Wofford College

Students in Dr. Stephanie Holt's Build an Affordable House course help build a home for a Spartanburg family during January Interim

Gabriel Tawiah '25 spent part of his winter break doing community service in Asheville, N.C, which is still recovering from Hurricane Helene. He worked behind the scenes preparing and cooking food, providing manual labor on the farm and filling boxes with supplies in partnership with three local organizations.

Two Wofford College students - Grant Blackwell '27 and Hank Thomas '27 - saw the devastation of Hurricane Helene as an opportunity to give back. Blackwell, an environmental studies major from Charleston, South Carolina, and Thomas, a business economics major from Powdersville, South Carolina, both sprang into action, finding communities in need of assistance and communities supporting them.

Sydney Heslop '28, Maura Jackson '28, Carlee Mason '28 and Grant Owen '28 received a "Just Because" ambush philanthrophy grant from the Spartanburg County Foundation. The students decided to give the grant to Housing360, Spartanburg Housing's nonprofit affiliate. The funds will purchase healthy snacks and other supplies for the Determind Minds afterschool program.

Two years ago, Andrew Arends '24 made a commitment. Inspired by the example of his former classmate Emily Hathcock '23, Arends signed up for the stem cell donation registry NMDP, formerly the National Bone Marrow Donor Program and Be the Match. "Emily set up a table in the Mungo Student Center and encouraged people to come by," says Arends, who is originally of St. Matthews, South Carolina. "You could submit a mouth swab to see if you're a DNA match. It was a super easy process. So, I did it." As the months passed, Arends admits he forgot about the commitment. To his surprise, he received a call in January while interning in Washington, D.C.

Three Wofford College students are leading women's health outreach on campus and in the surrounding community. Madelyn Wilson '25, Gabby Gecan '25 and Mary Charles Burke '25 have founded the Wofford Women's Health Coalition with the aim of combining education and awareness on women's health topics with monthly service opportunities in Spartanburg, South Carolina. "We needed a space where we can talk about women's health, benefit the community and promote education," says Wilson, a psychology and Spanish major from Apex, North Carolina, who is serving as the coalition's co-president.

In early May, 18 Wofford College students discussed their work in the Spartanburg community with hopes of winning funding to continue supporting the growth and development of 10 community-based programs. Each of the 10 projects discussed walked away with at least $250 and the grand prize winner, Determined Minds, which serves Camp Croft Courts and Prince Hall Apartments, earned $1,250.

Mina Gencoguz '26 often wakes up before her roommate, but on Feb. 6 her roommate was up first and asked if she knew about the earthquake in Turkey. Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is her home.

Cassie Cohen '26 attended Wednesday's All Saints Day of Remembrance Tolling of the Bells to perform with the Wofford Singers. When a familiar name was read, Cohen, a theatre major from Hilton Head, South Carolina, was moved to tears. Michael Wallace Bassett '96 was Cohen's English teacher at Hilton Head Prep. She didn't know he was a Wofford graduate until the moment his name was read as one of the 141 students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of the college who died during the past year.

The names of students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of the college who have died during the past year are read each year on Nov. 1, and the bell in Main Building tolls for each of them. It tolled 177 times this year.

Isa Ortiz Calzada '24 never had a doubt about the Interim experience she wanted this year. Calzada, an international affairs and French double major from Greenville, South Carolina, selected "Build an Affordable House - Save the Environment - Transform a Community." She spent January helping Habitat for Humanity build two houses in Spartanburg County. "I grew up in government-assisted housing," Calzada says. "Being able to help somebody who is in that position is an amazing experience. It helps you to really appreciate what you have."

It's a busy time of year for Lauren Scalise '24. She's juggling her academic work, serving as a team manager for the Wofford College women's basketball team and editing the Bohemian, the college's yearbook. She also has the role of chief financial officer with her family's nonprofit, Strides for Survivors: Steps to Breast Cancer Rehabilitation.

The first time Jacqueline Hansen '24 met the students she would be working with in an after-school homework club, she was hooked. "I just fell in love with it," says Hansen, a sociology and anthropology major from Clover, South Carolina. "The kids are always so happy and eager to learn. When I go there, even if I've had a bad day, they just make everything better."

When Emily Hathcock '23 signed up to be a bone marrow donor, she never imagined she would deliver someone's Christmas miracle. Hathcock, a biology major from Summerville, South Carolina, flew to Seattle, Washington, on Dec. 19 to make her donation. The patient, a man who has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, was scheduled to receive the transplant shortly after Christmas.

In his Nobel Peace Prize address in 1964, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the importance of wiping out poverty. "No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for 'the least of these,'" he said. Wofford Men of Color put those words into action to aid Spartanburg's homeless population as part of the college's MLK week celebration.

Several Wofford students were chosen to attend the Sullivan Foundation Service and Social Entrepreneurship Program Fall Retreat weekend held Oct. 16-18, at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, N.C.

Two Wofford students attended the National Bonner Congress meeting held Oct. 9-11, at the University of Houston.

Sarah Madden, a member of the class of 2017, serves as a certified therapeutic riding instructor and volunteer at HALTER (Handicapped Athletes Learning to Enjoy Riding).

Wofford seniors Margaret Carraway, Zoe Paist, Anna Henson, Maggie Stroud, Kirsten Frost and Taylor Brown will be teaching in low-income communities this fall as part of the Teach For America program.

Several Wofford students were chosen to attend the Sullivan Foundation Service and SE Program Fall Retreat weekend held Oct. 17-19, at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, N.C.

Three Wofford College Kappa Alpha Order brothers coach Hillbrook Baseball League.

Three Wofford students attended the National Bonner Congress meeting held Oct. 18 at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C.