As college students, we spend most of our time thinking about ourselves. In our minds, we are here to get an education and get out into the real world, having fun along the way if possible. However, because of our fixation on ourselves and our future plans, we often overlook the people around us.

Therefore, I would like to take a minute and express my gratitude to the staff of The University of Alabama that spend their days working to make our college experience better and more manageable, and encourage all of us students to take the time to appreciate them more.

I think about the times I have gone to Lakeside Dining and have been greeted at the welcome desk by a member of staff who almost always asks the passing students, “How are you doing?” This common courtesy goes unnoticed by many students who simply walk on by and ignore the person at the desk because they are too busy with things going on around them or are too distracted by whatever they are listening to through their earbuds. 

It is common for these general courtesies to fall by the wayside. In fact, I have noticed myself occasionally developing the same habits as those who never take the time to thank the staff. Simply, we learn to take them for granted, so much so that we don’t even know the names of the people we see almost every day.

Of the 7,169 members of staff at the University, most students, myself included, seem to give all of our attention to the professors that have a direct impact on our academic success. For most students, who are away from home, our attention on the stresses of school and academic success causes us to ignore the other important people in our lives. 

While professors may teach us and determine our grades in classes, it is essential not to let the importance placed on these people overshadow the service staff that take care of us every day.

Rarely do we as a student body take the time to even give a passing thank you or hello to these much-valued members of staff who cook, clean and care for us every day of the school year. They give so much to us and yet, they receive so little credit for making the University function by providing the services we take for granted. 

Take a moment and get to know these staff members because we can learn just as many life skills, including common courtesy and work ethic, from them as anyone else we will ever meet, or at the very least, we can all agree that The University of Alabama would be a much worse place without them.

The University of Alabama is more than a university. It is a collection of people from all walks of life that come together and agree to work as a team so that all of us can thrive together.

Almost every day, as we leave for class, we see the people working to make sure the University functions for us. 

It is vital for all students to take a moment out of our days to say thanks. The little things are what matter, because the power of thank you can make a person’s day.