Piedmont College students, faculty, staff, and friends gathered in the Chapel at the Demorest campus last week for a Convocation service to welcome a record freshman class and a new campus minister.
In his welcome to the students, Piedmont President James Mellichamp noted that this year marks the 119th anniversary of Piedmont’s founding in 1897. “May God bless all of us as we come back home to this community of learning, this home we know as Piedmont College,” he said.
Dean of Admissions Cindy Peterson said this year’s 279 freshmen represent the largest incoming class in the college’s history—a record broken each of the past four years. The students come from 15 states and have an average high school grade-point average of 3.47, Peterson said. “From first generation college students to a Rotary exchange student from Wales, they bring a set of unique qualities to our community,” she said.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Perry Rettig recognized the students who received Piedmont scholarships this year. Together, the in-house scholarships totaled more than $11.5 million, he said.
Senior Cheyanne Osoria presented the annual charge to the Class of 2020. Osoria said that during her time at Piedmont, she had changed majors, given up a spot on the softball team to concentrate on her studies in musical theatre, and worked as many as three jobs.
But, she said it all paid off this past summer when she took home a first-place award at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions competition in Chicago. “I was you,” Osoria told the freshmen. “You can be like me—you can be better than me—just never give up. When you leave in 2020, challenge yourself to leave a legacy. You only receive what you put in, so why not give it your all?”
The Rev. Glenna Shepherd, pastor of Pleasant Hill (Tenn.) Community Church, presented the Convocation address, representing the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ. “What a beautiful sight you are, beginning this new school year,” Shepherd said. “It is a thrill to be with you as you begin this chapter of your lives—as you set off on a course of discovery of who you are.”
Shepherd recalled her childhood Girls Scout leader in Knoxville, Tennessee. “Each time we began a new project, Mrs. Lynn would say, ‘First, you listen.’ She explained to us that listening was more than hearing—that we were to hear and then take new ideas into consideration, to taste them, chew on them, and try them on. This is what she meant by listening.”
“You get to hear all kinds of new stuff in this chapter in your life. So listen up, turn the sound up, get ready for a symphony of voices,” Shepherd said. “They will call you to dig deeper, to push yourself further, to process and synthesize, to reflect and consider, to find your strengths and strengthen your weak spots. … Listening to a diversity of voices is in the DNA of Piedmont College.”
The Convocation service also included the installation of a new campus minister, the Rev. Timothy Garvin-Leighton. Formerly campus minister at the University of California, Davis, Garvin-Leighton is an ordained United Church of Christ minister and has served churches in Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maryland. Piedmont Trustee Shirley Meeks presented Garvin-Leighton with a Tom Mewborn print of the Piedmont Chapel, and Athletic Director Jim Peeples gave the avid cyclist a Piedmont cycling team uniform shirt.
