Jack Jenkins ’07 Challenges Students to Utilize Presbyterian College’s Opportunities

Jack Jenkins ’07 Challenges Students to Utilize Presbyterian College’s Opportunities

As part of the PDSC_0028resbyterian College Launch speaker series, Jack Jenkins, a 2007 PC alumnus, recently spoke on the topic “PC to DC: What a Journey!” to a group of students, faculty, and staff that gathered in Edmunds Hall.

In light of his incredible accomplishments—such as his current job as a religion journalist for ThinkProgress, his Master’s of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School or his time spent working on President Obama’s first presidential campaign—Jenkins spoke very highly of PC, suggesting that his time here prepared him for the journey he has taken since his graduation in 2007.

As a student, Jenkins was involved in Bluefish, Presbyterian Student Association and the Chaplin’s Office, and he spent a semester abroad in New Zealand. He incorporated personal stories from these experiences, as well as many others from his time at PC, into his talk on the three ways PC expands its students.

He mentioned how PC expands students’ borders, recounting tales from his Maymester trip to the British Isles with Dr. Anita Gustafson, professor of history, and Dr. Roy Campbell, professor of history, after his freshman year. Jenkins initially had no desire to go on this trip, but after encouragement on the part of his professors, this Maymester served as the turning point in his decision to double major in history and religion and philosophy.

He also spoke of how PC expands students’ mind, as students have the opportunity to take classes that stretch them beyond their comfort zones. Jenkins strongly believes that PC gave him the opportunity to engage ideas and opinions that were different from his own, and his open-mindedness has served him well in his time at Harvard Divinity School and as a journalist.

Finally, he suggested that PC expands students’ souls, specifically in the emphasis placed on service. According to Jenkins, this focus on service allows PC students to understand the importance of every human being’s life, and this lifestyle that PC fostered within him has invigorated many of his stories about how faith communities serve the communities around them.

Jenkins encouraged the students in attendance to utilize every opportunity PC affords them, especially the relationships students form with professors who are invested in their lives even beyond the realm of academia. He concluded by suggesting that PC is unique in that it gives its students the opportunity to see beyond Clinton while also allowing them to appreciate the small liberal arts environment.

 

Written by Erika Gotfredson, a senior English major from Duluth, Ga.