Presbyterian College celebrates academic excellence at 2025 Honors Day convocation

Presbyterian College honored its top scholars and leaders during its annual Honors Day Convocation on Thursday, April 24, recognizing the outstanding achievements of students, faculty, and staff in a year marked by resilience, discovery, and collaboration.

Highlights of the ceremony included the announcement that Dr. Kendra Hamilton, associate professor of English and director of Southern Studies, was named the 2025 Professor of the Year. Caroline Rairigh ’25 was recognized as the Outstanding Senior. Both Hamilton and Rairigh will deliver addresses to the graduating Class of 2025 during the college’s commencement ceremony on May 10.

PC president Dr. Anita Gustafson welcomed the crowd gathered in Belk Auditorium, praising the honorees for their contributions to the college’s vibrant academic community.

“As I look around the room, I see the future of scholarship and innovation,” Gustafson said. “Our students have not simply absorbed knowledge, but have actively contributed to it. Today we celebrate not just what you have discovered, but the scholars and leaders you have become.”

Following Gustafson’s welcome, Dr. Kendra Hamilton delivered an address titled “The Uncomfortable Truth,” urging students to embrace learning—even when it leads into difficult and uncomfortable territory.

Hamilton reflected on her own journey to becoming a scholar, tracing her determination back to a painful moment in seventh grade when her knowledge of African American history was publicly doubted by a classmate and dismissed by a teacher. That injustice, Hamilton said, lit a fire within her to pursue knowledge relentlessly and to ensure that marginalized stories are told with honesty and care.

“Learning cannot happen without discomfort,” Hamilton said. “The truths you uncover will at times be uncomfortable, but they will always heal. Never doubt that the knowledge gained and the work we do here matters. If it didn’t, no one would be working so hard to take it away.”

Hamilton drew sobering parallels between past efforts to censor history—such as the antebellum South’s gag rules against abolitionist writings—and contemporary movements to restrict educational content.

She challenged students to commit themselves to truth, resilience, and fearless inquiry in a time when, she warned, “there are forces working to bring darkness back.”

Citing legendary educator Zora Neale Hurston and historian W.E.B. Du Bois, Hamilton affirmed her pride in joining a long tradition of scholars committed to shedding light in the face of ignorance and distortion.

“I am a soldier in a small army of humanities scholars who labor to bring light to this great darkness,” she said. “I stand here today to assure you that uncomfortable truths have been my constant companions—and my greatest teachers.”

Student Government Association president Margaret Leonard ’26 and SGA Vice President for Academic Affairs Reece Bradberry ’26 also addressed the gathering, offering congratulations to the seniors and celebrating the collaborative spirit that defines the PC community.

“Presbyterian College has a beloved culture that is upheld by each of our students, faculty, and staff,” Leonard said. “The drive to excel, both inside and outside the classroom, is what sets our institution apart. Our culture is driven by our community.”

Leonard also honored outgoing SGA executive cabinet members Ella Casto-Waters, former student body president; and Samantha Hauff, former vice president for academic affairs, recognizing their leadership and service.

As the program concluded, there was a clear sense that the Class of 2025 has not only achieved academic success but has left a lasting mark on Presbyterian College’s traditions, values, and future.

“Our students’ creativity, critical thinking, and resilience will serve them throughout their lives,” Gustafson said. “Today is a celebration of the scholars you have become—and the leaders you are destined to be.”

The ceremony also recognized dozens of students and faculty for their academic and leadership achievements:

2025 Academic Awards and Honors

Professor of the Year – Dr. Kendra Hamilton
Outstanding Senior – Caroline Rairigh

Dr. Bob Freymeyer Faculty Scholarship Award – Dr. Eli T. Owens, Associate Professor of Physics
Dr. Kenneth Orr Scholarship Award – Dr. Michael O. Rischbieter, Professor of Biology

American Legion Awards – MacKenzie Leigh Partsch and Patrick Alexander Buchanan
Billy Tiller Award – Nathan James Levicki
Eric A. Johnson Fellows Award – Carolina Rairigh
Frank Dudley & Catherine Wyman Jones Award – Madelyn Lauren Wilkie
Fraser Bible Award – Henlee J. Haynes
Hay Bible Award – Ella Kathryn Beam
Joseph Graham Miller Award – Carson Lee Griffith
Jane Hammet Award – Kelly Lynn Hall
Joseph O. Nixon Leadership Award – Ella Kathryn Casto-Waters
Jack & Jane Presseau Community Service Award – Ethan Haskell Hall
Fraternity Scholastic Award – Pi Kappa Alpha
Sorority Scholastic Award – Alpha Delta Pi
Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award – Thomas Joseph Betenbaugh
Jean Kirkley Memorial Scholarship – Lyle Thomas Jones
Olmert Fellowship – Madeline Rose Hart

Outstanding Senior in Accounting – Kelly Lynn Hall
Outstanding Senior in Data Analytics – Sarah Dieffenderfer
Outstanding Senior in Biochemistry – Amanda Melissa Bailey
Outstanding Senior in Biology – Samuel Keith Johnson
Outstanding Senior in Chemistry – Kayla Rose Ponchamni
Outstanding Senior in Communication Studies – Samantha Alexis Hauff
Outstanding Senior in Computer Science – Cheikh Atamao
Outstanding Senior in Economics – Patrick Charles Bennett
Outstanding Senior in Education – Madison Elizabeth Pruitt
Outstanding Senior in English – Kaila Michelle Reid
Outstanding Senior in French – Chiara Barbieri
Outstanding Senior in History – Patrick Alexander Buchanan
Outstanding Senior in Management – Kelby Ann Goodrum
Outstanding Senior in Marketing – Natalie Kate Herrin
Outstanding Senior in Physics – Jacob Keith Clerc
Outstanding Senior in Political Science – Dakota Ray Price
Outstanding Senior in Psychology – Kaila Michelle Reid
Outstanding Senior in Religion – Patrick Alexander Buchanan
Outstanding Senior in Sociology – Kinslee Elizabeth Sink
Outstanding Senior in Spanish – Cecilia Pérez Santiago