The Alphabet of Gratitude

In this Issue: 26 reasons I am grateful to be a Wake Forester 

I am out of the office today, so this is a pre-post

Since November is the month of gratitude, I thought it might be fun to do an alphabet of gratitude. Here are 26 reasons I am grateful to be a Wake Forester.

A – Academics. I had some incredible professors and some real aha moments of intellectual discovery while I was here. 

B – Babcock. My favorite of all the residential communities I lived in. 

C – Communication department. I am so grateful to be able to teach the occasional class now!

D – Divisional requirements. In my student days, I would have skipped the sciences altogether, maybe a few other subjects too, had there not been divisional requirements. But being forced to take a sampling of courses in all the divisions has helped me be conversant in places I might not otherwise.

E – English department. My English degree got me my first job, and all subsequent jobs. Being able to read critically and write well has served me well. 

F – Friends. The friends I met at Wake are still the people I love most in the world. We have an active group text going and I love that we can still be close despite living all across the country.

G – Green spaces. We have so many wonderful fields, garden beds, trails and more to enjoy.

H – Help. Help is essentially everywhere at Wake. A student could walk into any office, ask any person on the Quad, or raise a hand and say they need something, and there would be people to help get them what they need.

I – Individuality. I love that we have students who are preppy, and ones with tattoos, and ones with purple hair, and Republicans and Democrats, and people from all religions (or none at all), and international students, and Southern accents – all jumbled in one place. We all learn from each other.

J – Jeremy (aka Mr. Daily Deac). The greatest gift Wake Forest ever gave me was meeting my wonderful husband here when we were in grad school and later marrying him in Wait Chapel.

K – Krispy Kremes. The original Winston-Salem treat.

L – Lovefeast. It is the prettiest holiday service I have ever been to. I love the beeswax candles, the Moravian bun and coffee, and the feeling of being in peaceful community as the holidays begin.

M – Move In Day. Every year it is a joy to watch all the emotions on the faces of our new students (and their families) as they go through the major life transition of starting college.

N – North Campus Dining Hall. This did not exist when I was a student, but I like getting a cup of Peet’s coffee on the lower level and then having a meeting on the upper level in the morning, before the place gets busy.

O –  Opportunities. There are so many opportunities on campus: to hear from renowned speakers at Face to Face, see great artists with the Secrest Artists Series, or worship, volunteer, debate, or even travel. If you want to stretch yourself, you absolutely can.

P – People. There are so many wonderful folks who work here: faculty, administrators, support staff, contract workers in the Pit, etc. And I especially love when I get to know our students! They are so energetic and earnest and talented and want to make the world a better place.

Q – Quad grass. Walking barefoot on it right before Commencement, when the grass is at its most lush, is one of my great pleasures.

R –  Reynolda Gardens. I love walking the trail between campus and Reynolda Gardens. Beautiful in every season, but especially right now in the fall.

S – Study abroad. My time in France was the best semester I spent at Wake. Totally transformational.

T – Tutoring. Whether that is in the Center for Learning, Access, and Student Success; Math and Stats Center; Writing Center; Chem Center – I am grateful that we have folks who give of their time and talent to help students learn those tougher subjects. I only passed biology because of the tutoring I got from one of my best friends.

U – the University Theatre. Some of the Wake people I love most were from the Theatre department, and every production I go to today reminds me that we have amazing talent on campus.

V – Victories. Athletics has given us so many of them, but there are little victories every day: the lightbulb goes off in a student’s head and suddenly they understand something, or a faculty member gets funding for an important grant. All the victories.

W – Wait Chapel. It is our tallest building, a beacon of light at night, and the place where we celebrate together, and sometimes mourn together – it is the “together” that matters.

X – Xenon. Not the gas proper, but the Periodic Table bench outside of Salem Hall. It’s a great piece of student art, and one that my ’27 used to LOVE looking at when we’d bring him to campus as a child.

Y – YOU!  I am grateful every day that so many of you read the Daily Deac and allow me to be part of your Wake Forest experience.

Z – Z Smith Reynolds Library. It has some of the most amazing, helpful librarians in the world (some of my best friends), plus the Rare Books Room, a beautiful space. And librarians are on the front line of helping students understand how to detect mis/disinformation, so they deserve all the thanks for that.

That’s the ABCs of my WFU gratitude.