” greeting is something that I look forward to every time I go through the checkout line at the Hop. I think I speak for most Dartmouth students when I say interactions like this can make our lonely days so much better. I will also never forget the Dartmouth Dining workers’ numerous instances of extra care with me like when the Novack workers paid for my meals when I went -$150 one term or when they checked in with me all the times I bought a Monster Energy drink at 3AM during finals – they go above and beyond to have positive attitudes, and we are not appreciative enough of this.
Staff in the Student Wellness Center have also made such a difference for Dartmouth as a whole. Amanada Childress and her collegaues have completely revolutionized how we view sexual violence prevention on our campus, and really on college campuses across the country. The Office of Pluralism and Leadership has also come up with an abundance of great, supportive programs. There are so many workers on campus that we sometimes forget to be appreciative of: staff in the Dean’s Office, the Assistant Directors for Residential Education, the librarians, the Academic Skills Center, the Information Technology (IT) staff, the list goes on and on. All of these offices and staff teams work tirelessly to try to make Dartmouth a safer and more inclusive environment for all of us, and I want to give them so many rounds of applause for this. It can be easy to feel resentful and jaded when we have negative experiences on campus, and we often wind up blaming individual workers for these institutional problems. Much of the time, though, they are working extremely hard within the means that they are given by the institution and are putting in more emotional labor than they should have to in an attempt to change the campus climate, a feat that is a lot for any one staff member to bear the responsibility of.
It can be easy to get so caught up in our own lives that we forget to look around and thank the people who make an impact on us, and this is especially true on our campus where privilege and entitlement run so rampant. I urge everyone to take a moment to think about who has positively impacted you personally and what you can do to recognize them. Although my experiences with certain resources and people on campus are different than anyone else’s, an office that I have had a positive experience with might not be universally impactful, I think that everyone on campus has been impacted by someone. Don’t let their acts of kindness go unrecognized. There are free thank you cards, thanks to Carissa Dowd, in the Student Wellness Center. Take a second to stop by and write a thank you card for someone who has made a difference in your Dartmouth career. I promise you won’t regret it.