Honors Student Masters the Art of a Give-and-Take Education

^{Photos by Catie Cleveland}

Cadence Brown’s world imploded when her father died during her sophomore year of high school. Not knowing how to process the pain, her usually bubbly presence shut down.

“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 decided to create a scholarship for students like her who have lost a parent or guardian. She shared her concept with businesses, churches, politicians and organizations and asked for support.

“I spent two years trying to get the scholarship off the ground, writing letters, speaking at meetings, pitching at coffee shops – nothing landed,” says Brown.

At her senior year Honors Night, Brown was disappointed that she didn’t have the funds to award a scholarship, but then she received a beautiful surprise: Her Williston, South Carolina, community had been working behind the scenes to make her scholarship a reality. They made her the first recipient of the Change of Cadence Scholarship and then handed over responsibility of the scholarship’s management.

Brown made it her mission to get funding for the next Change of Cadence Scholarship recipient, even though she herself had to apply for scholarships to go to the College of Charleston, where she has 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. We’re talking, after all, about someone who, by their senior year in high school, had already earned an associate degree through a dual enrollment program.

She was ready to do whatever it took.

Coming to CofC

The summer before coming to the College, Brown joined SPECTRA, a multiweek summer program for students to preview and experience life at the College of Charleston.

“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.”

She was able to do that at the College, thanks to Lancie Affonso ’96 (M.S. ’08), Honors College faculty fellow, director of the Honors Entrepreneurship Living-Learning Community and senior instructor of computer science, management and marketing, who encouraged her to get out of her box, even if she failed.

“I discovered it can be good to fail,” she says. “Professor Affonso made failure fun and being out of my box exciting. Now I know that the idea that the worst experience is failure is not true.”

As an Honors College student, Brown joined E-LLC, which made her consider a degree in business. But when she learned of the College’s Master of the Art of Teaching in the performing arts, she found her true calling. She’s now pursuing a degree in theatre, with plans to continue her education in the master’s program after she graduates.

“I come from a small town with traditional views of what education looks like,” says Brown, whose school didn’t have a theater program. “I bought into that view. I never knew I could pursue something like theater in a collegiate setting.”

Since choosing to be a theatre major, Brown has been involved in all aspects of theater, from stagehand to costume crew. She is proud that some of her costume pieces have made it on stage and hopes that she will be in a show soon.

“A lot of theatre majors are either focused on performance or the academic side of theatre,” says Laura Manning Turner, associate professor of theatre and dance. “Cadence straddles both. She is a gifted performer and loves to analyze.

“Cadence is really thoughtful about everything she does,” she adds. “Her faith plays a big influence on how she interacts with people and the world. 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.”

The Draw of Spain

Never one to put all her eggs in one basket, Brown also had other ideas about her future, including becoming a linguist. She studied Spanish and went on a month-long CofC study abroad program in Trujillo, Spain, and lived with a host family. The experience proved to be transformative, particularly when her mom came to visit and she served as the Spanish communicator.

“I was impressed with Cadence’s enthusiasm, interest and openness,” says David Dulceany, assistant professor of Hispanic studies, who encouraged her to complete her language requirement through the study abroad and later taught her in his Honors seminar, Beyond Pride: LGBTQ+ Culture and Rights in the Spanish Speaking World. “Cadence was so participatory, and her contributions were so well thought out. She always got great discussions and debates going. Having her in class was a joy and pleasure. She’s also one of the best writers I have ever had the opportunity to teach.”

Giving Back

Making a difference is in Brown’s DNA. That’s why she joined the Bonner Leader Program: She is interested in civic engagement and political activism and likes getting immersed in the community.

“Volunteering helps me feel that the College is not just where I’m going to school, it is where I currently live,” says Brown, who also volunteered through Honors Engaged with Kids on Point, an after-school tutoring program. As a future K-12 educator, she enjoyed helping with homework and the transition from school to after school. She also enjoyed the students’ attempts to teach her squash, even though it didn’t stick.

Brown also volunteered with Charleston Promise Neighborhood, doing everything from helping with homework and being an active listener to assisting with grant writing and handling donor event logistics.

All her extracurricular activities kept her busy, but not too busy for her studies. Her sophomore year, Brown began taking graduate credit hours toward her M.A.T. Now, going into her senior year, she has maxed out the number of graduate credit hours she can take as an undergraduate, but she plans to become a full-time graduate student in the fall of 2027.

With all that she is doing, Brown keeps her eye on awarding the Cadence of Change Scholarship. Since she first received the scholarship in 2023, four scholarships have been awarded to students in Barnwell and Aiken counties – two in 2024 and two in 2025.

“I’ve always wanted to be someone who gives back. Now I’m in a position where I can do that,” she says. “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.”

Brown embodies the concept of paying it forward, and as a K-12 educator will be making a difference in the world for a long time to come. As she says, she will find ways to move forward even when the map is blurry.