Dear 21 year old Thomas,

As you enter your last days on the Longwood Campus it must be surreal how this time has flown by. Your first year of college was gone in the blink of an eye, however it didn’t pass without lots of fantastic memories and a few lessons that wouldn’t be soon forgotten. It would be hard to truly pick a best memory, but the time spent with the bird squad was never dull and culminated in by far my proudest moment of the year. The lessons I learned where just as varied and important as the pleasant memories, but all of them resulted in me hopefully improving myself as a whole. The first year you spent at Longwood wasn’t only defined by singular moments and decisions, but also by the community which was just as vibrant and friendly as you had hoped it would be when you began the year.

Your career path in the biological or environmental sciences field seems to be on the right track. One of the main things I’m looking forward to going into my sophomore year is my research with Dr. Henk and I can only hope that it turns out to be a fulfilling and exciting experience. My classes this year helped open up new avenues of curiosity for me that I hope to pursue in future courses. They also reaffirmed my beliefs that working in the sciences would both maximize my enjoyment and impact when it comes to my future career. One thing I took away from my courses as a whole was the emphasis on climate change, and while I’m still trying to decide if this was an agenda based topic or true concern, I do believe it is something that could play a prominent role in my career moving forward.

Lastly as you sit in your room and are about to begin editing a video that will eventually make its way to YouTube I was to encourage you. Don’t give up what you love doing, whatever that may be in 2021, for anything. This year made you realize that your love for waterfowling is as strong as ever, and can truly drive you on everyday when nothing else in the present moment is. This sport, passion, and love is gasping for air and I believe that you can be a big part of helping to keep it from sinking under the waves. Never forget the people that brought you into this sport either and the many more incredible people I’m sure you will have met over your next three seasons.

Hope You Enjoyed

Thoke