On a steamy summer afternoon, loud chants and cheers erupted from the Blatt P.E. Center field as nearly 175 incoming freshman clad in garnet and black T-shirts and face paint battled each other in a spirited game of tug-of-war.
It was a day of field games and friendly competition to cap off their week at Pillars for Carolina, a four-day student-led leadership and service program designed to help incoming students learn and explore the University of South Carolina and the Columbia community.
The program’s goal is to build community, expand students’ confidence and give incoming freshmen a jumpstart on the Gamecock experience. The voluntary program has been around for 14 years, and draws around 200 students every year. Incoming students spend three nights in a residence hall and make friends while serving the Columbia community, learning Carolina traditions and participating in activities such as a scavenger hunt, USC trivia, lunch in the Greek Village and the Gamecock Olympics.
That’s exactly what happened for Evey Konstantopoulos and Jackson Hensley. The USC juniors participated in the program the summer before starting their college journey. Now, as co-directors for this year’s Pillars program, they were ready to give back to the newest members of the Gamecock family.
Evey Konstantopoulos learned about Pillars for Carolina from her mother, who stumbled upon it in an online parents’ group. Her mother thought it would be a great way for Konstantopoulos, who is from Maryland, to make friends and get to know the campus before starting college in the fall.
Konstantopoulos says participating in Pillars as an incoming freshman, and now being co-director, helped her find community and gain the confidence to be herself and try new things — like joining the rugby club team.
“I've gained an even greater confidence in myself, but also my abilities,” she says. “It taught me that even though I'm more of an introvert, I can be a good leader. I am a good leader, and I am good at what I do.”
After being a participant in the program, she became a staff member the summer before her sophomore year because she wanted to help other students get the experience she had.
“It really makes a giant school feel small,” she says. “You meet so many amazing people from this program. It really broke me out of my shell and let me know that like, ‘Hey, it's OK to be who you are in college’ and it's just a great program.”
She hopes students who participated this year walk onto campus in August feeling supported by their upperclassmen mentors and other people they met in the program.
“We've been working so hard all year to build this program that will support incoming students and make sure they feel like USC is their home and they're not afraid to be themselves, ask questions and join clubs,” she says. “I really want them to feel that confidence walking onto campus because I think community and confidence are incredibly valuable, especially during college.”
Jackson Hensley heard about Pillars for Carolina in a breakout session from a Capstone Scholars ambassador during admitted students day the spring before his freshman year.
Hensley, a Capstone Scholar and a third-generation Gamecock from Virginia, thought the program would be a great place to meet and connect with other students. He was nervous about meeting other new students, but the mentors in the program were approachable, outgoing and determined to involve all the students in activities.
“I remember walking in at the beginning of the week and everyone there being super excited to see us,” he says.
He credits the program with growing his confidence and making the transition into college easier for him. Hensley joined the Pillars staff the following year as an operations mentor because the program had a large impact on his student experience, and he wanted to help other students get a head start on the college journey.
He hopes students who participated this year learned what it means to be a Gamecock and a member of the Columbia community while helping them build a support system for college.
“We really want to introduce them to what Carolina can be for them,” he says. “What living here for the next four years can be. We're trying to introduce them to the Carolina community and trying to build support systems because that transition into college can be really difficult. It’s really important to know there are people here who are cheering you on and people who you can lean on.”