In March 2019, Thomas College’s Dean of Students Hannah Gladstone received a letter from two fifth grade students, Paige and Hailey, from Poth, Texas. The students were working on a project to learn about colleges and universities outside of Texas.  

Along with the letter was a cut out of “Flat Pirate Steve” – a take on Flat Stanley, who is flat and can travel easily by mail to various places in the country, according to the story. 

Instructions were to write back about the college and take photos of Flat Pirate Steve exploring the college.  

Hannah was touched. How cute!  

“I thought this was a great and fun way for these students to learn about other areas of the country and get them interested in higher ed at an early age,” she said.  

She was excited to support their efforts.  

So, Hannah sent a box filled with information about Thomas College, a letter to Paige and Hailey, Flat Pirate Steve and photos of his adventures, and water bottles and t-shirts for the two students and some of their friends. 

Hannah was even able to capture some images of Flat Pirate Steve in the snow on campus, which she thought the students would enjoy – being residents of Texas.  

Overall, the students were so excited, and their teacher sent Hannah photos of them in their new Thomas t-shirts. It warmed both parties’ hearts to have a connection even more than 2,000 miles away.