Dear fellow OL’s,

I don’t know the proper way to thank all of you. There’s so much I have to thank you for that I’m not sure if I can fit it all in, but I’ll try.

Thank you for being so accepting. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but to a person that used to live in constant fear of being judged by others, it’s comforting to know that you are constantly surrounded by people who accept me for who I am.

Thank you for being so supportive. I have had my fair share of trials and tribulations this semester. And it only being my second semester at college, you all made it so much easier to keep a positive attitude throughout the week. You made the hardest times seem not so daunting with your constant reminders of your support and I will be eternally grateful for that.

Thank you for making class fun. I look forward to the one day a week that I get to see all of you. Classes throughout the week and the stress of college all seems to melt away when I’m with all of you and I can just be myself and relax.

Thank you for being authentic. None of you are afraid to be your goofy and authentic selves in class, which in turn brings me out of my comfort zone and helps me discover who I am.

Thank you for being my second family. Your support and encouragement and positive attitudes makes it seem like you’ve all become another family (or famOLy) to me.

Thank you for the inside jokes. Whether it’s quoting Beyoncé or it’s something random that happened in the week, the inside jokes makes our tight-knit community of leaders even closer (if that’s even possible).

Thank you for loving what you do. Not only do you love being a leader at the university, but you have an unwavering passion to help future first year students when they come in for orientation. It’s an essential part of being a leader, but you’re all on the team for more than just a résumé booster, and that makes everything more authentic.

Thank you for being a source of inspiration. Almost all of you on the team are doing some amazing things on campus besides being a leader on the orientation team, and that makes me work even harder to be more involved on campus.

You see, just by being who all of you are, you’re leaders in more way than one. Your actions in your daily lives have an impact on everyone around you, in ways that maybe you didn’t know you do. The phrase actions speak louder than words lives through all of you, and each and every one of you inspire me to be a better person every day. You are the people that keep a smile on my face when stress and anxiety set in hard. I consider myself to be extremely lucky to be a part of a group of people that are going to have an impact on so many students.

Much love,

Steven