I received a truly wonderful surprise this past week when the following message arrived in my Facebook Messenger:

Hi Bob, This a private message of thanks from me to you. I attended a house staff retreat you administered at BSC on “assertiveness” back in 1980. It really hit home with me, and many of the concepts I went on to share with my kids. Nick used some of those concepts in his experience along his path, so I thought of you during this interview. Best wishes always. Mark

Mark, a cardiovascular surgeon, was a member of my housing staff at Birmingham-Southern College, where I was director of student services. The interview he mentions was conducted after his son’s start as quarterback for the San Francisco 49s, where he described his first professional victory over the Oakland Raiders.

I always enjoy hearing from students I worked with through the years. One of my former orientation counselors sent me flowers shortly after I arrived here. That is the kind of experience that warms my heart. And when you find out that you had a real impact on a person – so much so that they want to pass it along to their children – well, that just makes you feel especially good.

It is also a reminder that we are in a business where if we do our job well, we can change a life forever. Every member of our faculty and staff has the opportunity to touch the lives of our students every day. Sometimes we forget about that when answering questions that have been asked many times before or when a student is being difficult, which students sometimes can be.

Every encounter we have gives us a chance to make a difference that we may not know about until 30 years later. But I would argue that we should start every day knowing that we have a chance today to impact another person. Not every person in every job has that opportunity or that responsibility. I would argue that making a difference in the life of another person is a responsibility. It is not to be taken lightly, and it is not to be ignored.

I know there are others here who could tell a similar story. I would love to hear those stories if you would be willing to share. I would say to each faculty and staff member here: Do good work today because it makes a difference. You make a difference. Have a great week!