CCU honors ‘Ms. Pat’ with a building named after her. Here’s why she was honored

Pat Singleton-Young, most commonly known as “Ms. Pat,” is the newest name on a Coastal Carolina University building, but her real impact was cemented years ago through the students she helped.

On Friday, hundreds gathered on CCU’s campus to dedicate a new residents hall in her honor, cementing her legacy on a campus she worked decades on. The residents hall was built in 2016 and houses hundred of students each year.

She spent nearly 40 years making Coastal Carolina University a more diverse, welcoming place to students of all backgrounds. She served in a variety of roles while there, but she consistently acted as a mentor for the students she worked with. Some of her students said she felt more like “a mom” than just a mentor.

“I want to thank the students past and present who allowed me to be a part of their lives,” Singleton-Young said talking about all the people she worked with. “Early in my career I was an older sister, then an aunt, then a mom and when I left in July I prepared to become a grandmother.”

She also had a bench dedicated to her by her former sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. and a portrait will be placed inside the hall. In addition, a mural was placed inside the building to show the inclusion and support Singleton-Young fostered while working at CCU.

“It will awe you, it will make you pause because it takes you back some years in time,” said Travis Overton, the vice-president for executive initiatives.

Singleton-Young was the first in her family to attend any college. A native of Murrells Inlet, she attended the then-Coastal Carolina College in 1971. She got involved in student affairs, yearbook and the student newspaper.

She graduated in 1975 and began her career soon after working for the CCU Office of Student Affairs. There, she worked to make new students feel more welcome and to grow diversity and inclusion programs within the university. She also served as an academic adviser, housing director and assistant dean of student services while at CCU over 46 years.

During that time she mentored students as to how be leaders on campus.

Several students, including a former student body presidents, spoke about Singleton-Young’s imapct on them and how she guided them while at CCU and even after graduation. Many students had a hard time keeping their remarks to two minutes. Some of the students flew in just for the event.

“She was that mom away from home,” former SBP James Dukes said. “While this is a huge building, the reward cannot be large enough. For those students, faculty, staff and visitors that will pass into this building I hope they will ask themselves who is Pat Singleton-Young. And learn of her career as a student and staff member, I hope students will be encouraged to become student leaders.”

Singleton-Young hugged her former students, clearly remembering each of them. She said she always made sure to take the time to help them with whatever they needed.

“During my time I tried to provide a place students felt welcome,” Singleton-Young said.

She finished her career as the director of Intercultural and Inclusion Student Services, a program she helped name. According to its website, this program helps create a welcoming space for students to collaborate and learn from other students.

CCU Professor Emeritus Veronica Gerald, a cousin of Singleton-Young, said her Singleton-Young shared a common ancestor who was kidnapped and forced into slavery on Brookgreens Plantation. Gerald said Singleton-Young considered the naming of the building is a major moment in their family history.

“Pat has done so much for our family,” Gerald said. “Can you imagine that sealed in stone right now is a punctuation mark in a story that started in the 1700s.”

“We always talk about the negatives of this history, but Pat made it positive,” Gerald added. “She put our name on a building.”