Living in New England, we’re all accustomed to large amounts of snow. There’s always jubilation when it piles high enough that classes are cancelled, but have you ever thought about the snow removal crew?

When you wake up (late, most likely) on a snow day, you go outside and see the snow neatly packed with the sparkling snowflakes cascading from the skies. You walk along the nicely trimmed walkways, trying not to slip on the fresh coat of snow.

Now think back to those days when you lived at home and your parents would send you out in the cold to shovel the driveway. Before you could play in the snow or sit inside with a nice mug of hot chocolate, you had to do your duty of removing the snow.

Luckily for you, you don’t have to do this on campus. You have wonderful people who get up early to shovel all the sidewalks and salt them so that you can go outside and enjoy the snow day without doing the backbreaking work first. Yes, it’s their job, but it could just as easily be the job of everyone on campus to help shovel. Worse yet, there could be no shoveling at all.

So next time you see someone outside shoveling the snow in the early morning light, take a moment to thank them and really appreciate them for all the hard work they do to make our college experience better.