Summer/Fall 2009 — Vol. 62, No. 3

Back-to-school time often reminds me of when I was a homesick freshman at Clemson back in the fall of 1976.

I grew up in Maryland and hadn’t heard much of Clemson until I was a high school junior. My math teacher, Carole Wilson Oakley [’71, M ’73], told me if I was serious about college I should apply there.

I did, along with several other schools that were much closer. Clemson won out because it offered the best deal and a new experience in a different part of the country.

As far as the University was away from home, I found a friend in the president’s office — Mrs. Elsie Wilson, Carole’s mom and the longtime secretary to several Clemson presidents.

But when that first Thanksgiving away from home came around, I was one homesick freshman. Maybe it was the holiday or just the first few months as a college freshman that caught up with me, but I was pretty miserable.

Then came a Thanksgiving dinner invitation from Mrs. Elsie. She put out a Southern-style feast, and she and her husband, Betts [’41], welcomed me as one of their family. They talked to me about Clemson and living in the South and made me feel so much better.

When Mrs. Elsie opened the door to her office and to the Wilson home, she opened the door to my true Clemson experience. She continued to treat me like a family member throughout my days at Clemson. She’s one reason I stayed.

Right: Mrs. Elsie Wilson with her presidents, from left, Walter Cox, Phil Prince, R.C. Edwards, Jim Barker and Max Lennon

I went on to earn my undergraduate [’79] and graduate [’82] degrees and marry my high school sweetheart, Cindy [’80]. Cindy came to Clemson a year after I did. After graduation, we moved to Greenville where we started our careers and family. In 1990, we moved to Nashville, Tenn., where we met more fellow Tigers. We became involved with the Nashville Area Clemson Club and have helped make it one of the most active in the country. Now, I’ve just begun a three-year term on the Clemson Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Our eldest son, Chris, and his wife, Megan, each earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at Clemson. And we’ve recently established a Clemson bequest for a scholarship endowment in our family’s name.

An act of kindness not only made an impact on me, and then my family, but it has ultimately resulted in our being able to give back to the University. I, like many other Clemson students, am forever indebted to Mrs. Elsie and her generous family.

I’m Evan Vutsinas and this is “My Clemson.”