Presbyterian College

Presbyterian College junior Alana White has been awarded a 2026 Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation's most prestigious honors for undergraduate students pursuing research careers in science, engineering and mathematics. White is the first student in the college's history to receive the award, a milestone that places her among an elite group of emerging researchers selected from a highly competitive national pool. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation awarded 454 scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year from an estimated pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors. A total of 1,485 students were nominated by 482 institutions across the country. The scholarship is widely regarded as the preeminent undergraduate award of its kind in STEM fields and is considered a strong predictor of future success in research.

Presbyterina College senior Vanessa Palisin blends sports passion and business analytics to examine how contracts shape player performance-and her own career path. Palisin has transformed that lifelong passion into a rigorous honors research project that applies advanced analytics to one of the most debated questions in professional sports: Do NHL players perform differently depending on where they are in their contract cycle?

Presbyterian College proudly recognizes the academic achievement of students who made the Fall 2025 Dean's List.

Presbyterian College proudly recognizes the academic achievement of students who made the Fall 2024 Dean's List.

Presbyterian College is proud to honor students who achieved a 4.0 grade point average for the Fall 2025 semester.

Presbyterian College is proud to honor students who achieved a 4.0 grade point average for the Spring 2025 semester.

Caroline Rairigh didn't expect to hear her name called when the Outstanding Senior Award was announced during Presbyterian College's annual Honors Day Convocation. But the psychology major and French minor from Dahlonega, Georgia, rose to her feet and walked across the stage-equal parts stunned and grateful. The award, one of the college's highest student honors, recognizes a graduating senior who exemplifies scholarship, leadership, character, and service. For Rairigh, the moment was the culmination of four years marked by academic exploration, athletic dedication, and unexpected opportunities.

Jy Nunley's path to the stage at Presbyterian College's 2025 Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony wasn't just marked by discipline and determination. It was built on a deep, personal understanding of resilience-one shaped by her own childhood in a single-parent household and her growing desire to serve others, both in uniform and in her community. Nunley, a sociology major from Camden, South Carolina, graduated from PC on May 10 and was commissioned the day before as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. She will serve in the transportation branch of the South Carolina Army National Guard.

Presbyterian College student Warner Bush is the 2025 recipient of the Mary Jeanne Byrd Award from the South Carolina Political Science Association. The prestigious honor, presented at the association's annual conference, recognizes the top undergraduate political science paper in the state. Bush's award-winning paper, "Social Issues and Self-Identification: An Ideological Analysis of the 2020 Election,"examines how American voters define ideological labels like "liberal" and "conservative," and how those definitions shape the issues they prioritize. His research concludes that social issues-especially abortion and immigration-played a more defining role in ideological alignment in 2020 than traditional economic concerns.

The Highlander Battalion commissioned three second lieutenants from the ROTC program at Presbyterian College on May 12. The former cadets, who graduated from PC on May 13, will begin serving in the U.S. Military this summer.

Presbyterian College senior Abby Katz is the first Blue Hose to become an All-American in Acrobatics and Tumbling.

Presbyterian College proudly celebrates the graduating Class of 2024.

Presbyterian College senior Avery Long was awarded Best Paper and Best Research Presentation in the Data/Analytics category at the Southeast Decision Sciences Institute annual conference in Charleston this semester.

Presbyterian College students recently elected new Student Government Association officers this spring. The newly-elected student leaders were sworn in this semester.

Three Presbyterian College students have stepped into leadership roles in the student-led Hispanic Appreciation Organization on campus. The active group has held a number of events that highlight the culture, language, and contributions of Hispanic students on campus.

Two Rock Hill, S.C., undergraduates at Presbyterian College had their work on cancer research published in microPublication Biology. Senior Charlotte McGuinness and sophomore Margaret Leonard have been working with PC biology professor Dr. Austin Shull on research comparing nicotine receptors on head and neck cancer patients between previous and current tobacco smokers.

Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, celebrates students who are serving as circle (chapter) presidents. Students who serve as circle presidents are leaders amongst leaders. Members of ODK must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class and embrace the Society's ideals. They also must demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars of campus life celebrated by ODK: academics and research, athletics, service to campus and community, communications, and creative and performing arts. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year.

Presbyterian College junior Barrett Moody of Traveler's Rest, S.C., recently organized a fundraiser in support of a mural project in Clinton, S.C. The "Mimosas for the Mural" event in late September raised enough funds for the project to move foward.

Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, welcomed 1,869 new initiates from 78 universities during April 2023. Students initiated into the Society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year.

Presbyterian College's Eta Delta Chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha inducted its first 37 members Sunday at the chartering service for the new honor society for first-generation college students. Founded in 2018 at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Penn., Tri-Alpha honors high-achieving first-generation college students. PC's Eta Delta Chapter is the fifth in South Carolina and one of only five nationally affiliated with a Presbyterian Church-related college or university.