Bigger isn't always better. For years students have attended Guilford not just for a quality education, but also to feel part of a family.
“I heard about the Guilford community, I heard how special it is, but until you come here, until you get pulled in you really can’t describe it. The best I can do is that we’re a family who looks out for each other.”
Areli Patterson ’26 spent her first year at Guilford focused on her schoolwork. It wasn’t until her sophomore year that Areli, like so many others before her, felt the tug of Guilford’s community.
“You can’t avoid it,” she says, laughing. “We’re a small campus and everyone gets to know each other – not in a nosy way, but as students who care about each other.”
By her sophomore year Areli had immersed herself in the community. She loved it – and wanted the same for others. “I dipped my toes into volunteering and helping others,” she says, “and the more I dipped the more I wanted to make Guilford a great experience for others.”
These days Areli is an executive board member of Black Student Union. She also supports and attends the events and meetings of Hispanos Unidos de Guilford (HUG), and African Caribbean Student Association and Pride. She’s also affirming and helpful to other students as an Assistant Community Director.
And while all these positions have titles and responsibilities, Areli says “it doesn’t really seem like work.”
“I do it because I want to give people a good experience at Guilford, and I want to be able to have a good experience myself. I want to be able to not just have a resume and a good transcript and a good GPA, but to also have an experience I can look back on with good memories.
“I heard about the Guilford community, I heard how special it is, but until you come here, until you get pulled in you really can’t describe it. The best I can do is that we’re a family who looks out for each other.”
Areli is a double major in Biology and Health Science with a minor in Art Sculpting, who wants to help others after Guilford as a cardiothoracic surgeon.
She wasn’t as outgoing or as generous with her time growing up in Lincolnton, N.C. Guilford changed that about her. “You can’t attend Guilford and not be changed. The community is great, but Guilford’s faculty and staff are even greater. I’ve never experienced professors and other people who so genuinely care about me as a person. I’m a different person because of them and I want to share that support and community with others.”
Want to learn more about a College that can have the same impact on you? Contact Steve Mencarini or another member of the Admission team to learn more about Guilford.