Professors are more than just lecturing and grading machines; show appreciation

Appreciation can make a day - even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.
-Margaret Cousins

     I came across this quote as I thought about what opinion I wanted to offer up for scrutiny this week, and instantly I knew what I had to write about.

     I would like to take advantage of my print opportunity to express my appreciation to every faculty and staff member who puts in countless hours behind the scenes to make my experience here at FGCU easier than it should be.         

             
                   The instructors I have encountered and will encounter deserve our utmost respect. They have spent countless hours researching in their respective fields to gain the knowledge that they willingly share with their students.

      Our professors have spent more hours reading and grading assignments and checking for understanding than I may ever put into writing all of my papers combined.

      This can't be an easy task— especially with our constant requests for extensions because we went out partying over the weekend when a major paper was due that Monday. None the less, they usually grant our requests.

     Instructors are put down on Web sites such as RateYourProfessor.com and Facebook, but they do not waver in their attempt to help us become better people when we enter the "real world." They present themselves as models for what we should all attempt to achieve— productive society members who care.

     This university is not run by the instructors alone. The numerous people behind the scenes are just as commendable for the jobs they perform.

     The members of UPD, Plant Services, support staff in all departments and offices, right down to the smiling faces encountered at the bookstore checkout counter all make our days easier.  By helping to relieve some of the burdens on the most in-demand personnel that we all want face time with, these supportive people keep our campus safe, attractive and clean, and ever growing.  

      Without them, our instructors would have even more responsibilities and even less time for the personal attention we all want.
I can come to campus and just go to class, never acknowledging that there is more going on than what I observe in my daily routines, or I can express through words, to those here at FGCU as members of the "real world," that I see your work in every step I take on campus. I appreciate what you do.

     I know I am not alone in this sentiment, and many of you may have said "thanks" to someone who is employed here, but have you sincerely meant it?

     Have you smiled at the person cleaning the glass doors at the library and made an effort to use the door handle and not smudge up the glass they just cleaned? Can you look at a professor whose class you just failed and say "thank you for your best efforts to help me learn" and acknowledge that its wasn't their fault you didn't pass?

     Any of these types of actions can not only make you feel good, but the other party will as well— and sometimes that's the most important thing. As we expand our minds, our hearts should keep pace and through actions we can illustrate our true character.

     Through my expression of gratitude, I hope we can all come together and let each and every person who shares in our experiences here know that we see them— pardon the Avatar pun.

     The invisible masses that clean up our messes like parents might, make sure we obey the rules, who keep FGCU beautiful and that help us with our homework at 9p.m. on a Saturday through e-mail. They are my heroes, not because they take up arms to defend my freedom like our heroes in military service, but because they are teaching me how to appreciate what I have and that hard work will get me where I need to go. And for that, I say, "Thank You."