Grad Salute starts today and lasts all week, which means all of us May 2019 graduates are getting even more nervous and excited about walking across the stage in Rupp Arena in a couple of months as we receive a piece of paper that represents our hard work over the last few years.

For students like myself who graduated from community college before coming to UK (or even just attended a while before transferring), it’s important to remember that stage of our college journey, even as we are swept away in the BBN pomp and circumstance.

Hopefully your community college experience was as rewarding as mine, but even if it wasn’t, you no doubt you came across professors who helped you through some pretty rough times.

There are several professors who come to mind from my community college days at West Kentucky Community and Technical College who really believed in me when they didn’t have good reason to. They encouraged me, believed in me and helped me through the rougher parts of being a first generation college student.

Because of their encouragement and faith in me, I worked hard to succeed. Those people shouldn’t be forgotten as we prepare to graduate, and it’s no betrayal to the professors here at UK who’ve been vital to our journeys when we take time to thank and recognize all the people who helped us get to this point in our lives.

I recommend reaching out with a thoughtful letter or email and/or inviting those professors from your previous school to join you for your big day. Even if they can’t make it, it shows them that you appreciate and recognize their important place in your life.

Though completing a bachelor’s degree is certainly an example of an individual’s hard work and perseverance, please don’t forget the people who helped you, even subconsciously, to believe that you can achieve your dreams.