Many of you have had this experience: You are really busy juggling numerous commitments and demands on your time, facing deadlines, hardly having time to make sure you are moving toward your goals. Even though you have chosen a life path you believe is consequential, you sometimes wonder: Are you really having an impact that matters? I certainly on occasion wonder: I undertook this role as Dean of Arts & Sciences at Boston University in order to make a difference. Am I doing that?

And then I look around the College and know that I am part of an institution that makes a great difference. Consider the inspiring story in this issue of arts&sciences by creative writing graduate student Qais Akbar Omar (GRS’16), who grew up in Afghanistan during years of terrifying strife. He is the author of the critically acclaimed A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story, his riveting memoir of a childhood in 1990s Afghanistan, with its civil war and Taliban domination. Peel back the story to last fall, and you find another moving story: of Boston University’s impact on the world.

Omar wished to enroll in the Arts & Sciences Creative Writing Program, which also wanted to enroll him. But in order to ensure he could remain in this country, he had to begin his coursework early, and he needed financial aid to do that. Thanks to faculty who cared and the funds that were available for important purposes, we were able to welcome Omar into this academic community, give him the opportunity to pursue his degree, help develop his talent, and ensure that he could continue to publish other wonderful books.

Those funds might not have been available were it not for the generous donors whose gifts have made it possible for this powerful, young voice to be heard. Make no mistake, the impact of your support to BU is very real—just ask Qais Akbar Omar.

The University is a year into its first major capital campaign, and with the inspiration of stories like Omar’s, the College of Arts & Sciences has chosen the campaign theme “Our Impact, Your Impact,” reminding us all that we can work together to make a difference in our students’ lives and futures through the quality of education we offer them, and we can make a difference in the world by offering high-caliber teaching and leading research. Consider the story of Jeremy DeSilva, who is learning how our ancestors evolved to walk upright, and of our research scholars, who help us understand one of our greatest tools: human language.

There are wonderful stories about how our alumni, parents, and friends are making a difference with their philanthropy, donations to BU at all levels that enable BU to make a difference. Our many friends who regularly contribute to the Annual Fund are key to that effort. So, too, are those who recognize a particular need and take action, such as David S. Katz (CAS’80, LAW’85) did when he learned about the inadequate computers the astronomy department had been using to connect its students to the country’s great telescopes.

There are many stories of BU alumni, parents, and other friends who make a difference through the BU capital campaign. In “Impact: The Campaign for Boston University”, you will find a number of examples of their spirit and generosity; we will offer more examples in the coming issues of this magazine.

All of these efforts remind me—and I hope assure you—that we do make a meaningful difference for our students and our world.