Gratitude is rarely ever spoken loud. More often than others, it settles quietly into ordinary moments, such as a walk back from class, a shared meal, a familiar face across the quad. When I asked University of Rochester students what they were thankful for, the answers didn’t point to a single building, program, or achievement. Instead, they traced something softer, precious and more enduring: a gift of connection. While URochester offers a competitive education, these reflections are not about academics alone. They are about the way campus becomes livable, memorable, and meaningful through people, rituals, landscapes, and shared time. Together, they form a beautiful portrait of a university, not just as a place of learning, but as a place of becoming.
To create this photo essay, students across class years, identities, and communities were invited to share a short reflection and an accompanying image tied to a moment of gratitude from their time at Rochester. There were no guidelines for what that gratitude had to look like. It could be quiet or celebratory, personal or shared. What mattered most was sincerity. What follows is a collection of those moments, preserved in students’ own words. These moments in time reflect ways a campus becomes a home. Perhaps not all at once, but slowly, through memory, presence, and care.
So URochester, what are we thankful for?
Friendship – One of the Most Prominent URochester Identities
I am grateful for the good friend I’ve made during my time here and the many shared meals we’ve had. Picture is a Friendsgiving I had 11/25.
(Mahathir Khan’26)
I miss all the shared meals, movies, and laughs I experienced with friends in Riverview.
(A. Bhatt’24)
I am truly thankful for my friends this year! They kept me sane and got me through this tough semester!
(Dimuthu Perera’26)
This is why you don’t go to meet all these friends at UofR. This pic is from when we to a weekend trip to Toronto. That trip gave me many memorable moments.
(Abheet Sarker’26)
I am immensely grateful for my friends. There is nothing more beautiful than having unconditional supporters on your career journey, making memories for a lifetime!
(Gulsinam Akhmadzhanova’26)
My friends and I from freshman year drove to Canada to watch a soccer game between Ecuador and Canada. This was really important to me because we play soccer at Fauver and the GAC all the time.
(Sherkeem Duprey’26)
For my best friend, Alicia. She has taught me what true meaning of friendship is, and what it means to feel loved and appreciated. She has taught me so much that I would’ve never otherwise learned or even would have wanted to learn from anyone else. We have shared so many laughs, words, memories, food, and more. She is one of my biggest reasons for believing in God, as only he could’ve known how much I needed her. I love her from the pit of my heart.
(Duaa Alkarawi’27)
That I’m in a community where students are really brave to express themselves. And I met my best friend ever here(pic of her graduation last spring).
(Yuliang Liu)
Nurturing Memories into Growth
This was my first attempt at baking bread and was a hobby I picked up because I like making yummy treats for my friends
(Aman Mulla’26)
One of my favorite moments from this semester is getting our “R” sweaters as seniors. Seeing the rest of the senior class all together and witnessing such a tangible moment of growth made it feel like our struggles over the past few years were truly worth it.
(Lamiah Siddiq’26)
I am given the chance to be brave. Every presentation that I must do in my courses has shaped me to be someone braver than before.
(Eko Saputra’PhD.24)
One of my favorite moments on campus was when the Muslim community gathered on the quad in front of the Interfaith chapel to pray during the solar eclipse in April 2024! It captured how being present together in a meaningful moment can foster unity, reflection, and spiritual grounding.
(Barzah Chowdhury’26)
Found a friend at UofR from another part of the world who is teaching me something I’ve wanted to learn for a long time – I know it’s a gift from the Almighty. We chose different spots at different times, and during a couple of early-morning sessions here, it became one of my fondest memories.
(K. Nahar’PhD)
The order of the engineer ring ceremony felt like an eternal reminder of the bond i shared with my peers who supported me through thick and thin. Now I remember them and all the time I spent in the University every time I look at my right pinky 😉
(Adel Fadhul’25)
The Journey through the Quad with Moments as Fleeting as Seasons
The peaceful serenity walking home from classes or rehearsals during sunset. It reminds me how beautiful nature is and how important it is to value the little things in life.
