Alumni Voices

I had always heard Francis Marion University was a great school to attend. I have family members who are alumni, including my dad. My whole experience at FMU left me feeling changed in a lot of ways. I met some of my best friends at FMU. My favorite professor was Dr. Sarah Kershner, my advisor and the director of the program that I graduated from – she is unparalleled. Francis Marion University definitely prepared me for the real world. My degree helped me land my first job. My education from FMU is helping determine my career path and the focus of my master’s as well.

My career has taken a different path, but my experiences, classwork, and professors definitely helped me frame my mindset so that I could always be a leader in whatever industry I pursued. I walked away from FMU with such an amazing education that I just felt super prepared for the real world and able to make a difference somewhere.

I went to Francis Marion University on scholarship to play soccer, and I ended up running track and cross country as well. It was fun. I enjoyed it, and I had a great time. Dr. Whiteley, who was the cross country coach, was awesome. He cared about my athletics, but he cared more about me as a person. He saw potential and asked me to come, and the next thing was I was on scholarship. He involved me in a lot of things, and he was a good guy. The biggest thing was FMU gave me an opportunity in any realm that I wanted. I played three different sports, and if I advanced in the student council side, I was in a national honor society. What I liked about FMU was that it was a small group. I had great professors in the Math Department, Business Department, and in every aspect. The grounds were impeccable, and it was a clean and pretty campus. I was an accounting major in my first three years, and I switched to chemistry and math. I was a double major, so I went on and got a master’s in polymer chemistry. FMU prepared me not just for the academic side but also for the things that I did not realize until later in life.

The education I got there has been the foundation of what I would like to think is my success. FMU means the world to me.

I was able to help people because of the foundation that was instilled in me.

At the time, it was Francis Marion College, and one of my best friends from high school was attending FMU. He had been there for a year before I started. It seemed like it was a smaller and more comfortable fit for me. That was pretty much why I enjoyed it. My family were all strong Christians, so when I got there to school, I was able to get connected with the fellowship of the Baptist Student Union there. It felt a little bit like home. One of the guys who became one of my best friends is still a lifelong friend even though we are states away. He lives in Texas, but we are basically doing the exact same thing. We are both chaplains for hospice, and his name is Rodney. When we graduated from FMU, we both went on and attended seminary. I got my master’s degree, and I went on from there. I went on to Covington Seminary and got my doctorate degree. I taught at the seminary for a while and then started working in the health care system. One of the things that helped motivate me in my career as I was there being a part of the Baptist Student Union was it broadened my horizons as to what I could do. I majored in psychology, and that turned out to be a tremendous resource for me, because I went on to get my master’s degree in pastoral counseling. I’m a chaplain and a bereavement counselor with a local hospice in Savannah, Georgia. Having that psychology background has tremendously helped me throughout my life.

It was a great place to find myself and figure it all out.

I would tell anyone who wanted to attend FMU to enroll as soon as possible. If I could make the grade, then the young folk right out of high school can make it, too. Being an alumna of FMU really helped me my whole life, and I made so many friends. It’s great to be able to say that I attended FMU.

I started out at Francis Marion University with the intention of transferring out, which never happened. I wanted to start small and maybe branch out to a larger school… but once I got there, I actually really, really enjoyed being there on campus and everything. I liked my instructors and the people that I met, so I made it home. The thing that stood out for me in my experience at FMU was that if I had transferred I would’ve never met my husband my last year there. Interestingly enough, my husband and I had been on the same campus for at least two years before we met, but we never crossed paths until the fall semester of my senior year. He was on his way to his science class in the Leatherman building I was leaving the business school, heading to the University Center. We crossed each other while walking on the sidewalk in between the buildings. I didn’t notice him, but he noticed me. Whenever I got to the University Center, I sat down. He was standing there, and he introduced himself to me. We’ve been married for 17 years, and we have been together for 23 years. It means a lot to me, because I got to enjoy what happened because of that experience. Because of my time there, my life today wouldn’t necessarily be the life that I have. I met my husband, and through that, I have my children that I love so much. I have work that I love to do. I can’t imagine that any of that would have been the thing had I chosen a different path. In fact, I wouldn’t have wanted it to be anything different.

FMU was home and a safe place. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Dr. Morgan Coker was a big influence on me attending Francis Marion University. He was chairman of the Business Department at the time. He told me that FMU would be a great place for me to go. His family was from the Turbeville, SC area, which was my area of Clarendon County, so that was where I ended up. During that time, it was basically a commuter college, so I commuted back and forth. My wife actually attended FMU as well. She was a year behind me. I was a senior, she was a junior, and we were married while we were in college. What impressed me was the fact that all of the professors were very personal and always had open-door policies. My accounting instructor Carroll Webster and Dr. Coker made a big impact on me during my time at Francis Marion. FMU is probably the best-kept secret when it comes to choices for a university.

It was tough, but that was what made me feel prepared.

The relationships that were build there make me smile, but the biggest smile is from the quality of education that I received.

FMU prepared me for life experiences. When you go to college, your parents aren’t there to push you, so being here prepared me that. A few professors gave me advice, and I implemented it in my life whether it be work related or life, and I can see how their advice helped me out. When I look back and see how far the campus has grown, and all the changes that have been done to the campus, such as the accomplishments that the school has received, it’s an honor to say that FMU is the college I attended.