While most students will look across the Thanksgiving table at the familiar faces of family members, a few will see University President Steven Knapp instead.

For the third year in a row, several students will spend Thanksgiving dinner with Knapp and his wife, Diane, at their on-campus residence, the F Street House.

Knapp invites students who are unable to go home for Thanksgiving to nosh on a traditional Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, potatoes and pumpkin pie. 

“Each year it’s as many as are in town and can fit around a single large table,” Knapp wrote.

He also said that it feels “perfectly natural” to include students in what is traditionally a family-focused holiday because their own children are similar in age, and students are frequently invited to the F Street House for other occasions.

“[We] just had good, entertaining, wide-ranging conversations around the table about hometowns, families, study interests, hobbies, travel, etc.,” Knapp said of the past two Thanksgivings with students. “One year, one of the students turned out to be an extraordinary pianist who gave us a brilliant impromptu concert after dinner.”

Knapp said his favorite Thanksgiving memories are when the holiday coincided with his daughter’s birthday, although it has not happened on the past two holidays.

Two students accepted this year’s invitation, which the Knapps extended last Wednesday. University spokeswoman Candace Smith declined to disclose the student participants.