Every day, I am thankful for the wide array of identities on our campus that comprise our Spartan helmet. Every student that lives, studies and partakes in the Spartan traditions deserves to be here on this campus; not because of entitlement, but because each one has earned their way. As Spartans, all of us can appreciate the paths that brought nearly 40,000 undergraduate students to East Lansing. Our compassion for individual narratives begins in the classroom with lab groups or seat neighbors, but truly deepens in the dialogues that happen after-hours, where students share their heart-felt passions and cultural heritage with one another.

We should all be thankful for our fellow student leaders across campus that have shed an increasing light upon historical struggles and demanded a listening ear for the folks of minority and marginalized communities. Among these are CORES and COPS leaders, resident assistants, intercultural aides, teaching assistants, elected representatives, athletes, campus activists, student organization members and those without a title that bring about change on our campus. The voices of those that have been historically silenced and marginalized must be held higher as our nation recovers and rebuilds itself from a severely divisive political climate.

The constant prosperity of a place that once began in serving those of the state of Michigan has significantly invested itself in serving the world. For this reason, I am ever thankful for our faculty and staff at MSU that help contribute to our success, well-being and global recognition as a world-grant university. Our educators have an important role in guiding our life after these short years as a student, and we must not forget who also inspires our way as world-changers. The extra office hours or the heart-to-heart conversations make an inch seem like a mile for students that need extra support in continuing assured success at — and beyond — MSU.

In this season of gratitude, I ask for every Spartan to think about how they see themselves weaved in the larger fabric of MSU. Students: thank a friend, role model, educator or official that has helped you reach new heights and maximize your potential. Faculty and staff: thank your colleagues for helping our students achieve, persevere, and think critically every day in new ways. At an institution that has much to celebrate because of its offerings and opportunities, it is because of our unique composition of Spartans that we are made greater every day.

Lorenzo Santavicca is the undergraduate student body president at MSU. He can be reached at president@asmsu.msu.edu.