Note: This message was originally sent on April 28, 2022
“Finish strong!” “You can do it!” “Keep going!” these will be the sounds you hear this Sunday as BLOOMSDAY returns to the streets of Spokane (led by Race Director and GU alumnus Jon Neill) - spectators and family members will cheer as racers push themselves to take the final steps of their journey. These runners have trained for weeks or months leading up to that moment a flyover from Fairchild Airforce Base and the starting pistol’s blast triggers the run has begun. Using all their energy and will to carry forward, the runners will travel along the course, logging mile after mile and minute after minute. In the middle, many may ask (I know I would), “What did I get myself into?” And then, toward the end, some will wonder, “Am I going to make it?”
You don’t have to be a runner to know what that scene feels like. It’s the same one that so many Zags are experiencing right now as the Spring semester winds down. First-year final papers, program capstone projects, or looming exams in the weeks ahead can carry the same physically, mentally, and emotionally fatigued, dehydrated, and lost sensation of a runner nearing the finish line in a race. These are the moments when Gonzaga students are luckiest to have people like you on the sidelines.
Support from alumni, friends, families, faculty and staff means the world to the Zags who are in the last lap of the academic year. Students see alumni succeeding in their endeavors and making a difference in the world and can feel like, “if they can do it, so can I!” Encouragement from family and friends in the form of letters, calls, texts, or campus visits can hydrate spirits to see the semester through to the end. And the work being done by faculty and staff to instruct, inspire, and ensure that the needs of each student as a whole person are met provides the boost of energy to keep moving forward. The generosity of Zag Nation between now and the end of the academic year will determine what the Fall looks like for those returning and sets the example for Gonzaga’s newest alumni that showing up and giving back are critical parts of who we are and what we do.
Thank you for all you’ve done throughout the year to keep Gonzaga University running. Because of you, we become stronger with every step.
The countdown is on……Commencement 2022! is next weekend (5/7-8)!