This year the Student Association (SA) has prioritized celebration. We have celebrated different people on campus, many whose efforts to make our community run smoothly often go unnoticed. We have celebrated conversations, ones where we teach each other through shared testimonials and questions. We have celebrated our diversity, singing songs and reading scriptures in different languages.

It is good to celebrate. After all, celebrations bring us together. As a Harding University faculty member who has helped advise the SA the past nine years, I want to take a minute to celebrate all you wonderful students.

I love working at Harding. I believe we have the best students in the world — literally from all over the globe. What a privilege it is to walk with you through these formative years in community. I love hearing your dreams and watching as you discover your gifts, find your passions and plan your futures. It is fun to cheer as you sing, act, run or compete as Bisons. Your journey from freshmen to seniors is fascinating to watch. You challenge and stretch me.

During Homecoming week, I had a front row seat as SA executive officers represented you at the Board of Trustees student life committee meeting. These students were in charge of planning the meeting and giving board members a feel for what is important to students. I was filled with motherly pride as they shared their thoughts and concerns with eloquence and respect.

I also want to thank everyone in 9 a.m. chapel who so respectfully listened to our recent guest speaker, a good friend of mine, when the lights went out. He was impressed by the grace you showed by staying in your seats and focusing on his message.

We at Harding recognize you have a choice of schools. For a host of reasons, you chose to come to Searcy, Arkansas, for this important season of your life. We have a lot to celebrate at Harding — most of all, you and all of the students who make her great. I am one of your biggest fans.