Between Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and others I might not be as familiar with), this has been a time to reflect on our many blessings and think of giving gifts and sharing our joy with others.

2014 has been a great year for us in the Parent Programs office, largely because of the enthusiastic participation of you – our parents and families.  When I started writing the Daily Deac a few years ago and was making a conscious effort to have a robust Parents’ Page and Facebook/Twitter presence, it was a bit of a lark – something I loved to do that made me happy and gave me a great deal of personal satisfaction.  But as with all new things, it took some time to figure out if those efforts were read, were liked, were helpful and/or valuable.

My fondest hope and wish was to be able to connect you to life on campus and your students’ experience here.  To make you feel a part of it, welcomed as full members of our community (albeit from a distance), and to share some of the magic I get to see here every day because of the special people who work here and go to school here.

You have given me back the greatest gift of all – your participation, your feedback, and your kind words.  Whether you have emailed me about liking the Daily Deac, or commented on one of our Facebook threads, or retweeted something, you have been part of our Wake Forest family in active and meaningful ways.

I have received so many unsolicited emails from you, and they warm my heart every time.  Even when you tell me you don’t like what you’ve read or we disagree about something, I appreciate the fact that you cared enough to tell me.  I have saved all your emails – now some 55+ pages strong – and they energize me more than I can tell you.  When I meet one of you in person, I am always thrilled to connect a face to a name and to hear more about your family and your student’s WFU experience.

Thank you, too, for your incredible support of our Parents’ Campaign of the Wake Forest Fund.  Our parents are giving in greater and greater numbers, and I hope and believe that has something to do with the fact that you feel connected to the school and appreciate the work we all do on behalf of your students.  Please continue to give – or if you haven’t done so, please consider doing so (it’s online and easy to do!).  Part of the reason we do as much as we can for our students is because of funding provided through the Wake Forest Fund.

I want to make 2015 an even better year, so if you have comments or suggestions about things we are not writing about and should be, or ways we can engage you better online, please share your thoughts at parents@wfu.edu.

From the bottom of my black and gold heart, thank you for reading and enjoying the Daily Deac.  I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday!

 

— by Betsy Chapman

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