Two days before Commencement, the Class of 2019 celebrates Grateful Beaver Day by penning notes of thanks to donors who made it all possible.
By Marc Glass, May 2019
At UMF, 98 percent of students depend on some form of financial aid. Their need is great. So is their gratitude to donors who help make their UMF experience possible.
On Tuesday, May 9, just two days before Commencement, members of the Class of 2019 expressed that gratitude by penning notes of thanks to alumni and friends who made vital contributions to the University this past year.
Senior Class Vice President Hope Lash ’19 of Waldoboro, Maine, was among some 150 students who participated in the second-annual Grateful Beaver Day gratitude celebration. Lash, who double-majored in history and political science with a minor in theater, says writing her thank-you note was an opportunity to pause amidst the swirl of Commencement preparations and reflect on the significance of the support she had received over the past four years.
With Commencement and the wider world two days away, Senior Class Vice President Hope Lash ’19 carefully chooses her words of gratitude. (Photo by Marc Glass.)
“While writing my thank you note, the only thing I could really think of was how these donors, people who are complete strangers to me, had been the driving force aiding me in the pursuit of my education,” says Lash. “In high school, as a student from a single-income home, I thought going to college would have to remain just a dream, because of the financial burden it would cause without outside aid. I realize the awards and scholarships I received at UMF would not exist without the generous support of donors and their genuine belief in the education system as a positive force within our society.”
Senior Class President Steffon Gales ’19 of Roxbury, Mass., says that in addition to expressing appreciation for the financial support he has received, he hoped to underscore the impact of donors’ generosity in his note of thanks.
Senior Class President Steffon Gales ’19 says Grateful Beaver Day reminded him that UMF is a community “continually pushing students toward success and excellence.” (Photo by Marc Glass.)
“As an inner-city student, I wouldn’t be here without financial support from the university. Because of the donations people have made to the Marcia Savage Brown Scholarship, I was able to graduate magna cum laude from UMF with a degree in secondary education,” says Gales. “As a senior admissions fellow, I want prospective students to have the same opportunity I was given. It means a great deal to me to know that alumni give back to our community. That’s what UMF is after all — a community that is continually pushing students toward success and excellence.”
While students are encouraged to express their thanks in whatever terms feel genuine, some — like the writer of the letter below who revealed she is the first in her family to graduate from high school and college — ground their gratitude in personal testimonials that reveal a deep awareness of the support received.
And others, like the writer of the letter below, made it clear that thanks are given on behalf of parents and families as well.
“It’s an incredibly busy time of year for the seniors,” says Katie O’Donnell ’07, who serves as senior class advisor and coordinates Grateful Beaver Day as director of the annual fund and stewardship at UMF. “But providing them an opportunity to come together just before Commencement to give thanks is, I think, a powerful way to help them carry gratitude into the world — and understand that many members of the alumni community have been behind them all the way. It’s become a wonderful tradition that I now look forward to every year.”
Editor’s note: In case you missed seeing it on the UMF Alumni Facebook page, here’s a brief video of the second-annual Grateful Beaver Day: