Another week, another last first day of school in the Wallace family.
Last week, we sent Carlton back to school for his senior year of high school. Today, my Darling Beloved and I send our middle son, Harris, packing for his senior year at Mercer University.
Oh, the places he will go. But first, a look back at the places he has been.
Harris’s college career followed a similar trajectory as high school. He set ambitious goals for himself and achieved them. He thought the mock trial team would be his main activity. He tried it, competing for one season before realizing that law was not his future career. He pivoted and became involved instead with the student conduct office, first serving as associate justice and now chief justice.
He has worked several jobs while at Mercer, choosing to invest time and energy where it paid dividends, experientially and financially. Since his freshman year he has worked in Mercer’s Center for Career and Professional Development under the leadership of our dear friend Kim Meredith. He started out as a student assistant managing the job portal, Handshake, and each year took on more responsibility. He’s now a Career Peer Coordinator.
Kim and her team have not only given Harris opportunities to learn software and understand the process of building a career, they have taught him professionalism, etiquette and self-confidence to engage with anyone, no matter how famous or successful. He has learned to represent himself and the university well.
Through connections from his major – Philosophy, Politics and Economics – Harris has presented papers at conferences and participated in book clubs with faculty. There is nothing Harris likes more than reading and sharing his opinions on a topic with a group of informed experts.
His passion for the democratic process led him to three years of work for the Campus Vote Project, a side hustle that also proved to be a paying gig as a Democracy Fellow and a National Programming Intern. When funding for that position ended this year, he wasted no time in lining up an internship as a summer legislative intern in the U.S. Senate.
Perhaps his most rewarding experience was participating in a presidential fellowship program started last semester by new Mercer president, Dr. Penny Elkins. Harris, along with four other students, both graduate and undergraduate, shadowed President Elkins at special events and cabinet meetings. They represented the university with external and internal groups, presented a group project and staged a leadership event on campus.
Seeing Harris mature in his understanding of leadership has been rewarding for us as parents. It’s important for him to know that leading means making tough decisions and not always being popular. I admit, I was all up in my feelings, as the kids say, when I saw him interviewing Mercer University Chancellor Emeritus Dr. Kirby Godsey at the leadership institute event. I served under President Godsey as a staff member and never in a million years imagined I would have a son who shared a stage with him to talk about leadership.
Harris will be quick to tell you one of the most impactful experiences of his time at Mercer happened 6,350 miles away from campus in the Republic of Georgia. Harris spent the summer after his freshman year in Tbilisi as a part of the Mercer on Mission study abroad and service program. He not only learned about the culture of another country, he worked with Ukrainian refugee children. He saw firsthand the impact of war on children.
I’ll spare you further recitation of Harris’s achievements, and instead summarize by saying what my friend and recently retired Mercer Chief of Staff Larry Brumley said to me during Harris’s sophomore year: “Harris is making the most of his Mercer experience.”
That experience has included meeting and forming a relationship with the love of his life, Anna Hale of Aiken, S.C., a very impressive young woman in her own right. If you know anything about Aiken, you know she has horses and has been a competitive polo player. But what attracted Harris to her was her intellect, beauty and composure.
She works as Communications Coordinator for the National Foundation for Women Legislators and loves talking politics with Harris. She is two years his senior and has finished her first year in the University of Georgia’s Master of Public Administration program, the fifth ranked MPA program in the country.
Harris absolutely loves Mercer and knows he made the right choice when he had the pick of Emory, UGA, Georgia College and State University and Oglethorpe. The combination of scholarships and paid work experiences have ensured he will graduate not only debt free but with money in the bank.
We have no doubt he will have a great senior year, even if it means encountering challenges and stresses that he must overcome. My senior year of college was one of the most stressful times in my life. I’m trying not to project any anxiety onto him. We’re not sure what his future holds, but there’s no reason to catastrophize. Harris will figure it out. He is looking hard at the University of Georgia’s MPA (I wonder why?) and considering teaching before eventually seeking elected office.
Whatever he puts his mind to, we are sure he will be successful. Our hope and prayer is that he keeps his balance, stays grounded and maintains a healthy sense of humor.
Harris, have a great senior year, and be the Bear! We’re so proud of you and look forward to celebrating commencement with you in May 2027.
New South Essays 