By Cameron Reichenbach / The Jambar
During fall 2025, Jill Tall, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, created a classroom initiative called “I Have Your Back” in her human physiology course.
The program was inspired to encourage students to help others and pass kindness onto someone else. Tall said the idea came from both personal experiences and her role as an educator.
“I’ve always recognized my role as a faculty member is not simply just to stand there and read off of a slide and give content,” Tall said. “I really think it’s a sacred role.”
Through the initiative, each student receives a one-time ticket they can redeem for academic grace — such as a deadline extension, forgiveness on a missing assignment or a few extra points on a test.
However, earning the ticket meant students had to complete three acts of kindness for others.
“In my classroom, things happen, students miss a date. You all have busy lives and you work and you have social lives, so we all need a favor once in a while,” Tall said.
Students can decide how they want to use their ticket. Some redeem it during the semester when they need flexibility on an assignment. Others save it for the final exam, where they can earn five extra points.
After using the ticket, students must document how they paid the kindness forward. Students reported acts such as tutoring classmates, helping friends who were overwhelmed and supporting family members.
Redeemed tickets are displayed on a bulletin board outside Tall’s office, Room 4026 in Ward Beecher Hall. The display serves as a reminder of the acts of kindness students completed.
Tall said the response from students has been overwhelmingly positive since the program began.
“It’s been very well received by students. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback about it,” Tall said.
After seeing the success of the program in her course, Tall also introduced the idea in a general biology course this semester.
Tall then was introduced to Global Pay it Forward Day while researching the movement behind the idea. The international observance began in Australia in 2007 and encourages individuals and communities to perform acts of kindness and ask others to continue the chain.
While Global Pay It Forward Day is one day, Tall said the message should extend beyond a day.
“But beyond April 28, if we all could just take a moment once a day to do a kindness for others, this becomes a lifestyle and not just a celebration,” Tall said.
Tall said she hopes the idea will continue to grow and potentially involve more students and faculty members across campus.
Global Pay it Forward Day is observed April 28 and celebrated in more than 80 countries.