Ledger

So there I was, choking down a massive case of social anxiety with swigs from my Tom Collins at the Chancellor’s Club Dinner, when a very serious question came to mind: "What the hell am I doing here?"

The dinner featured all its name implies: big-money types, a U.S. Congressman (one day off the campaign trail), $75-per-plate filet mignon, top level UW administrators and a band with a cello. When I came in the door and saw the cello, I knew I was outclassed.

Trying not to look too much like a social leper while finding my table, I noticed Norm Dick’s name written on a place-card. Unfortunately it wasn’t my table, so that meant no face time with the good Representative. Then I noticed more cards -- I won’t bore you with name dropping, but nearly every major industry from Pierce County was represented. This was the big league.

So, what exactly were the South Sound’s elite doing gathered in one place on a rainy Monday night? Us, of course.

The Chancellor’s Club Dinner was held to recognize the 2005-2006 major donors to the University of Washington Tacoma’s portion of the UW-wide capital campaign. According to the gold-leaf sheets of paper at every place setting, 141 individuals and organizations contributed at least $1,000 each to the cause during that time span.

Since the campaign kicked-off in October of 2004, UWT has helped raise an impressive $30 million. What’s more impressive, if not downright unimaginable, is the grand total gathered by the entire UW during the campaign -- $1.9 billion. No, that’s not a typo. We’re talking ten figures here, folks.

As I was soon to find out, the night was about much more than numbers. It was about recognizing a legacy in the making and those who are responsible for the Cinderella story that is our school. It was about the students, the faculty and staff who all believe in this unorthodox university. More than anything, however, it was about thanking an amazing group of citizens who possess what was once thought of as a ridiculous vision: making our campus -- and city -- succeed.

I’m not one to get easily choked-up, but that night did it for me. The feeling of social anxiety transferred into pride as I sat and listened to the speeches. Pride is not a hollow word for me, as I’m also in the Air Force aside from being a student. I’ve heard a thousand times my fellow Airmen speak of getting a certain kind of feeling every morning when they put on the uniform. I liken what I felt that night to what every military member has felt at least once in their career ... the feeling that I was a part of something bigger than me.

This epiphany came shortly after watching three Kurdish sisters, who graduated from UWT last year, present a letter to the man responsible for establishing our campus, William W. Phillip. Here were three women who survived a war zone to receive degrees at UWT, thanking the founder of our university. It was emotional overload.

The sisters once had a past considered hopeless by many, and they all graduated from a university that was also once considered hopeless. Like Phillip’s vision of a university in downtown Tacoma, they transcended the odds and proved that dreams can be reality.

How many of us fit this mold? We use "non-traditional" so much to describe the nature of our school that it’s lost all meaning. Behind that empty moniker are countless stories of perseverance, hope and desire. Like the once-dilapidated buildings we attend class in, we’ve been given a second chance to show how amazing and rich in our experience we are.

So take a moment to ask yourself one question: "What the hell am I doing here?" Once you realize the answer, give thanks in your own special way to those who helped you get you "here." Sure, we may not be in the big league yet, but we all have a chance to make it thanks to Phillips, Dicks and every donor who made the dream of UWT a reality.

And while everyone’s definition of the big league may be different, so to will be the person you thank. Whether it’s a professor, a loved one, a donor or even yourself, take the time to do it.

We at the Ledger our doing our part by publishing the names of all the donors recognized at the Chancellor’s Club Dinner on page 13. Thank you all for your support.