August 26, 2016 - The license plates read “North Carolina.” Unloading boxes from both vehicles were new Panola College student Taylor Morgan and her family members, Uncle Wayne Elliott, whose wife is a Panola College alumna, along with Taylor’s grandparents Raye and Roger Watson-Smyth.
While Taylor’s family was unloading their cars, Evan Mandola and his family were arranging things in his dorm room and meeting his roommates.
Taylor and Evan are just two of more than 200 students that moved into the Panola College residence halls on Saturday, August 20th, embarking on the journey of a lifetime as they begin their college experience.
Panola College faculty, staff and returning students were on hand to help with Move-In Day, along with community organizations. Panola College had almost 2,000 people on campus for this exciting day. Among those groups were several local churches including Still Waters Cowboy Church, New Life Fellowship Church, First Christian Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Church of Christ – Wildwood, Baptist Student Ministries, St. Williams Catholic Church, Southside Baptist Church, Northside Christian Center, First United Methodist Church, and Beckville United Methodist Church.
Other organizations included The After School Youth Enrichment Program (AYEP), 418 Club, Ladies of Strength, ETCADA, Cricket Wireless, Verizon Wireless, and Panola College departments School of Energy, Cosmetology, Office Professional Technology, Computer Information Technology, Criminal Justice, and the History Club.
Still Waters Cowboy Church provided free barbecue sandwich lunches, and other volunteer organizations kept everyone’s energy level high with cookies, cold water and snacks.
“This was our first Move-In Day held in our new Charles C. Matthews Foundation Student Center,” said Dr. Greg Powell, Panola College President. “We are so proud of our new facilities, and it was a pleasure to welcome students and their families to our campus this fall.”
