A Rare Gift
“My mom finally intervened and told me that I can keep this pain or turn it into a passion,” says Brown. “Her words were like being doused with cold water. I suddenly woke up to the fact that I had a household of people struggling with their pain.”
Brown hoped to create a scholarship for students like her who have lost a parent or guardian. “I spent two years trying to get the scholarship off the ground, writing letters, speaking at meetings, pitching at coffee shops,” she says. “Nothing landed.”
Then, at her senior honors night, Brown’s Williston, S.C., community surprised her with the Change of Cadence Scholarship and handed her responsibility of the scholarship’s management. Honored by her community, Brown made it her mission to get funding for the next Change of Cadence scholar.
Brown’s mother taught her the importance of scholarships, and at CofC, she applied for and received the Swanson Family Endowed Scholarship, the Charles C. Swanson Memorial Scholarship and the Mary Kay Holloway Jollensten Memorial Endowed Scholarship, among others.
Supported by scholarships, Brown worked campus jobs to fund the Change of Cadence Scholarship – a challenge for most, but not for Brown. Fortunately, she had banked some credit hours through a dual-enrollment program that allowed her to earn an associate degree by her senior year of high school.
The summer before coming to CofC, Brown joined the Speedy Consolidation and Transition program, which helped her adapt to college.
“Not everything was like I envisioned, so it was helpful to learn the realities of collegiate life,” says Brown. “The College can be intimidating. Coming from a very small town, I didn’t know how to establish a presence.”
Currently a theatre major in the Honors College, she plans to pursue the College’s Master of the Arts of Teaching in the performing arts. Brown has been involved in all aspects of theater, from stagehand to costume crew.
“Cadence is really thoughtful about everything she does,” says Laura Manning Turner, associate professor of theatre and dance. “One of her goals as an educator is to ensure that everybody feels included, from students with physical limitations to those with cognitive issues. She has a heart for all people.”
Making a difference is in Brown’s DNA and includes volunteering in the educational enrichment programs Kids on Point and Charleston Promise Neighborhood.
“Volunteering helps me feel that the College is not just where I’m going to school; it is where I currently live,” she says.
Brown stays busy with extracurriculars but still prioritizes her studies. As a senior, she has already reached the maximum graduate credit hours she can apply to the M.A.T.
At the same time, Brown keeps her eye on awarding the Change of Cadence Scholarship, which has supported four students in Barnwell and Aiken counties since she first received it in 2023.
“I’ve always wanted to be someone who gives back,” she explains. “Now I’m in a position where I can do that. I know it’s not ideal for me to give a scholarship when I am struggling to pay for school, but the connections and difference the scholarship is making are not possible otherwise.”