PC honors seniors, welcomes first-year students at 143rd Opening Convocation

PC honors seniors, welcomes first-year students at 143rd Opening Convocation

Tradition, honor, service, and a lot of audacity were the highlights of Presbyterian College’s 143rd academic year celebration.

Wearing his iconic Scottish kilt, PC president Dr. Matthew vandenBerg taught the matriculating Class of 2026 what it means to be a Blue Hose.

“Being a Blue Hose isn’t about having a certain look or an aesthetic,” he said. “It’s a philosophy. It’s an outlook. It’s an attitude. It’s fierceness when you’re an underdog. It’s toughness when your back is up against the wall. It’s confidence and boldness. And it’s one of my favorite words – swagger.”

PC president Dr. Matthew vandenBerg

President vandenBerg told first-year students the PC experience is as unique as the college’s mascot and trademark tartan.

“Your college has been unique ever since the very beginning,” he said.

The Rev. William Plumer Jacobs came to Clinton in 1864 to serve as pastor of First Presbyterian Church, said vandenBerg. Jacobs’ dream of building a home for Civil War orphans was realized at what is now Thornwell Home and School for Children. His second vision of creating a school to educate them led to the founding of what is now Presbyterian College.

“Your college began as a tool to make the world a better, more nurturing place,” said vandenBerg. “Your college is the product of compassion and creativity. So, it should come as no surprise that PC’s motto is literally the one thing on this campus that all of us can repeat at a moment’s notice and that is ‘Dum Vivimus Servimus.’ That sense of service has powered PC through wars, booms, busts, and constant change.”

Jacobs’ grandson, William Plumer Jacobs II, led PC out of the Great Depression by embracing what he termed the “Championship Spirit” of grit and determination to meet challenges head-on. vandenBerg said that spirit remains alive and well at PC.

“Today on our campus, it’s led to PC’s ranking as the best value private education in all of South Carolina,” he said. “It’s led to PC’s number one ranking in South Carolina for social mobility. It’s led to the college’s reputation over the years as a place where students learn to outpunch their weight class – where they discover potential they never even knew they had.”

Dr. Selena Blair, Rogers-Ingram Vice President for JEDI

Keynote speaker Dr. Selena Blair, the Rogers-Ingram Vice President for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, urged matriculants to embrace the audacity of being a Blue Hose. Defining audacity as the ‘quality or state of being audacious, intrepid boldness, or arrogant of normal constraints,” Blair said students must believe in themselves and their college choice.

“You made the decision to be here,” she said. “You made the decision to come back. So, believe in yourself and trust the process. Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, there may come time when you start to doubt yourself. It is at those moments that I want to remind you that you deserve to be her and you are your own stop signs. When things get hard, press on regardless. Because a PC liberal arts education will not only transform you from the inside, but it can provide you with opportunities that will blow your mind and the minds of those around you.”

Blair also challenged students to embrace each other’s differences and strive to build a better community.

“May you be blessed with the Championship Spirit to recognize your passion and your purpose, while embracing PC’s motto, While We Live, We Serve,” she said. “I challenge each and every one of you within the sound of my voice to go forward and have the audacity to be a Blue Hose.”

The opening convocation concluded with new students, faculty, and staff reciting PC’s Honor Pledge and signing the official Roll of Honor.