KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 19, 2019

Honors student making his mark at KSU

Being part of the President’s Emerging Global Scholars (PEGS) program in Kennesaw State’s Honors College is a great motivator for Chris McCall.

“I have this group of high-achieving peers, and I hear what they’re doing and I think, ‘I have to keep up with them,’” said McCall, a sophomore economics major from Bogart, Ga. “People around me being successful drives me to be successful.”

 

He is accomplishing that, having received the 2019 Ralph Rascati Outstanding PEGS Student Award. Named for the founding dean of KSU’s Honors College, the award recognizes a second-year PEGS student for strong scholastic performance and service to the community.

McCall, who will take part in the annual KSU Day of Service this weekend, has done volunteer work ranging from tidying Kennesaw Mountain’s walking trails to staying overnight to help at a homeless shelter. His favorite, though, is visiting a local nursing home where he plays guitar and sings for the residents and on one occasion joined other Honors students in bringing them homemade blankets. McCall also volunteered at an orphanage on a PEGS trip to Costa Rica last year, which he credited with giving him “a new perspective on the world.”

“That experience opened my eyes,” he said. “Spending time with those children in the orphanage gave me a deeper understanding of different parts of the world – that we have different cultures, but we’re all just people living on Earth who are all pretty much the same.”

After he graduates from KSU, McCall plans to serve two years in the Peace Corps before starting a career in finance.

– Paul Floeckher

Video by David Johnson; Photos by Rob Witzel

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.