PC students serve at Area 5 Special Olympics
April 11, 2022
Friday’s Area 5 Special Olympics in Bailey Memorial Stadium was a day for Dum Vivimus Servimus.
Presbyterian College student volunteers put “While We Live, We Serve” into action by hosting the annual games for special needs athletes from Laurens, Abbeville, Greenwood, McCormick, and Newberry counties.
PC junior Kelsey Craig was at her first Special Olympics, putting pins on the ribbons each Special Olympian proudly wears.
“I think the Special Olympics is a really good cause,” she said. “I’m glad that PC has it here on campus because it gives students an opportunity to be part of it. You get to meet the athletes and that’s what I’m really looking forward to.”
Freshman Sam Hauff volunteered in front of Bailey with some of her teammates on PC’s wrestling team. They played with groups of younger children – blowing bubbles and playing with beach balls and hula hoops.
“It’s so fun,” she said. “All the kids are so energetic; their favorite thing to do is chase the bubbles around. But they’re really sweet, really unique kids and this has been a really fun experience. I’m so glad I came out today and joined.”
Grace Morris and Jesse Thacker were two Special Olympians from Gray Court-Owings School in Laurens County School District 55. They enjoyed participating in the running events and said they enjoyed meeting PC students on such a lovely spring day.
Special athletes like Grace and Jesse occupy a personal space in PC sophomore Kennedy Elise Perry’s heart.
“I got involved with Special Olympics because I had a special needs aunt – my mom’s sister – who was very special to me,” she said. “I loved her dearly. She passed away about five years ago, so it felt right to be here and connect with her because I used to go with her when I was little.”
Answering the call to service was also a big part of Friday’s events.
“Service is very important to me,” said Craig. “It’s one of the reasons I chose this school. I liked that we reached out to this community to serve.”
“The motto of PC is ‘While We Live, We Serve,’ and I think that’s very important,” Hauff agreed. “That embodies the culture of PC. I think it’s really important to be out here. We have a lot of our wrestlers out here volunteering and it’s important to our team to give back in any way we can.”
