PRESIDENTIAL DAY OF SERVICE KICKS OFF INAUGURATION WEEK AT PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
April 23, 2024
Presbyterian College’s historic inauguration of 20th president Dr. Anita Gustafson got underway Sunday with a nod to the college’s tradition-rich emphasis on public service.
Though a number of outdoors events scheduled for the Presidential Day of Service were cancelled due to the weather, leaders in Student Volunteer Services rallied around opportunities to fill goody bags and write cards for residents in a local elder care center and sort and deliver donations to a local food pantry. Members of the Blue Hose men’s basketball team also gathered in Templeton Center to play ball with local children after their Day of Play was rained out.
Alex Melgar, a freshman from Lancaster, organized the event to fill bags and write cards for residents of Woodbridge, a retirement and assisted living facility in Clinton. He said the Day of Service was important not only to serve the community but raise awareness of the college’s motto, “While We Live, We Serve.”
“I think it’s good to give back to the community and make sure everyone knows that PC students are out here trying to make an impact,” he said. “It’s also important because we’re celebrating a new chapter in PC’s history by inaugurating the first female president. We just want to show that we’re doing our part to be part of that history.”
Kasey Battle, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., said she wanted service to be part of her last hurrah as an undergraduate student at PC.
“PC culture is really focused on community service – ‘While We Live, We Serve,’” she said. “It’s my senior year, so I wanted to be more involved in that.”
Like Melgar, Battle said she also wanted to show her support for PC’s new president.
“It is pretty important,” she said. “I feel like each president puts their own unique spin on PC and it seems Dr. Gustafson is really here to improve PC’s culture of service and showing that we want to be part of the community. I wanted to be part of that.”
Arthur Piotrowski, a freshman from Florence, N.J., happened to be walking into Springs Campus Center as bags were being filled and decided on the spur of the moment to help out. He, too, did so in support of President Gustafson.
“I’ve met Dr. Gustafson a couple of times and she’s been very nice,” he said. “She’s doing a lot of good things for PC and I wanted to honor her by participating in the service event today.”
Jaylen Peterson is a freshman from Lithonia, Ga., and a member of the Blue Hose men’s basketball team. Even though he and his teammates were thwarted from playing outside with local youth on Sunday, Peterson showed up in Templeton to meet any young people invited to play on team’s homecourt.
“I know some of them look up to us,” he said. “We see them in the stands at games, especially when we have elementary school days. It’s a perfect opportunity to get myself out there and help these kids.”
Peterson said he embraces the role of working with younger people in his own community.
“I love it,” he said. “I’ve always done it. Back home in Atlanta, my mom works at this summer camp, so I’ve grown up playing basketball with kids and teaching them how to play.”
