 Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock attends Archeology and the Human Past in Sanford Hall Nov. 19. Photo by Tommy Penick
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by EMILY MELTON
Lifestyles Editor
He packed his bag with pen, paper and schedule.
He ate lunch in the Central Dining Facility.
He is not a typical student, however; he is Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock, and before attending his classes, he made sure to turn off his cell phone.
Peacock participated in the 11th annual Chancellor-For-A-Day event Nov. 19.
After
Appalachian Ambassadors collected canned foods donated by Appalachian
State University students, they selected Brittany N. Paisley, freshman
clinical laboratory sciences major, to spend a day in the in the
chancellor’s office while the chancellor, in turn, went to Paisley’s
classes.
 Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock converses with students during lunch. Photo by Tommy Penick
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The day
began with an opening ceremony in the Summit Trail Solarium, where
Peacock and Paisley swapped schedules and introduced themselves.
His
sixth time participating, Peacock said he enjoys the experience of
getting out, walking on campus and interacting with the students and
professors, though benefiting the community by providing canned foods
to the less fortunate, he said, is the most satisfying part of the
experience.
“I have
one concern, though,” Peacock said. “Every time, at
Chancellor-For-A-Day, I have just one concern. Brittany – I just met
her this morning; she’s a very kind young lady, very smart, hard
working. I don’t want to do anything to impact her grade in a negative
way.”
Paisley,
however, assured Peacock of her trust, and Peacock then went to his
first class: Archaeology and the Human Past, taught by anthropology
professor Thomas R. Whyte.
He was 15 minutes early.
“It’s always good to be early,” he said.
After
entering, he asked if seats were assigned, and upon discovering they
were not, sat in a location near to where Paisley sits during a typical
day.
“The
people in that class were very quiet,” Peacock said. “Nobody talked,
and so, I was trying to get some trouble stirred up before [the
professor] came in. Get a little talking going.”
Before
class, Peacock asked students about their hometown and course of study,
but remained quiet and attentive upon Whyte’s entrance.
During class, Whyte lectured and provided a power point about Mayan and Aztec cultures.
 Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock shares a laugh with students during lunch. Photo by Tommy Penick
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“Just
learning about a different culture through a different time and seeing
the slides that [Whyte] had and showing how advanced a society it was,
and yet, it was many, many centuries ago, how advanced it was in
construction, architecture, colors…that, I found to be, just,
enlightening,” Peacock said.
Peacock then went to Transitions to College, taught by substitute Cathia T. Silver, Learning Assistance Program director.
At the
beginning of class, each student introduced him or herself and provided
a definition of what success means to them; Peacock was also asked to
share.
“I will
speak for myself, not Brittany, on this case, but success, for me, is
making someone else happy,” he said. “It helps them to achieve their
goals, so, every day, I try to do something that I say, ‘is something
for someone else.’”
The
class followed with a presentation provided by the Counseling and
Psychological Services Center that detailed the effects of depression
and suicide and encouraged the use of counseling services for suicide
prevention.
Peacock’s
last class, Analyzing Style and Form: Dance, taught by theater and
dance instructor Rebecca J. Keeter, tested Peacock’s skills at tap
dancing.
A bit skeptical, Peacock proclaimed “leotards – out,” before entering the room.
“But it
was fun,” he said. “You find yourself concentrating on, [Keeter] said,
‘the heel, the toe, the stomp, the slap’…it was fun.”
At the
closing ceremony, Peacock relayed the events of the day and reminded
Paisley of an assignment due on ASULearn before presenting her with an
assortment of gifts he picked at the University Bookstore: a purse with
the Appalachian logo, a pink coffee mug and a picture frame.
He credited the help of a select team of Ambassadors, whom he labeled, “the shop-o-holics,” for the outcome of Paisley’s gift.
“I would
go in the bookstore to try to buy something for Brittany and I’d want
to [get] something that she would want, but I would be standing there
looking and not having a clue,” he said. “That’s really just not my
skill set…if I had gone to the bookstore, I never thought I’d have
bought a pocketbook in my entire life, but I have now, just for you.”
Matt K. Rogers, Chancellor-For-A-Day chair, said the day went without a hitch.
“Well
over 10,000 cans were collected, but we were keeping count using
weight,” Rogers, senior marketing major said. “Our final weight was
9,125 pounds. To put that in perspective, we raised about 5,000 pounds
last year.”
All of the cans raised were donated to the Hunger and Health Coalition, directly serving Watauga, Ashe and Avery counties.
“Of the
9,125 pounds collected, students accounted for about 5,000,” Rogers
said. “Without the support from the students, the Chancellor-For-A-Day
canned food drive would never be as successful as it has been in the
past and [as] it was this year. We hope to continue this tradition in
the future and look forward to breaking another record next year.”
Photos by Tommy Penick | The Appalachian
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