With Grateful Hearts: Giving Thanks for University of Findlay

There is so much to be grateful for; just open your eyes.

Blessings are everywhere on the University of Findlay campus.

It’s been a relatively easy task to find UF individuals to spotlight on a weekly basis. There never seems to be any shortage of remarkable people to single out and lavish welcome and necessary praise upon. It’s clear that everywhere one turns, there is a person who is making the wheels of the Oiler Machine turn with purpose and prospect. At this special time of giving thanks, the feeling of gratitude can overwhelm us; the desire to express it to all who are well-deserving is a daunting undertaking, as there is an enormous number of people who regularly fit that necessity.

For instance, the parents and families of the students who put their trust into the University of Findlay. Those folks who, because of their unselfish desire to provide for their children the best future they can imagine, send their kids off from distinct locations and lengthy distances to pursue the finest in academia, athletics, accolades, and accomplishments right here at UF. To say that we are obliged to these parents for enduring any number of sacrifices to make it possible to see their children become Oilers would be understating at the highest level. We worry and celebrate and wonder about their kids right alongside them, and for that opportunity…

UF is grateful.

The faculty and staff of University of Findlay, in their myriad of roles and responsibilities, provide so much for which to be grateful. From making sure campus looks beautiful inside and out and runs efficiently, to teaching students and guiding their paths and everything in between, we have amongst us the most passionate and hardworking people of any university around the world. The support provided across the board from these hearts and minds is unsurpassed by any other institution, and when the well-oiled Findlay machine is humming along, as it always is…

UF is grateful.

Everyone here at Findlay will tell you that there is nothing like the UF campus abuzz with students. There is an amazingly palpable difference between those days, weeks, and months when campus is rife with student activity and those when they are away for various breaks. However, it’s not as simple as just the vibe that students put off; it’s what is constantly happening all around us that creates that vibe: the cheers inside Niekamp Arena; the purposeful silence in Shafer Library; the undivided attention given in any classroom across campus. It’s the ongoing thought that these students, for whatever reason, chose this University as their home for several years. We’re beholden to an appreciation for both the tangibles and the intangibles that come from our students choosing us. Having the opportunity to regularly be around young people who have the world in front of them and who are being set up for meaningful lives and productive careers is among the best pick-me-ups one can experience, and for that…

UF is grateful.

Upon graduating, our alumni go out into the world and not only use the experiential education and know-how that has been instilled in them by any number of the aforementioned people who make up this story, they also take those attributes and make them their own. They combine with them the unique talents they had when they arrived on campus or those that they discovered once they got here. They take the Oiler Experience with them when they go, and spread its seeds to every part of the world. It’s an amazing thing to see and be a part of, and no matter what career and life alumni make for themselves, for them…

UF is grateful.

For gracious donors, without whose unselfish gifts we wouldn’t have accessible scholarships and beautiful buildings, innovative laboratories and interesting books. We are aware that these folks don’t have to give to UF; but they do, and they do so with the future of our world in mind. It is people like these who make dreams possible for students who might never have had a chance without them. For their selfless hearts and philanthropical minds…

UF is grateful.

For Old Main. For Derrick the Oiler. For the Griffith Memorial Arch, for the Mazza Museum, and for every corner of campus and all of the people who inhabit it…

For all of Oiler Nation from the past, present and future…

UF is eternally grateful.