SCICU chooses two PC students

Two Presbyterian College students were honored at a meeting of the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities board of trustees held Wednesday at Charleston Southern University.

Noel Elizabeth Wall, a senior from Kershaw, S.C., was presented with the J. Lacy McLean Scholarship and was named the 2006 South Carolina Independent College Student of the Year.

Stephen William Humphries, a junior from Chapin, S.C., was awarded the Sterling L. Smith Scholarship.

Wall and Humphries became the sixth and seventh PC students to be honored by SCICU. PC students LeJeanna Maddox (1992), Kevin McManus (1998), and Michael Wright (2004) each earned the $2,000 J. Lacy McLean Scholarship, while Erin Pabst (2002) and Aimee Sherman (2004) were both recipients of the $1,000 Sterling L. Smith Scholarship. Wright also was named Independent College Student of the Year in 2004.

Wall cites importance of liberal arts

The daughter of Ronnie and Kathy Wall of Kershaw, Wall is a very active member of the campus community. An English major with a minor in business, she has served as a resident assistant and currently is president of the Order of Omega, vice president of Alpha Delta Pi and a member of the school's Honor Council. As a member of her sorority, she actively volunteers as a fundraiser for the organization's charitable cause, Ronald McDonald House.

In addition to her coursework and extracurricular activities, Wall is currently an intern in human resources and accounts payable at Avery Dennison in Clinton, S.C.

In her essay for the competition, Wall said she wrote about the importance of a liberal arts education.

"Nowadays, you almost have to have a college education of some sort to succeed," she said. "I've learned that my education is not just what I learn in classes but what I learn about life outside the classroom – responsibilities, how to get things done, how the business world works, and how to be a leader while still being humble. A real education is learning how to learn."

They are lessons, her professors said, that Wall has learned well.

Wall described as 'wise' and 'witty'

"I thought her a natural for the McLean (Scholarship) because, as long as I've known her, Noel has personified the term 'proactive,'" said Dr. Dean Thompson, the deSaussure Edmunds Professor of English at PC. "She's involved in a number of campus organizations, has tutored in our writing center, and still manages to be unfailingly prepared for every class, popping out the As with clockwork regularity. If she ever returns to PC to teach Time Management 101, I'm going to require my freshmen to take it."

Dr. Susie Smith, the college's Vance Professor of Economics, also hailed Wall's contributions to PC.

"Noel has high standards for herself and high expectations of others," she said. "When she spoke up during managerial communications class case discussions, she showed a depth of insight that motivated the rest of the students to a higher level of analysis. In peer reviews, fellow students said that she brought out the best in the other class members. They described her as wise, witty, a great writer, and well-rounded.

"She chose to attend PC because she values the liberal arts and community service, and she has made PC a better place during her years here."

Humphries exerts 'creative influence'

The son of Alva and Debbie Humphries of Chapin, Humphries also has made his mark as a student at PC.

An accomplished percussionist, he is a member of the Pep Band, the Jazz Band, the Jazz Combo, and Wind Ensemble.

"In all of these ensembles, Stephen is a leader among his peers, exerting a creative influence on everyone around him," said Dr. Tim Kintzinger, assistant professor of music at PC. "He is eager to help not only in his assigned duties as my student assistant but also in any instance where he thinks he might be useful to the music department."

Kintzinger described Humphries as a "caring, gentle person" whose commitment to service is evident also by his membership in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Campus Outreach.

Service – or more specifically, the college's motto, "While We Live, We Serve" – was the theme of Humphries' essay for the SCICU scholarship competition.

Junior reflects on service

"I think the motto, Dum Vivimus Servimus, really reflects something I would like my own life to reflect – that my life would be of service to others on a large scale or small scale," he said.

A music and Spanish major, Humphries also is one of the country's most gifted performers on the hammered dulcimer. This fall, he finished third overall for the second year in a row at the Walnut Valley Festival in Kansas, one of the nation's biggest bluegrass music festivals. He also has released two cds – "By the Pond" and "Humphries and Landrum" with Dan Landrum.

"It's definitely a huge honor to know I'm representing PC with this award," he said. "I'm humbled by it but also challenged by it – to continue to grow in service, academics, and music. This honor provides confirmation that what I've been doing has been good and useful, so it's a challenge also to continue growing and become even better."