A Reflection On Expressing Gratitude: With Examples In An Academic Environment

Summary

Gratitude is an expression of thanks to whoever has done us a favor. We often forget to express our gratitude because: (1) we are unsure of how to do it; and (2) we tend to forget as other pressing concerns overtake our lives. I provide here a reflection of expressing gratitude with examples in an academic environment. Being acknowledged for even little gestures of assistance is among the ‘highs’ of an academic administrator.

1. Biblical Context of Expressing Gratitude

The Holy Bible is among the wisdom literature that contains a variety of gratitude stories. We are very familiar with the biblical story about Jesus Christ, who cured 10 lepers in the then Palestine (Box 1). Out of the 10 lepers, however, only 1 came back to Jesus to express his gratitude for being healed of his despicable ailment.

Box 1. Jesus Heals Ten Men with Leprosy (Gospel of St. Luke – 17:11-19)

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Source: New International Version (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2017%3A11-19&version=NIV)  

What do you consider were the reasons why the other nine did not come back? Do you think they were ungrateful for not even saying their simple ‘thank you’ to Jesus?

Possibly, but not exactly. I reckon that they were not necessarily ungrateful. Most likely, they were so overjoyed for being so suddenly cured of such a dreaded disease. During that time, there was no known medical cure to leprosy. Hence, those afflicted by leprosy were regarded as menace to the society, and thus, the populace shied away from them. When they passed through public places, they had to shout ‘unclean!’ to warn others of their impending arrival. Thus, the other nine who were miraculously cured most probably went first to their families and friends to proclaim that the enigmatic Master healed them.

After their initial euphoria had subsided, they must have gone back to their senses. Only then did they realize that they had not yet thanked the Healer. When they looked for Jesus, however, He had already gone away. Jesus was very much roving together with his disciples, an itinerant teacher going unscheduled from one place to another.

After this blog’s introduction, I provide a brief treatise about expressing gratitude in four sections. First, I briefly describe the work in an academic environment, which is my workplace. Then, I give examples on gratitude that I receive ‘in kind’. Thirdly, I share a few instances of appreciation that were expressed in written words. I wrap up that we must never forget to express gratitude – and suggest that we do it straight away, just like the Samaritan.

2. Work in Academic Environment

My workplace is at the Palawan State University (PSU), a state-funded academic institution located in Puerto Princesa City (PPC), Palawan Province, Philippines. (This maritime province directly flanks the hotly-contested South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, parts of which are simultaneously claimed by China and other neighboring Asian countries.) I have been working here as a professor over the last 20 years. Since August 2018, I have been the Dean of the Graduate School. (In Europe and Australia, the Dean is the equivalent of the HOS or Head of School.)

The academic environment is no different from other workplaces. There are give-and-take processes; there are politics and intrigues; and there are also gratifying moments. For privacy, I have removed the personal identities of the concerned individuals or parties. Moreover, I likewise sought their permissions to be cited anonymously.

Being an academic administrator, I solicit the support of many colleagues – such as civil engineers and architects – in designing the new graduate school building (Figure 1). I profusely thanked these two gentlemen for their efforts and generosity. Our physical location is about five kilometers away from the PSU main campus, and these two colleagues took the time and drove their own cars to accede to my request.

As the Dean, I have been trying to exemplify part of the Rotary International’s Four-Way Test of being ‘fair to all concerned’. I accommodate as many reasonable requests from faculty and staff members related to instruction, research, extension, and day-to-day operations. Moreover, I make myself accessible to the students and give my best efforts to extend whatever legitimate assistance I could provide to them. From my perspective, these actions are neither spectacular nor extraordinary: I am simply trying to fulfill my duty with due diligence. And therefore, I need not be given any reward or recognition.

Thus, I am often surprised whenever I receive tokens of gratitude in various forms. (Personality-wise, I don’t think I am neither warm nor a populist.) By token, I mean the gratitude given is neither expensive nor materially lavish. Yet receiving these unexpected expressions of thanks are admittedly gratifying; they make your stressful, and at times gut-wrenching job, more fulfilling. In the next two sections, let me just give a few examples of these ‘token’ forms of gratitude.

