It is this time of year that always gives me the extra reminder of what I am thankful for, and this year I am especially thankful for my Housing and Residence Life (HRL) family.

This Thanksgiving, I was on duty as a Resident Advisor (RA) for a majority of the break, meaning I cannot leave campus and must respond to calls as needed. As much as it was not pleasant to be away from my family for the holiday, everyone in HRL is amazing and truly a second family that I got to spend some time with this year.

This Thanksgiving one of our HRL supervisors organized a Thanksgiving meal for all the RAs that were not able to go home. We had a turkey and stuffing and we all brought our favorite holiday dishes to share. It was an amazing time and reminded me how thankful I am for the people I work with and the friends I have made throughout my time on HRL staff. Thanksgiving marks about a year since I have been hired on staff and my life has changed a lot since I joined my second family. Everyone in Housing and Residence Life is always so supportive and willing to help. I have had the honor of getting to know the new professional staff members this year and they are all amazing and ready to lend a hand with any issues you could possibly have. In addition, I have made an abundance of friends that I enjoy working with every day.

Thanksgiving is a great time to remember the little things in life that we may tend to take for granted, and I am very thankful of my home away from home and all of my school mates I spend every day with. I am very thankful for this school and everything it has brought me.

I hope everyone else had an amazing Thanksgiving, too.