My wedding rings symbolize my loving husband who moved across the country so I could teach at Southern Oregon University. I was unpacking my teaching materials in the classroom one day when I realized with horror that my rings were gone. My students swept the grass and overturned the trash cans as I wept, but the rings had disappeared.

After class, I rushed to the campus Lost and Found to learn that an anonymous student had discovered the rings after they had slipped off my finger and immediately delivered them to safety. I only learned her identity later when another student recognized her roommate in the story. I offered the young woman a reward, but she refused, saying “When I found those rings, I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to bless someone.”

Many months later, I encountered a lost cell phone. Here was my chance to pay it forward! I scrolled to the information screen on the phone to discover that it belonged to the very same young woman who had returned by rings. I understood then what it means to teach at Southern Oregon University, an intimate campus where our lives can truly touch one another, professor to student, person to person.