Campbell Celebrates Legacy Families at Annual Luncheon & Pinning Ceremony

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Nearly 100 Camels gathered together for the annual Legacy Luncheon & Pinning Ceremony on Friday, August 15 in the Oscar N. Harris Student Union Ballroom.

A Campbell Legacy is a student whose parent, grandparent or sibling graduated from Campbell. The Alumni Association hosts the luncheon to celebrate these special families who share a love for the University and have passed that passion down to the next generation.

Held on Move-In Day, the luncheon offers a chance for families to connect, reflect and mark the beginning of the student’s Campbell journey. The pinning ceremony, held midway through the event, symbolizes the ceremonial welcome from one generation to the next. Legacy family members are invited to place a Campbell legacy pin on their student, officially welcoming them into the Campbell family.

This year’s program included remarks from Campbell President Dr. William M. Downs who welcomed students and families into the Campbell community.

“Your legacy will one day be our legacy to the world as well,” said Downs, who began his Campbell presidency in July. “We’re beginning a new and exciting chapter and it’s with you, it’s with you new students that we will navigate Campbell together and we will make sure that we are successful together.”

Following President Downs’s welcome, the luncheon featured a speech from Emily Denning (’27), one of five legacy students were named recipients of the 2025 Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship. Denning, whose mother graduated from Campbell’s School of Education in 1997, shared how her family’s Campbell roots have shaped her journey as a student, athlete, and leader.

“Being a legacy student means more to me than just following in my mom’s footsteps,” Denning said. “It’s about living out the values she instilled in me and carrying forward the traditions of this university that have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

Denning spoke about how receiving the Endowed Scholarship helped her focus on her goals and embrace her role as being “a woman of faith and business—someone who leads with integrity, supports the people around her, and builds something that lasts.”

She concluded her speech by saying “Campbell has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’m proud to continue that legacy, not just in name, but in action.”

Click here to learn more about the Legacy Luncheon and how the Alumni Association celebrates its Campbell legacy families. To make a gift in support of the Legacy Scholarship, go to give.campbell.edu, select “other” in the “please give my gift to” field, and type “Legacy Scholarship” in the designation field.