PC community ready for students’ fall semester arrival

Presbyterian College students will be back on campus this week for an eagerly-awaited beginning to the 2021-22 academic year.

Welcome Week at PC begins Aug. 20 with First Day Ready at James H. Thomason Library. Procedures for move-in are still in place much like they were in 2020 — designed in part to address Covid-19 concerns last year and this fall. Even so, PC’s First Day Ready maintains the advantage of providing new students a “one-stop shopping” experience for their arrival.

According to Drew Peterson, associate dean of students and director of residence life, new students are signing up for their arrival times on campus, where they will be welcomed outside the library for a temperature check, music, and selfies on the Campbell Plaza.

Inside the library, they will check in with admissions and meet with business, financial aid, and health and wellness staff before picking up their room keys, freshman parking passes, and photo identifications. Peterson said he hopes the library will become a permanent home to First Day Ready.

“The first building they really get to see is the library,” he said. “It’s an important place for them and a nice symbol for making it a place they’ll want to spend time in.”

More importantly, Peterson said, First Day Ready is a wonderful experience for both students and the people they will interact with every day.

“We’re ready to greet everybody and get the semester off to a great start for our students,” Peterson said. “Having them back on campus is a nice breath of fresh air for us.”

For a number of PC’s newest Blue Hose, First Day Ready is not the first time they’ve been on campus, however. More than 170 students were spread over three orientation sessions this summer and the feedback for this year’s in-person experience was very positive, said Taylor Dement, assistant director for student involvement.

“The survey data we collected from students told us they confirmed their decision to come here,” he said. “But the biggest highlight for them was getting to see and meet each other and peek into a window on what life is like here. And their parents also got the chance to meet the staff and faculty who will supports their sons and daughters while they’re in college.”

Once they’re on campus for good, PC also has in store for them a full week’s worth of fun and engaging activities — games, athletic events, worship, cookouts, campfires, and parties. Highlights of Welcome Week include:

• Water Wars (7-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20)
• Dinner with PC president Dr. Matthew vandenBerg (6-8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21)
• Women’s Soccer vs. Ala. State (2-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22)
• Vaccine clinic at Springs Campus Center (Noon to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23)
• Goosechase (8-10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23)
• Opening Convocation (10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Aug. 24)
• Multicultural Student Union Meet and Greet (1-2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24)
• Taste of Churches (7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24)
• Campfire at the Pond (8-10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24)
• PC Party on Musgrove Street (6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26)
• Meet the Greeks (3-6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27)
• Bass Fishing and BBQ at the Pond (5-7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27)
• Shuckin’ and Shaggin’ (10 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27)

“What’s great about this year’s Welcome Week is being able to get back to the experiences we like to provide,” said Daniel Adams, director of student involvement. “Last year, we provided a lot of small, niche events and that will continue. But this year, we will have the ability to get back outside and have bigger events. I think our students are hungry to get back to those in-person events that bring them together like Shuckin’ and Shaggin’.”

Partnering with the City of Clinton for the Party on Musgrove Street and later with the City of Laurens for its Friday Night Live events also give students experiences with their off-campus communities.

“We’re really excited to have students enjoy having a lively and vibrant and full experience where they can have a good time and to feel deeply connected with the College and one another. That connection helps define their PC experience more fully.”