Gabby Brinez-Pardo ’24

First-generation student Gabby Brinez-Pardo ’24 reflects on her most influential experiences at PC and the people who helped make them happen.

by Sarah Murphy

You could ask Gabriela (Gabby) Brinez-Pardo ’24 what she was involved in as a student at Presbyterian College. But the better question might be, what wasn’t she involved in?

For starters, Brinez-Pardo — who graduated in December 2024 as a history major who double minored in English and women and gender studies — was incredibly active in student organizations. She was a PC orientation leader, a student ambassador and second chair violist in the college orchestra. She also served as president of Visions of Women, a club dedicated to women who have been affected by domestic violence and abuse. There she led the 2024 Survivors March at PC and helped bring Visions of Women founder Dorlisa Adams to campus.

Presbyterian College graduate Gabby Brinez-Pardo ’24 leading a survivors’ march for victims of domestic violence and abuse as president of Visions of Women.

“We gathered about 50 students together and walked through campus chanting, ‘you matter, you are enough!’” said Brinez-Pardo. “The local news covered the event, and it became a big part of my PC experience.”

An honors scholar, Brinez-Pardo was a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honors society, as well as vice president of Tri-Alpha, the honor society for first-generation students. She also worked three different jobs on campus: writing center tutor, supervisor at Springs Student & Fitness Center Gym and special events staff member for the PC Office of Advancement.

“Being a first-generation student means something a little different to everyone, and it can be scary,” said Brinez-Pardo. “I learned that you shouldn’t be scared to be first. You should be brave enough to be first.”

Brinez-Pardo’s bravery and desire to be involved didn’t stop at the Clinton city line. Instead, she packed up that spirit and took it abroad, first studying in Lyon, France, then later completing a unique internship at the South Pacific World War II Museum on the remote South Pacific Ocean island nation of Vanuatu.

Brinez-Pardo said studying and interning abroad resulted in some of her most influential experiences as a PC student.

“Being abroad completely pushed me out of my comfort zone,” said Brinez-Pardo, who recalled a time when she was inadvertently stuck in the airport of the capital city of Vanuatu due to an airline liquidation. “I was a little panicked at first, but I leaned on the people I met in Vanuatu and my advisors at PC. We came up with a solution together. I came to learn that a lot of the problem solving I did at PC was all thanks to support from others.”

Now a recent graduate, Brinez-Pardo reflects on her full range of experiences at PC and says that the connections she made were the most influential aspects of her time as a student.

“When I tell people about my amazing experiences at PC, they often wonder, ‘how did you get all of that out of a small liberal arts college?’” said Brinez-Pardo. “I tell them how I was surrounded by the most amazing community. I had the opportunity to meet the right people, to network and to constantly push myself to try new activities. None of what I did would have been possible without the connections I made.”

Brinez-Pardo has been accepted into a graduate program at Duquesne University and is still chasing a desire for new experiences. She says her years at PC changed her life entirely.

“When I first got to PC, I had a general idea of how I saw my life being. I quickly realized that I had nothing figured out and that I was going to have to get used to that. PC changes you; it leaves a mark. It takes breaking down that wall of naivety to find that there is a lot more growth to do, but PC is great at making that change feel attainable.”

Learn more about History and English at PC by visiting the department web pages.