Frosting Cookies and Giving Thanks

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is already upon us. It doesn’t seem long ago that we welcomed students back to campus for the start of another year. It can be so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the semester. From welcoming the Class of 2023 to campus to supporting our returning students, the semester can be such a blur. That is why I hope our community finds time during this Thanksgiving break to recharge and spend time with loved ones.

I know I have much to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving, I’m looking forward to having my two sons visit. Since my oldest was three years old, we’ve had a family tradition of making turkey-shaped cookies on the day before Thanksgiving, then writing what we’re most thankful for on them. While the recipe’s remained the same for 25 years, I’ve found that I’ve needed more frosting each year to capture all that I’m thankful for, especially since joining Bentley last year.

I’m thankful for all that our students are learning and of the leaders they are becoming. The world needs leaders like them who are capable of thinking critically and innovatively and approaching challenges with an ethical mindset. I’m thankful for their work outside of the classroom, too, from their advocacy on campus to the service-learning work they do in Waltham and beyond. They give me and the entire Bentley community so much to be proud of and thankful for.

I’m also thankful for our passionate faculty and staff, and for all they do to help our students succeed. From our dedicated facilities team keeping our campus idyllic and safe, to our expert faculty and center directors helping to promote academic excellence, and every other office in between, so many play an important role in creating an outstanding student experience.

I’ll be thinking of these things and more as I frost my cookies this Thanksgiving. As we prepare for the end-of-semester push, I hope all will find a moment to rest and reflect about what their own cookies might look like.

Happy Thanksgiving,
President Davis-Blake