With one week of classes remaining before finals begin, the time to move out of our dorms, off of campus and back into our childhood homes is quickly approaching. Preoccupied with thoughts of papers and projects, internships and jobs, summer plans and difficult goodbyes, we students are liable to forget all the hard work that went into keeping us on campus and content for the entirety of the spring semester.

Where would we be without the tireless work of those individuals whose job it is to ensure that the campus we call home remained pristine and our college experience the best it could be despite the trying circumstances? Where would we be without the Pit worker who cooks our omelettes in the morning or the custodian who re-stocks the supplies of our hall each week?

Before we pack our bags and lock our doors, let us acknowledge the work that has been done and continues to be done each and every day behind the scenes to make our Wake Forest experience everything we envisioned it to be. The dedication of staff members across all facets of campus life cannot go unnoticed, and neither can their efforts to keep a smile on our faces and meet us each and every day with a smile of their own.

Opportunities to show support and acknowledgment for these individuals remain abundant. Grand gestures aren’t necessary to show support and appreciation. Learning the name of the lady who serves you coffee at Camino in the morning can go a long way; letting individuals know you appreciate what they do or even that you look forward to seeing them are the things that keep us all going.

We here at the Old Gold & Black encourage you, before you leave campus, to seize the next opportunity you come across to let one of these individuals know how grateful you are for all they’ve done for the Wake Forest community. We hope you choose to pay it forward and do your part in facilitating a welcoming community in which we can all thrive for semesters to come.