(L. Qazi)
Hanging out with my friends on the quad when it gets hot out!!
(Seemal Zahra’27)
Every year I get super excited about the first snow – it doesn’t snow where I’m from, so I always really try and soak in the first snow feeling here, whether it’s watching from Gleason during a late night study session or walking around the graveyard between classes!
(Lila Huckelbridge’28)
I am truly thankful for walking through the quad and always passing by the library, because seeing the beauty of the library each day made campus feel inspiring and familiar.
(Anonymous’27)
Our gorgeous campus! I have so many fond memories of taking walks around campus with my friends and watching the sunset or the clear night skies.
(Aabha Pandit’26)
I met some of my closest friends while watching the foliage on Eastman Quad in Fall 2024, when we saw a deer there. While I don’t have pictures from that day, we still take the time to commemorate our friendship; we recently celebrated one year of us all being friends by attending a hockey game!
(Aurora Rahman’27)
Balancing Faith and Formations
SOCA means so much to me, and everyone on e-board has played a part in making me feel welcomed on campus. I truly wish I had joined SOCA as a freshman because, although I loved my freshman year and made so many memories, I felt like something was missing. I now know that SOCA could have filled that void.
(Bethsa Vernelus’27)
I am really thankful to be a part of the Muslim Student Association in U of R. It is such a diverse community where people come together for the common goal of strengthening their faith. I think it is so beautiful how, in working towards that common goal, we learn about each other and embrace our differences. The photo attached is one from the Unity Gala and it shows the diversity of people united by their common faith in Allah.
(A. Gueye’PhD)
Sports activities. It’s fun and balances the rigorous academic activities that I have here.
(Zaldi Harfal’PhD)
I’m especially grateful for HSA Diwali Dinner Night, where people from every background come together to enjoy food, performances, and dance while learning about each other’s cultures. It’s a moment of pure community and joy that I wouldn’t trade for the world. of course, all the delightful people i get work with on the eboard make everything that much more special!
(Varsha Ramesh’26)
I think it is the Meliora weekend, all the activities are so fun and we got the chance to reunion with alumni.
(Joy Lin’26)
Ramadan 2024 was an amazing experience. MSA provided such a memorable experience filled with community, love, and sisterhood. I enjoyed all the community Iftars and Firdaws Circle events.
(Assiata K.’25)
Grateful for Mafrisah. More than a club, always family.
(Kavira Musongera’25)
The temporary markets made available to students (in Hirst Lounge mainly, where sellers can display their products).
(Marie Kane’25)
I am truly thankful for the Muslim Student Association (MSA) events, such as Fastathon, because they created a strong sense of belonging and community during my time at the University of Rochester.
(Waode Eti Hardiyanti’PhD.28)
This photo essay is a thank you note written collectively; one memory at a time.
Friendship appears again and again, but not as a title; as time spent together in shared meals that last longer than planned, in laughter that fills the spaces between deadlines and in simply being present when the semester feels heavy (and it feels heavy a lot one too many times). These moments are not curated; they are lived, and they stay. Food becomes more than sustenance here as it transitions into its own language and a way of sharing culture, care, and celebration without needing an explanation. Faith and culture-based spaces offer more than programming when they offer grounding; places to return to, and places where students feel steady, even as everything else continues to change. And as time passes quickly in college, certain moments begin to mark it, like the first snowfall, a ceremony and a tradition repeated. These moments never really demand attention, but they leave their imprint in our mind all the same.
Taken together, these borrowed moments trace that precious connection which makes the URochester journey unique to each and everyone of us – something we would not trade anything for, even when we have the chance to and even when we struggle with the academics. To the public, the University of Rochester may be only remembered for what students learn, but for us inside the campuses, the experience is more about who we become as a person alongside the academics. Gratitude, here, does not announce itself as it settles quietly into the friendships formed, the communities found/created, and moments that linger long after the semester ends.