Make Someone's Day: Thank an Eagle

By: Jack Booth

Hi there! My name is Jack, and I’m a current student at EMU. As a junior, I study Business Management with a minor in Spanish. Most would say, and I would agree, that while I have a deep drive for academic success and prioritize my studies, my most impactful work happens outside of the classroom. Some of my work happens in the Admissions Office as a Tour Guide and Student Coordinator where I connect prospective students and their families to EMU and the abundance of opportunities and people here to support them, as well as in the Honors College, where I build connections with Honors faculty and staff, and through the Presidential Scholar Association. I also currently serve as the Vice President of Student Government acting as a bridge between our team and the rest of campus to make dreams a reality (cheesy, but it’s true). 

If you haven’t noticed, much of my career at EMU is built on the connections and knowledge that mentors have provided me. I spend much of my day connecting with EMU faculty and staff. For this reason, Student Government President Hamzah Dajani and I are excited to be partnering with the Faculty Development Center for Thank-An-Eagle this year! This event gives students and members of the EMU community the opportunity to thank a faculty or staff member for the work they do and the impact they’ve made. It’s important that we continue to show our mentors at EMU that they are an integral part of what makes this university so special. Any Eagles who have been recognized will be celebrated at an event this April, to which those who submit messages of thanks will also be invited. 

But before we can celebrate our people, we need your participation! We will be collecting nominations across campus from now until March 17. All you have to do is submit a handy-dandy Google Form asking who you are nominating and a little about why you’re nominating them. 

While this form will be available online via email, Instagram (@emichfdc), the Eagle App, and more (as well as at the link above), the Faculty Development Center and Student Government team would love to see you in person for a chat about Thank-An-Eagle (and some free food)! We will be hosting an event on the ground floor of the Student Center on March 4 from 3 PM to 5 PM; stop by during these times to say hi! We hope to see you there and to encourage you to submit a nomination or two while grabbing some food! 

This is a great opportunity to express our gratitude to administrators, staff, faculty, and even students. As student leaders, Hamzah and I have immense respect for our university staff. The professors that we have studied under in our time here have always gone above and beyond the requirements of their job and poured into us as people. Many of us can remember a time when a staff or faculty member helped us adjust through difficult seasons of life, offered us valuable advice, or gave us a smile when we needed it most. 

I’ve been lucky enough to have exceptional faculty and staff to nominate for each Thank-An-Eagle throughout my 3 years on campus. The first faculty member I nominated was Henry Hastings, who I had for Business Law and Ethics. He took a class that is often seen as dense and boring, and turned it into an exciting, story-filled adventure that strongly influenced my career choice. While I don’t plan on going to law school, my role after graduation will look at laws and regulations in the financial industry– just like he taught us. 

While he probably didn’t need my recommendation to be considered a good professor or to know that he made a difference, I hope it made him feel good to know that his contribution to my education was valuable to my time at EMU and far beyond, plus it made me feel good knowing he knew that! 

It doesn’t stop there. Most of our time at EMU is spent out of class where staff make a world of difference in our campus jobs, serving as student organization advisors, and beyond. Thank-An-Eagle isn’t limited to academic faculty and I hope that anyone reading this takes the time to nominate anyone who makes a difference in their experience at Eastern. 

To students, the faculty and staff you nominate will be touched by this. To faculty and staff, please pass the form to your students and encourage them to take a moment or two to celebrate our vibrant community by nominating someone who makes their experience here whole. Make sure you let them know about the nomination event on March 4, too! 

Student Government is thrilled about the opportunity to support the Faculty Development Center in this process, and we hope you’ll find a part in making EMU a more meaningful place for all of us.