By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
A Season of Thanksgiving is Baylor’s university-wide campaign that encourages Bears to take time to express gratitude for the people and blessings in their lives. One of the activities on campus that encourages a reflection of gratefulness is writing notes of appreciation.
That explains the tabling and Post-it notes on boards around campus, which are all a part of the campaign. Goodyear, Ariz., senior Clarissa Garza is a marketing and communications intern for the university involved with the campaign.
“The campaign is a way to call the Baylor family to join together in the time of thanksgiving and to express that gratitude for the people in their lives [and] things in their life with acts of service,” Garza said.
According to Garza, the campaign started Nov. 4 and will wrap up right before Thanksgiving break on Nov. 22 with the last phase of the campaign, acts of service.
“The first week was really focusing on Baylor traditions and what students are thankful for as far as Baylor, and the second week … is focusing more on family and friends,” Garza said. “[We’re] inviting [the Baylor community] to share on a sticky note their appreciation for a family member, another student, a friend [or] a faculty member.”
Garza said she and other interns have been tabling at different campus locations over the last two weeks, specifically at Penland Dining Hall, the Baylor Sciences Building, the SUB, the business school and Moody Library. This week, they’ll be at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing. At the end of the campaign, all of the boards will be put on exhibit in the Hurd Welcome Center so everybody can see what the Baylor community is thankful for.
Jonathan Hill, senior brand integration specialist within the Marketing and Communications department, said the idea for writing Post-it notes of thanks came from an activity the department did last year. Students were encouraged to write a note or a letter to someone within the Baylor world to thank them for whatever impact they’ve had on their lives. However, they learned that students did not have enough time to write a letter when they were just passing by.
“The Post-it notes was the next step … giving students, faculty and staff a very simple prompt to be able to respond to,” Hill said. “The idea was that it would be something that would be … very quick, but that would cause [students] to physically and mentally pause to think about those things that [they’re] grateful for.”
Hill said his favorite part about being a part of the campaign has been getting to see the responses and reactions of students, faculty and staff reflecting on what they are thankful for.
“To be able to see that recognition in their faces is something that’s been really special because I think it really then extends to … those that will look at their note on that board, but then also the people who are collecting them,” Hill said. “It’s just an opportunity for us to connect and really grow that connection across the Baylor family in ways and in opportunities that we wouldn’t otherwise.”
Garza said her main involvement in the campaign has been tabling, but that it has been fun for her to see the individual names that students and faculty are putting on the board among their other appreciations.
“It’s funny when you see a specific name of somebody that they’re thankful for, but also just to see how heartfelt students are getting with their thankfulness — for Baylor or for their family, for the position that they’re in to go to school and have an education,” Garza said. “So it’s really been fun to see the actual product of them reflecting on what they’re thankful for, and then getting to put those up.”
