Within the hustle and bustle of finals, it is easy to forget who we owe our educational lives to. You might deserve an A for finals, but our teachers deserve an A+ for their unparalleled dedication to make their students’ lives better.

As the summer interlude dawns upon us and we look forward to the world of opportunities that await us with open arms, I hope you will take the time to thank your teachers for this Teachers Appreciation Week. I am honored by the contributions and the joys our teachers and professors bring to our classrooms, and I don’t think I will ever be able to repay the debt we accrue simply seeing our educators’ kindness. Here are six thoughtful gifts you can give to your teachers. The top on the list? A simple thank-you note. It means more than you know.

This is my final post until the summer, when I hope to intermittently post about my student experiences in this much-needed break between Spring and Fall. I have been asked to share with you what being a student blogger has meant to me.

Blogging, for me, has been a rewarding medium of self-expression. I am an introvert and quite shy, so this experience has given me the freedom of an outspoken student that I could not have imagined in any other way.

Congratulations to those graduating! May your lives bear the fruit of your dreams!

That is why I happily join my fellow (and graduating!!!) blogger, Daniel Akoko, in thanking Ms. Lesley Low for accepting me into this life-changing student ambassador program opportunity. I too thank our caring media director, Ms. Hope Davis, for promoting our blogs on social media and bringing us the viewership we would’ve otherwise missed.

I am not a big fan of hyperbole and I don’t mince my words:

Therefore, mark my words: the student life ambassador program at CCBC is going to challenge you, push you, and enable you.

By acting as a student representative for CCBC as an ambassador — and thus being a student blogger — I have nurtured my own personal growth while also assisting other students in making an informed decision whether CCBC is the right place for them. I hope my blogs have thus far given you a perspective you would have not gotten, helped you to connect to that stranger who now happens to be your best friend, and highlighted the importance of nurturing empathy in the most difficult of times.

If the failures and successes of my student life story can help inform even one another student’s life’s goals, I will have accomplished my purpose.

I began these blogs with my personal motto: move on forward.

As you continue your journeys (esp. those graduating), please remember to PAY it forward as well.

Enjoy the summer breezes!