In every team and department at Northwest Vista College, there are always great stories to tell that show faculty and staff going above and beyond.While it’s hard to capture every story, we hope to periodically share in this space some of the major accomplishments or projects that are taking place. Members of the executive team will write about important topics that they feel NVC employees should be made aware of.
Let us know about the positive things your area is doing to help students or improve processes by contacting myself or NVC Marketing & Strategic Communications
– Dr. Ric Baser, NVC President
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Erin Sherman
NVC Vice President of Colleges Services
During the holiday season there are reminders of thankfulness and gratitude all around us. Short story – for those of you who know my niece, Rylee, you know that she reminds me to laugh and play and take time to enjoy moments with family. You also know she challenges me with her thoughtful questions.
Last Saturday we were together for our weekly breakfast book club (she is 10, so this book involves magical unicorns, of course). As usual, she posed one of her questions. What is the difference between being thankful and grateful? I did not have an eloquent answer over coffee and hot chocolate, so we consulted Google. Our ensuing discussion impacted me more than I expected. We discovered that thankful is defined as a feeling of being pleased and relieved, and grateful is showing an appreciation of kindness. Of course, we had to map this out, and we determined that being grateful is “stepping it up” to the actions that illustrate that we are thankful.
The discussion with Rylee remained with me throughout the day. Our universe has been turned upside down since February 2020, and we have been running at full speed. All of you have been serving our students through difficult circumstances while our students face unprecedented challenges. You have been taking care of one another while you are facing unprecedented challenges. I am thankful for our NVC family, for each and every one of you and for your resilience, and for our students who are persevering. I am recommitting to showing my gratitude by demonstrating grace and compassion through our challenges. My wish for each of you is to have the time to reflect on what you are thankful for and how you demonstrate gratitude. Thank you for your determination, compassion, and caring…TOGETHER!
