Texas Tech University

Mailbag: Giving Thanks

Allen Ramsey

November 24, 2022

The Mailbag stays in-house this week as we give thanks for the many blessings in our lives.

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Happy Thanksgiving and welcome back to a special edition of the Mailbag!

For this week we had a number of questions and ideas but decided to wander off our normal path. You see, early this week I personally started thinking about all the things there are to be thankful for this year.

While 2022 presented plenty of challenges and some very tough days, the majority of my friends and family made another trip around the sun and I've spent the entire year professionally with the stability and support of one of the best places to work that I could ever have imagined. 

For those reasons, for the many reasons I'm not thinking of, for the support of a loving wife, for the new friends and new experiences, for getting to know a lot of extraordinary people who allowed me to tell their stories, for getting to meet some of my childhood heroes and for the Red Raiders being bowl-eligible yet again, I am truly thankful this year. 

Knowing I wasn't the only one around here with something to be thankful for, I opened up the Mailbag to my colleagues so they could share their thanks as well. 

We hope Thanksgiving is a time of joy for the entire Red Raider family. 

Evermore magazine - Click to Subscribe
Evermore Magazine - click to subscribe

David Chapman, section manager for academic communications:

This year I'm thankful for extra time spent with my wife and kids this summer. My wife, Caitie, started medical school this fall and as the kids grow up life keeps getting busier with less time to enjoy being a family. We purposely took extra time to make memories together this summer and I'm thankful we did.

Lucy Greenberg, media relations specialist:

I am thankful for the ability to travel again after COVID-19.

Karin Slyker, media relations coordinator:

Karin's Goin' Band kids
Karin's Goin' Band kids, Ben and Kate.

As a proud Texas Tech University alumna (‘96), I was very grateful to return to my alma mater 12 years ago as an employee. And now my husband and I are parents to two members of the Goin' Band from Raiderland, and a third who fully intends to follow in their footsteps ('31).

Our son, an alumnus of the drumline, will graduate with a Human Development and Family Sciences degree from the College of Human Sciences as part of the Centennial Class of 2023. Our trumpeter daughter is studying companion animals in the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources (‘26). 

We are so thankful for our Red Raider family! Wreck'em! 

Armando Godinez, creative lead for Evermore magazine:

I'm thankful for family, concerts, travel and having moments with friends. I'm trying to live in the moment, even if it seems mundane.

Glenys Young, director of storytelling and editor of Evermore magazine:

I'm thankful for so many things this year, big and small. I'm thankful for my daughters, Lavender and Violet, who are growing up smart, healthy and strong; for hot chocolate and marshmallows and roaring fires; for our family beach trips; for sleep-in mornings and dance parties and game nights and, yes, even for the sisterly spats – they help me appreciate the good moments!

Katelynn's dogs
Katelynn's dogs, Dude (top left) and Mazie (bottom left).

I'm thankful for our new house, the sale of our old one and especially for my eternally supportive husband, Adam, who has painted nearly everything singlehandedly and been so patient with me as I overthink where to hang pictures. I'm thankful for a job that I love and the freedom to pursue ideas that seem like wild hares – most of which, thank goodness, ultimately turn into good stories! I'm thankful for those who read my work, even when I'm long-winded. I'm thankful for my church family and, above all, the little moments in life that reassure me we're all part of a bigger plan that is unfolding as it should. 

Katelynn Horton, assistant director of communications for administration and finance:

I am thankful for my family, friends and my wrinkly partners in crime.

I am also thankful to be a third-generation Red Raider working for the greatest university on Earth!

Taylor Peters, section coordinator, video:

I'm thankful for great friends, family and colleagues who encourage and inspire me to be the best version of myself. 

Allison's unsweet tea with Sonic ice
Allison's unsweet tea (with ice from Sonic)

I'm thankful for freedom and the people who reinforce it. I'm thankful for a great husband who makes me feel encouraged, supported and loved every day. 

Allison Hirth, senior director of media and public affairs:

Things I'm grateful for (in no particular order):

- Good health.

- A husband who no longer protests when I decorate for Christmas on Nov. 1.

- To be part of a team that is ambitious but also patient and flexible.

- Unsweet tea (with ice from Sonic).

Patrick Hutchison, senior director of communications:

The answer should be mustaches: Raider Red's, President Schovanec's, Paul Tubbs' (gone but not forgotten) and, of course, MOVEMBER.

Paul's Mustache
Patrick has a thing for mustaches.
This one belonged to Paul Tubbs, last seen during Paul Tales.

Paul Tubbs, media relations specialist:

I am incredibly thankful for my family; my wonderful, hardworking and dedicated wife Lindsey; my two outstanding kids, Taylor and Jake; my parents Ann and Larry Tubbs; and my in-laws Linda and David Walker. 

I'm thankful for all of those who came before us; those who risked their lives and continue to do so in order to provide a place where we can enjoy every gift we have. I am thankful for friends, freedom and faith. I am thankful for all the blessings that have undeservingly come my way. 

And I am grateful to work at my alma mater with outstanding people where every day I can be a Red Raider! Wreck'em! 

Eileen Gianiodis, senior director of academic communications:

This year I am grateful to have joined a team whose talented members love what they do and the university of which they are a part. This affection for the work, the mission and the people is special and infectious (in a good way). Personally and professionally this year has been filled with so many new things — it's exhausting and exhilarating all at once. Every year I remain profoundly grateful for my husband, children and our families who support and love us without fail.

Paul's Family
Paul with his wife, Lindsey, and their children, Jake and Taylor.

Matthew Dewey, vice president of marketing and communications:

I'm thankful for the people I'm lucky to call my family, friends and colleagues. These relationships bring meaning to our lives and shape the world around us.


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