Since one of the very first classes of the semester, Tom worked with us to create a luncheon in order to give back to all of the staff on campus, who take care of us every single day. Some of us donated our own money and some of us raised money through bake sales in order to put on this for them. We were determined to make this happen for those friendly faces we see around campus every day.

The housekeeping staff, the landscaping staff, the maintenance staff, etc. were all invited to our luncheon yesterday afternoon and we served them for a change! We served them salad, pasta and dessert catered by Bucca di Beppo. We each wrote Thank You notes and passed them out to each staff member. And, then, we sat down to get to know some of them a little bit better.

I talked to several people and most of them had worked at Pepperdine between 20-40 years. (Holy Cow!) I kept hearing them say to other students as well as myself that in the amount of time they had been there, they had never felt so special or so appreciated. While it made me happy that we could make them feel appreciated, it also made me a little sad to think it has taken this long for them to feel this way. I can’t speak for other college campuses, but I know for sure that each staff member at Pepperdine truly cares for each of the students here.

Josefa, in particular, brought me to tears when she explained to me how she thought of me, Natalie, Hannah, and every other student as her daughters and sons. She said to me that when she sees kids studying so hard and sometimes to the point of falling asleep in the library, she sees her own son and her own daughter in each of us and remembers how hard they worked throughout college. She said she is happy to help in any way she can because she knows we are working hard.

Morena, is assigned to my building, and every day she comes into our suite with a smiling face wishing us a “Good Morning”. She barely speaks English, but she makes every effort to ask each of us how we are doing and hopes that we have a good day. She has one of the brightest personalities and my freshman year would not be the same without her.

It just broke my heart to think that Josefa, Morena, and the rest of the staff members haven’t felt very appreciated in the years prior to this luncheon. Because they deserve to feel like we cannot live without them, which we can’t! I know I couldn’t.

On such a small campus, and seeing their friendly faces all the time, they become part of your family. And we wanted to make sure that from this point forward that they would never feel unappreciated again. So, we decided today that we would make this Love Lunch an annual event.

^^Natalie handing out “Thank You” cards

^^Natalie and I with Josefa

^^Natalie, Hannah and I with Morena

^^Morena and I…taken about thirty seconds after she and Josefa were making me cry!

It’s amazing how something so simple as a lunch just to say “Thank You” can make such a difference in someone’s life. I am so thankful for Tom, who reminds us of these lessons every week and encourages us to be the best versions of ourselves. I have learned way more in one semester from him than I have learned from all of my years in school (all thirteen almost fourteen of them!). I am so honored to have him as a professor, mentor, friend, or as he would put it…brother. And I know everyone else in that class feels the exact same way.