By Taylor Bandy
Faculty and students feel much gratitude this time of year as Thanksgiving makes them pause and think about family.
Jeff Hein, who teaches advertising and public relations at College of Southern Nevada, said, “This Thanksgiving I am going to visit my family in Wisconsin. We haven’t been together as a family in 35 years. We eat turkey, watch football and drink. That’s what Midwesterners do. I am grateful for seeing my family all together and the fact that everybody is healthy. We had a lot of changes in our family over the last year or so. It is just going to be good to be able see everybody together.”
David Hanley-Tejeda, communication instructor at CSN, said, “I am grateful for my family, especially for my father. He has pancreatic cancer so it is really good to go home and spend time with him and my brothers, just cherishing family this Thanksgiving. I am also thankful for having stability, meaningful work and teaching at CSN.”
Hanley-Tejeda plans to fly home to the Bay Area Wednesday night and hang out with his family through the weekend. “It’s good to take advantage of every chance you can with your family.”
According to recent research done by University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center cultivating a sense of gratitude helps us to recognize the good in our lives, manage negative emotions and improve overall mental health over time. Statistics show that gratitude makes a difference emotionally and physically. Fortunately CSN faculty and students are finding that.
Ryota Noito, student at CSN, said, “This year I am grateful for my student organization called CARP. It is made of young college students that are focused on wanting to better themselves through character education and try to understand moral values and principles about our lives. I am just really grateful to have a like-minded group of people that have the desire to grow and want to make the world a better place.”
For Thanksgiving, Noito plans to travel to the Bay Area to see his twin brother. “It will be a good time.”
Esmeralda Villalta, CSN student, said, “I plan on getting ready early in the morning, helping my family make some dinner and eating with them before I have to head out to work.” She plans on having yet another Thanksgiving dinner later in the day with her co-workers. “I am grateful for another year with my family.”
Jasmine Gomez, CSN student, will miss her family’s Thanksgiving dinner because she is working. “I wish I could be with my family and friends. I am grateful for meeting people that I met this year for showing me how great life could be.” Gomez came through a difficult time in her personal life earlier this year and now finds herself in much gratitude for her new beginning.
Mackaya Magdaleno, CSN student, will spend the holiday with her family. She is most grateful for her their safety this year.
Isabella Snowden, CSN student, said, “I am going over to my father’s house.” There they will watch football, one of America’s past times.
Regardless of how the day is spent, this is a wonderful time of year. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 