When I came to the College in the spring of 1999, I was a nontraditional student. I had left my previous institution to serve with the U.S. Army for four years. As a nontraditional student, I had every intention of not getting involved in college life again. I held true to that the first semester – that is, until I met a group of gentlemen who changed my view of college life. That next fall, I became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. As a member, I saw that student life was much the same as it had been during my first stint in college.
My fraternity brothers and I found many places to hang out around campus. Of those spots, my favorite was “the Clock,” donated by the Class of 1998.
It was under the glow of that lighted clock that I was introduced to many of my classmates. The Clock was where I would always find one of my fraternity brothers in between classes. We would converge there and sit on the benches and share our stories about the many happenings and events going on around the College.
Even when I didn’t have class, I would find my way to the Clock to sit and wait for one of them to come by. The funny thing is, it was never stated among us that we needed to meet at the Clock – it just happened. If one of us got there at 8 a.m., others would join after their classes, and eventually, you would have our entire fraternity gathered around the Clock. It was just a great place for finding fellowship.
Even more than 10 years after graduation, the Clock is still my favorite space on campus.
– Michael Williams ’01
Michael is a principal at Clay Hill Middle School in Ridgeville, S.C.
