There’s a moment every year at our Distinguished Student Leadership Awards banquet that I look forward to more than any other. It’s not the fancy table settings or the moving speeches — although those are wonderful. It’s not even the proud parents or the applause (though let’s be honest, I love a good standing ovation).

It’s this moment right here:

It’s the moment I get to hand a student their starfish pin.

A tiny pin. Small enough to lose in a desk drawer. Simple enough to look like just another keepsake from just another event. But if you know the story — the starfish story — then you know exactly why this little pin carries so much meaning.

If you’ve been around student affairs for any length of time, you’ve probably heard it. But I’ll tell it again, because good stories are meant to be repeated — like wisdom passed down from one generation of changemakers to the next.

A young person is walking along the beach after a storm. Thousands of starfish have washed up on the shore, stranded in the sun.

One by one, the person begins to pick up starfish and toss them back into the ocean.

Someone watching laughs a little and says, “Why are you doing that? There are too many! You’ll never make a difference.”

Without missing a beat, the young person picks up another starfish, tosses it into the waves, and replies:
“I made a difference to that one.”

That’s why every student who receives the Distinguished Student Leadership Award also receives a starfish pin. It’s a small reminder of a big truth:

→ You don’t have to save the whole world to make a difference.
→ You don’t have to lead a movement or change a law or start a nonprofit (although if you do, call me — I love that energy).
→ Sometimes changing just one life is more than enough.

Because for that one person — that one student, friend, stranger, or classmate — your action was the difference.

Leadership doesn’t always look like a title. It doesn’t always look like a podium. Sometimes, leadership looks like kindness. It looks like advocacy. It looks like standing up when it would be easier to sit down.

It looks like one student helping another feel like they belong.

It looks like checking in on a friend who’s struggling.

It looks like volunteering when no one else raises their hand.

It looks like making a difference to that one.

So here’s my challenge to every student leader — past, present, or future:

• Keep being a starfish-thrower.
• Keep doing the small things that matter in big ways.
• Keep believing that your effort counts — because it does.

And when the waves of life (or school, or work, or, let’s face it — finals week) get overwhelming, remember that you never know the ripple effect of a simple act of kindness or leadership.

To that one starfish, to that one person — you may just be everything.

And that’s a pretty incredible legacy to leave behind.