Belk Auditorium Stage to be Named in Honor of Whitney Harrison ’07

"With our eyes locked on Neville Hall as we first turn on to the West Plaza,” says Whitney B. Harrison ’07, "Belk Auditorium is perhaps overlooked in its unassuming placement at the Plaza’s entrance.”

Instead, Harrison, an attorney with McGowan Hood & Felder LLC, in Columbia, S.C., contends that “Belk Auditorium is where any PC story must begin.”

“Belk Auditorium provides the bookends to our time on campus—cementing PC’s rich history and tradition,” she said.

“Although the PC spirit is embodied in all of us lucky enough to attend, we found it first housed in the Georgian architecture of the West Plaza.”

According to Harrison, PC students first experience Belk Auditorium before they even officially begin their life at PC: on Accepted Students Day.

“Belk Auditorium warmly ushers us and our families into the next chapter of our lives,” she said.

From that point, Opening Convocation in Belk serves as a way of marking their progression on campus.

“As freshmen, we establish our commitment to each other and PC’s tradition of honor and later on Convocation signals our progression to a new academic year,” Harrison said.

“Seemingly overnight, we find ourselves lining up wearing caps and gowns to attend our final Opening Convocation filled with excitement and chatter for our year ahead. With the victory bell ringing through campus and the sound of bagpipes filling the air, each September our beloved traditions bring us back to Belk.

“Eventually, our time on campus ends where it begins, with Belk Auditorium bringing us to our final chapter on campus for baccalaureate. A time for rejoicing in all that we achieved and looking forward to all the adventures and possibilities that await.”

This year, Harrison gave $100,000 to help fund the renovation of Belk Auditorium. The stage, where she received PC’s American Legion Award and now speaks annually to Palmetto Girls State with the Honorable Aphrodite K. Konduros, will be named in her honor. “Being part of the Belk Auditorium renovation project, and in turn the preservation of our college’s traditions, is an honor,” says Harrison.

“PC showed me a world of possibilities and empowered me to use my voice to advocate for others. As our professors invested their time and talents to sharpen my skills, I was equally learning PC’s greatest lesson of showing up for one another.

“Those gifts of time and care made this gift possible.” For Harrison, she sees her gift as one that ties PC’s traditions and future generations.

“It will forever warm my heart to know that I have the honor of playing a small part in ensuring that our PC spirit and traditions continue,” she said.

“I look forward to cheering on our next generation of Blue Hose and celebrating their unique and extraordinary achievements on the stage.”