HPU President Nido Qubein Gives Freshmen Teddy Bears to Encourage Gratitude

High Point University President Nido Qubein shared a meaningful lesson on gratitude with more than 1,500 freshmen during his First-Year Seminar on Life Skills. He gave each student a teddy bear and a challenge for them to give it to someone who has helped them.

HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 25, 2024 – Before the Thanksgiving break, High Point University President Nido Qubein shared a meaningful lesson and HPU tradition focused on gratitude with freshmen during his First-Year Seminar on Life Skills. He gave each student a teddy bear and a challenge for them to give it to someone who has helped them.

“I’m going to give you this teddy bear. I want you to keep it and enjoy it,” Qubein said. “But before Christmas, you have to give this teddy bear to somebody who made a difference in your life and explain to them why.”

Qubein told the students seated inside the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center on Nov. 21 that the more than 1,500 teddy bears were purchased from the American Red Cross. That will help the nonprofit organization with its fundraising in addition to teaching students about gratitude.

Qubein shared stories from more than 15 years of this tradition of how giving a teddy bear helped a student reunite with a homeless brother and an estranged father. Another student gave her teddy bear to a nurse at the Mayo Clinic who cared for her grandfather in his last days as he battled cancer. That simple act of kindness became the Mayo Clinic’s symbol of giving.

“I have a whole file packed with letters,” Qubein said. “It’s amazing the power of a teddy bear. Compassion comes in all shapes and sizes.”

Before student volunteers helped distribute the teddy bears, Qubein shared his personal story of how a woman of limited means at his college helped him buy his first car. As students exited the arena, they were asked to consider who has changed their life for the better and whom they may give the bear to express their thanks.

“I’m definitely going to give it to my girlfriend. She’s helped me through a whole lot,” said Joshua Lucas, a computer science major from Raleigh, North Carolina. “Honestly, she’s the main reason I came here. She pushes me a lot.”

Samara Rasheed, a neurobiology major from New York City, thinks she will give her teddy bear to her 7-year-old neighbor. “I’ve been babysitting him for three years. I feel like that has made a big impact on my life and helped me figure out what I want to do, and that I want to be pre-med.”

“I might give it to my mom or my dad. Both of them have helped me get to this point,” said Hadley White, a fashion merchandising and business administration major from Montville, New Jersey. “I’m appreciative of them. Every day, I call them and they’re so helpful. They help me with all my decisions.”

Alexa Pelham, a finance major from Southborough, Massachusetts, said she will probably give her bear to her older sister who has always provided support for her.

Naomi Freeman, a computer science and philosophy major from Thomasville, North Carolina, said she will likely give her teddy bear to her father “because he played a big part of my life, everything I am and everything I do. He’s the reason I came to college to be exact, so I could make something out of myself.”