Note: This message was originally sent on September 10, 2015
A big part of my job is saying “thank you.” I share stories of gratitude with the Gonzaga University community as the Development Communications Specialist in University Advancement. With the donors who give so generously, I share stories of those who benefit. With the students, alumni, families, friends, faculty and staff, I share stories of the donors who believe so much in Gonzaga’s mission that they give back to ensure its future. It’s anything but a thankless job—in fact, it’s probably the most thankful job I could ever imagine. But again, I am usually the one saying “thanks.
One day when I was “just doing my job,” I met with Dan Harbaugh (’70), whom I was interviewing for a profile in an upcoming newsletter. Dan is a Gonzaga and Gonzaga Law alumnus who included a bequest to the University in his will. He has made annual gifts to GU for 38 consecutive years, supporting everything from scholarships to learning environments to athletics and beyond. His passion is global engagement and he has also served on the Board of Regents. He is leaving his entire estate to Gonzaga, a gift intended to establish professorships and scholarships. Let me say that again, because it’s really a huge thing—he is leaving his entire estate to Gonzaga University.
The purpose in profiling Dan was twofold: first, to recognize and thank him for this most generous gift he has planned for Gonzaga and second, to encourage others to consider giving through their own estate plans. Dan shared with me his Gonzaga story, including his vision for the University’s future (which you can read about in the Heritage Newsletter this coming spring—no spoilers!). I thanked him for his time and gift, to which he responded in an extremely unexpected way.
“I hope you realize too that we really appreciate your work,” he said. It felt like my eyes went wide and my jaw dropped. He continued, “There is something different about this place and you can see it in the employees. The longevity of the employees—you really have to love your work to be there as long as some of the people here. I see people like Pat Reese, Margot Stanfield when she was here, just doing it day after day with such enthusiasm. You have some of the same faculty members from when I was an undergrad, and I just love seeing the longevity here. It’s a very rich place to be and just beautiful. Some of them have had no connection to GU before they came here and yet the button has been clicked and now here they are making the school run. Everybody is working with the same objective, so my hat is off. Thank you. ”
Now, I consider myself to be a small cog in a much larger machine; what I do serves a team of colleagues, who serve a department, then a division, and then the greater University. I’m “nobody,” but after my interview with Dan, I was made to feel like the most important person in the world. There I was, in part for the purpose of sharing gratitude, and he thanked me.
If you’re on twitter, you may have seen the hashtag #ZaGratitude. It’s meant to be representative of a special thankfulness that we feel and show here at GU. I first saw it used by President McCulloh (@Gonzaga_Prez) on his twitter feed and have used it ever since for the Gonzaga Giving twitter (@GU_Giving). After my recent interview though, I felt it deeper than ever before. I am filled with ZaGratitude to have a job working for such a wonderful place and purpose. I am filled with ZaGratitude for the people I get to work with, just as Dan mentioned, who have an infectious enthusiasm about Gonzaga and our mission. I am filled with ZaGratitude for the donors who help keep the University going and the students at its heart. And last (but surely not least), I have an overabundance of ZaGratitude for Dan Harbaugh, whose words truly made my day.