As I travel to represent Gonzaga and navigate broader challenges facing higher education, my thoughts return constantly to our campus community.

I hear from my higher education colleagues how they are also dealing with heightened political tensions and growing financial pressures. Resources once taken for granted as essential threads in the fabric of an educated citizenship are being stretched thin. Funding cuts require rethinking instructional delivery models and managing important services with fewer resources. And many of our campuses are in places where people are experiencing fear, concern, and uncertainty for their future, their safety and their sense of belonging.

I still remember the day I arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1993. I had an extra day to wait until the dorms opened, and I was alone in a new town, an ocean away from home. I was asking myself, “Will I fit in? How will this be?” As I do every time I have questions with few answers, I walked into a church.

It was communion time and I naturally decided to follow the crowd. I just walked straight forward, unaware that there was an orderly row-by-row process to lining up. I probably broke 15 rules of good behavior without noticing. It was only at the end of mass, when a woman with a big smile approached, that I realized what just happened. She hugged me and said only one sentence: “Welcome to the United States!” No judgment, no reprimand, nothing. Just a smile, a hug, and a welcome to this strange girl who had no clue that in the United States, you line up in order at the time of communion! I knew right then that I had found my new home, a place where I would always find people who would make me feel welcome.

Recently, Vice President for Mission Integration Ellen Maccarone and University Chaplain Fr. Robert Lyons, S.J., shared a message of support related to ongoing federal immigration actions, along with reminders on how to find help. Gonzaga exists as part of a larger network of Catholic institutions dedicated to universal hospitality, encountering the stranger, and ensuring broad access to and achievement of educational opportunities. We deeply believe in welcoming and supporting the members of our community. We continue to provide assistance to those in need either directly or through collaborations.

Commitment to respecting the dignity of every human person, to justice, and to standing with those who are most vulnerable are the core tenets of our Jesuit, Catholic, and humanistic institutions. Our memberships in the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and the Ignatian Solidarity Network strengthen this work. And we will continue to lean on our national and international networks to support our mission of care and service to the common good.

Let’s continue to be present with each other and remind everyone of the many resources available to us, within and outside our campus. It is in these simple acts of attention and kindness that we can be close with and for others, ready to lend not just a hand, but a hug. Sometimes, a simple “welcome home” goes a long way.