By Willie Blevins
In American culture, the holiday of Thanksgiving is packed with memories of family, friends, and food. It is a time for gathering, celebrating, and of course, feasting. Unfortunately, there are some people who are unable to go home with their family and friends to enjoy this holiday with them for a number of reasons. This might leave them feeling lonely and blue at a time that is supposed to leave their heart the happiest and warmest. Thankfully, there are a number of amazing individuals who will generously offer others a taste of family while they’re away from home.
One such individual is Dr. Dwight Roblyer, a political science lecturer at Texas A&M University. He has graciously opened his doors to his students during the holidays for several years now.
“Not everybody goes somewhere, especially if you’re an international student or you’re from out of state, so we just wanted people to have the experience of being with a family and enjoy that Thanksgiving experience rather than going to the neighborhood cafeteria,” says Dr. Roblyer.
Dr. Roblyer and his wife, who works in Counseling and Psychological Services at Texas A&M, have been inviting students to their home since 2013. Around the holidays, Dr. Roblyer sends out an email invitation, inviting any of his students to come spend the holiday with him and his family. Some years, Dr. Roblyer gets student guests who aren’t one of his students, and they just happened to hear the invite from one of their friends and wanted to come along.
“[We] have previously worked with college students outside of the university environment and we just really enjoy young adults that age,” says Dr. Roblyer. “We also have a large family and we’re always happy to have guests over.”
Dr. Roblyer’s oldest son has a love for food and therefore usually cooks most of the Thanksgiving dishes. Dr. Roblyer and his family also make sure to include dishes that allow guests with any number of food allergies or dietary restrictions to enjoy the buffet style dinner.
Dr. Roblyer says his favorite thing about his tradition is getting students from different places and cultures. “It’s really cool when they bring something from their traditions and from their country,” he says. “It just makes it all the more interesting.”
Dr. Roblyer also sees himself continuing this tradition for a long time. “There is no reason not to keep going,” he says. “I get a lot of comments from both people who come and those that don’t but still got the invite saying how much the invitations mean a whole lot to them.”
Dr. Roblyer says he believes it is extremely important to offer students a message of support while they are caught up in the world and rush of academics. “It’s like it puts it in great big blinking lights that ‘we care,’” he explains.
Dr. Roblyer is a prime example of what the holidays are all about: offering sincere compassion, bringing communities together, and making your own traditions to create memories that will last a lifetime. He is an amazing showcase of the amazing parts of not only American culture, but Texas hospitality.
“I think it’s important to have a lot of people that know something about Thanksgiving,” says Dr. Roblyer. “For those that don’t, that’s an opportunity for them to see one of the warmer sides of American society.”