Figure 1. The author (center) discusses at campus gate with a university architect (left) and a university engineer (right) the design of the new Graduate School building.

3. Gratitude in Kind

Gratitude in kind takes many forms and modes – that came as little surprises – as these obviously catch my attention when I arrive at my desk. These include a simple key chain that was given during Father’s Day occasion (Figure 2). Being provided a surprise birthday party by faculty and staff members was likewise memorable. They contributed among themselves to purchase food that we partook together – and enjoyed the meals without talking about work! Being remembered on your natal day, without obligating your colleagues, remains a heart-warming gesture.

Figure 2. Key chain given by a former faculty member.

One very ordinary morning, I was surprised to find a box of intricately-decorated cake on my table (Figure 3). It looked yummy, but there was no card to indicate the giver. My senior staff (Jellah) came over and informed me that “Ms. S” gave it. Jellah said that the giver profusely said ‘thank you’, but she could no longer wait for me.

Figure 3. Home-made cake given by a staff.

Earlier, I recommended her for re-hiring. I thought I did nothing noteworthy as I was only one of the many supervisors who recommended her; in fact, she did not work directly under me. I was not even the approving authority. Yet for that seemingly simple act, I received an unexpected gratitude – in the form of a yummy cake that I shared with co-workers during lunch time.

One early evening, I was walking along the building aisle towards the gate to go home. A teacher (whom I shall call as “Ms. T”) casually approached me from the opposite direction. A few days earlier, she had successfully defended her master’s thesis. Ms. T said, “Sir, may I give this to you as a token of my appreciation?” Then, she handed me a sports hat. I responded that, “There is no need for this as I did nothing beyond my duty.”

Ms. T replied that as the dean, I had been giving her moral support and that I facilitated to resolve the concern about her thesis adviser. She insisted that I take the hat, which I did, albeit reluctantly. When I arrived home, I looked again at the hat and noticed a card attached to it (Figure 4). The message was simply heart-warming.

Figure 4. Thank you card given by a masteral thesis student.

During one drizzling night, I decided to dine out first before going home. When I walked back to my office, I saw a Parker pen lying on my table along with a ‘thank you’ note (Figure 5). It came from graduate students taking up a class under the Master in Public Administration (MPA). They were not my graduate students (I teach environment-related courses), as I was not teaching any MPA class.

Figure 5. Pen given by a class of masteral students.

I was amazed to get a Parker pen out of nowhere. There was no particular occasion such as a birthday or a Christmas celebration for traditional gift-giving. Unless it was put on my table by mistake, I didn’t deserve such a pen that costed about US$20, most probably through a class contribution. I asked my co-professors and staff but – up to this blog’s uploading – nobody could trace who really gave it. I couldn’t do anything but feel elated. Up to this day, I have been using that pen.

4. Gratitude Written In Words

Being a dean over the last three years, I have received so many ‘thank you’ verbally. Receiving such spoken gestures of gratitude are among the ‘highs’ of an academic administrator. On some occasions, though, these gratitudes were expressed in written words.

On 4 July 2020, I received a pleasantly unexpected email (Box 2). Although I have no formal obligation to review the master’s thesis of the students exhaustively, I do read their manuscripts and provide my own written suggestions for possible improvement. In thesis defense, the formal evaluators are the defense panel: three persons consisting of a chair and two members.

Box 2. Email of a masteral student.

Dear Sir, Hi! Wishing you and your family a wonderful and blessed weekend. Sir, thank you for all your important comments to my paper, it will surely improve the quality of my output. I also would like to thank you for your support to students like me, the way you treated me is highly appreciated. Your kind words calm me down before the presentation, but the coffee keeps my mind alert to answer every bit of question asked by the panel. Honestly, I feel the positive vibes of a good leader in you. Thank you again.

During the afternoon of his defense, I offered him my small conference cubicle so he could prepare and relax before the thesis defense proper. Earlier, I saw him sweating while sitting on a public chair outside my office. I invited him to come inside my office, knowing that he drove by motorcycle for over an hour as his residence is over 70 kilometers away from PPC.

