Sunday is Veterans Day. Honor a veteran in your families, your circles of friends or your classrooms by saying “thank you.”

However, let’s also challenge ourselves to do a little bit more in the months ahead. May our creativity be as unbridled as our gratitude.

Thank a veteran by attending our Oshkosh campus Veterans Resource Center’s Veteran Appreciation Week forums and events. Learn how to participate here: www.uwosh.edu/veterans.

Thank a veteran by calling, emailing or stopping into the Veterans Resource Center or Solutions Centers on the Fond du Lac and Fox Valley campuses any time and asking how you might help support Titans, Falcons and Cyclones proudly served by each office. A number of student-veterans will join the nearly 400 Wisconsin Army National Guard soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, deploying to Afghanistan this winter in support of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission. Let’s support them before, during and after deployment.

Thank a veteran by attending midyear and spring commencement ceremonies and contributing to the always-heartwarming crescendo of applause when we ask active and retired military members to rise and receive our appreciation.

And thank a veteran by doubling down on your studies, making extra time to listen to challenging university speakers, enjoying plays, concerts and gallery exhibits and attending athletic events, starting with Saturday’s Veteran Appreciation Football Game at Titan Stadium. These exceptional university experiences—these freedoms—are among the many that veterans have defended and continue to defend through their service. Savor each opportunity.

These are just a few ideas we might consider to help us all acknowledge that life and learning here are profoundly richer thanks to the service of veterans past, present and future.

Originally shared with UW Oshkosh campus communities on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018.