Students experience good feeling at First Look

CHARLESTON, SC – February 20, 2012 – Brandon Lorick sunk into his chair in the back of the Lightsey Chapel Auditorium and began listening closely to the message. The unassuming teenager from the small town of Neeses, South Carolina (population 500) was visiting Charleston Southern University this weekend to plot his future – his bright future, that is.
 
Lorick has an opportunity most teenagers, if any, will ever get. He is a member of Neeses town council. Last year, running unopposed, he entered the inner circle of local government, winning a town council seat.
 
Since he ran unopposed there was no need for a “Brandon Lorick for Town Council” campaign, but he wanted to. “I wanted to (campaign) so bad. It took a lot of the fun out of it. It didn’t seem as cool.”
 
Lorick said he’s attended three town council meetings since winning the post. What has he learned? “Mostly town gossip,” he said with a smile. “Most people see me and say, ‘What’s that guy doing here?’ I think I make them feel more youthful.”
 
Lorick is a graduate of Livingston Christian Academy in North, South Carolina. He plans to concentrate on marketing in college. CSU offers undergraduate and graduate business degrees and a Bachelor of Science in organizational Management online degree program.
 
J.R. Magpantay, business manager at Institute of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), is twice a graduate of Charleston Southern University. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1995, working full-time during the day and attending classes in the evening. Sometimes, his daughter Jade would come to class with him. Little did he – or she — know, almost two decades later, they would be back in a Charleston Southern classroom together, this time, for Jade’s education and future.

Pictured: J.R. Magpantay and his daughter, Jade.
 
“I highly recommended Charleston Southern to her,” said Magpantay. “The college has strong Christian values and a great community. The teachers were so helpful.”
 
Magpantay completed his second tour at CSU, earning his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2000. Jade, his daughter, earned her two-year associate degree in nursing at Trident Technical College and hoping to be accepted in CSU’s School of Nursing program this fall.
 
“I just love helping people,” explaining why she wants to pursue a nursing career. “I get a ‘helper’s high’ from it. That, and CSU’s nursing program, values and the fact that my Dad went here is a perfect fit.”
 
Charleston Southern’s School of Nursing program is currently expanding enrollment over the next three years to meet industry demands. In addition to academic growth, CSU Board of Trustees approved a facilities expansion which includes a new nursing wing.
 
For the record, Keenan Sturtevant traveled 2,763 miles – from Danville, California to Charleston, South Carolina – to attend CSU’s First Look open house. No biggie for him. Sturtevant, a senior in high school, lived in 11 different states growing up.
 
Sturtevant, who is being offered a Student Success scholarship from CSU, said he’s been visiting colleges around the state and “this campus is better than anything I’ve seen so far.” He plans to major in criminal justice and minor in music.
 
Justin Vedders will graduate from Greenville Tech this May with an associate degree in nursing. He wants to follow his mother, father and sister into the field. Vedders, who retired from the Army in 2009 after being injured in training, caught the nursing bug during his service as a combat medic. Vedders attended Derry Patterson Wingo School of Nursing meeting.
 
“I liked Charleston Southern a lot more when I drove on campus,” said Vedders, pointing out the campus conveniences and centrally located facilities. “I love the small class sizes and the fact that you’re not just a number here.”
 
Charleston Southern University currently enrolls 3,300 students and has been named One of America’s Best Christian Colleges 14 consecutive years. For more information, visit www.charlestonsouthern.edu.