Furthermore, I gave him a cup of coffee. Nothing special but just a sachet of 3-in-1 coffee mix.  Yet, for such small gestures, I received an email that contained both words of thanks and praise.

At 1805 on Friday, 25 June 2021, I received a ‘thank you’ messenger message all the way from The Netherlands (Box 3). (I did a little translation as parts of the message are in Filipino language). Ms. K thanked me because I provided the letter of recommendation a few years back for her masteral schooling there. On the previous day, she was formally awarded the MS in Water Management and Governance.

Box 3. Messenger message by a former co-worker.
“Sir Mike! Thank you for your recommendation. That is why I got in IHE Delft Institute for Water Education.”

Most recently, at around midnight of 1 August 2021, a rather close co-worker recently completed her doctorate degree. She did it with flying colors: obtained very high grades and general weighted average. Additionally, she was also awarded the ‘Best Dissertation Award’.

 I sent a congratulatory message on her FB page for her milestone accomplishment. She wrote a very nice reply (Box 3). Frankly, I don’t recall extending any extraordinary assistance to her aside from moral support and discussing with her parts of the dissertation. But being publicly acknowledged has remained a satisfying feeling.

Box 4. Messenger message by a co-worker.
“Thank you so much for believing in me from the first time we met, back in 2011. That was during the UPMSI scientist mentoring program of CI Philippines. Back then, you trusted me to lead PSU CSPG when you became the VP for research. My learning and experiences during my CSPG days motivated me to pursue my PhD. Again, I would like to tell you this, I OWE YOU BIGTIME for believing in me! ”

5. Act Like the Samaritan

What is the take-home message about this blog on expressing gratitude with a few examples in an academic environment?

For any favor extended to us – no matter how minuscule or seemingly inconsequential – I reckon that it’s more prudent to either say a simple ‘thank you’ or write at the very least a subtle note of gratitude. Let us not just ignore it, or worse, pretend as if the favor has never been extended. As humans, we all need that sense of being appreciated for our worldly deeds. As in the words of the great American philosopher cum psychologist and historian, William James, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

Let us also not assume that our benefactor would not mind. As long as our act is sincere, it will work wonders in both ways. Our benefactor will become happy with our expression of gratitude. In turn, as the recipient of the favor done, we shall also feel ‘relieved’ that we have done our responsibility to reciprocate the gesture.

My thinking is it’s best to express our gratitude straight away – if not at the earliest time possible. The longer we dilly dally, the greater the likelihood that we may forget to express our ‘thank you’ in whatever form at all. We live in a fast-paced world, and we are often swamped with daily chores and other priorities in life. Going back to the biblical narrative, we may emulate the Samaritan.

Note that the Samaritan had acted differently from the nine other lepers. Realizing he had been cured, his immediate action was to search first for his Healer. Finding Jesus, the Samaritan unashamedly threw himself at the Lord’s feet and profusely thanked Him. Had we been there, we could have been witnesses to such a very dramatic scene (Figure 6). Thus, Jesus was very pleased with him and claimed that his faith in God had made him well.

Figure 6. Jesus Christ and the cured leper. (Copyright © 2021 by Michael D Pido)

Let me close this blog with the phrase “Give thanks with a grateful heart”, which forms part of the lyrics of Donald James Moen’s song titled Give Thanks. (You may freely access this song on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blbslHDgceY.) An American singer, he is a popular vocalist and songwriter of Christian worship music. While such a song is intended to The Almighty, the essence of giving thanks also applies to us mortals as well.

Let’s all give thanks to all who extend us any help or accord us any favor – in whatever form or no matter how seemingly inconsequential – with a grateful heart.

Author’s Note: To make the posted blog interactive, I request you to provide a feedback for sharing to other readers. You may also send me email at: mdpido@huescribbler.com

Copyright © 2021 by Michael D Pido

Let me know what you felt


Let us know your reaction!
  • Fascinated
  • Happy
  • Sad
  • Angry
  • Bored
  • Afraid