After earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Pfeiffer College, Hal Sparks ’65 enjoyed an illustrious career as a coach of multiple sports at both the high school and collegiate levels. He’s enshrined in seven Halls of Fame in four states, including North Carolina, where in 2013, Pfeiffer inducted him into its Sports Hall of Fame.

His experiences at Pfeiffer, where he played soccer and baseball, helped pave the way for this success. A few years ago, he decided it was time to give back. But the way he chose to do so had nothing to do with athletics.

He established the Sparks SGA Annual Scholarship, through which the current President of the Student Government Association receives a $1,000 scholarship each year. Sparks, who held the SGA presidency in 1965, started the fund in March of 2022 with a commitment to underwrite the award for 10 years.

Sparks said the aid helps the SGA President lead “without having to worry about financial burdens” they might otherwise have to address. Gabby Edwards ’26, the current SGA President, said the scholarship helps her parents because of “the burden they took on to pay for her Pfeiffer education.”

Sparks, who grew up in Pennsville, N.J., had known of Pfeiffer for some time before he enrolled, having heard about it from a retired United Methodist minister who helped attract a large contingent of students from New Jersey to Pfeiffer. He entered Pfeiffer as a sophomore after serving in the military and earning credits from several colleges along the way.

He described himself as a poor student who had to work his way through school. He worked as a head-counter in the cafeteria; that job, which he did five days a week, earned him $.85 cents an hour. It wasn’t much but he says those wages, along with an annual stipend of $350 and the money he earned from working at the now-defunct Fraley’s Bar near campus, managed to keep him afloat financially and allowed him to embrace much of what Pfeiffer could offer, in addition to academics.

“I had a good experience at Pfeiffer,” said Sparks, who pursued graduate studies at Azusa Pacific University after earning an M.A. degree in physical education from Appalachian State University. “That was what I needed.”

Sparks described campaigning creatively in a contest that pitted him against his opponent, whom he’d defeat by just 12 votes. In addition to wooing a base that included New Jersey residents, Sparks took advantage of his name to “spark” some catchy campaign slogans. “Sparks for Progress” morphed into a sign that read “Ignite the Flow of Progress with Sparks,” which was placed on a small island on Gibson Lake, one of the most attractive features of Pfeiffer’s campus in Misenheimer, N.C.

Once Sparks was elected, he did what all SGA presidents do, namely “bridged the gap” between his fellow students and the College’s faculty and administration. Edwards described several ways that is happening currently: Through a suggestion that landed in a comment box, for example, the SGA was able to secure more gluten-free dessert options in the cafeteria. And the SGA is working with the administration to develop a caregiver policy among students who must miss time to care for a sick child.

The SGA plays an important role in the presentation of various events on campus. Sparks spoke of organizing a concert on campus by The Shirelles, which became one of the first times that black artists performed at Pfeiffer.

“They packed the place,” Sparks said, describing the enthusiasm the performance generated. “And we broke down some barriers in the process.”

Edwards said that SGA still helps manage campus events. Making the Homecoming Court presentation run smoothly during halftime of a Homecoming soccer game is just one example. All the court’s flowers, crowns, and sashes are secured by the SGA, which is also in charge of getting alumni royalty of past courts back on campus.

Both Edwards, a star on Pfeiffer’s volleyball team who aspires to become an attorney, and Sparks plugged the virtues of joining the SGA — whether students plan to go into politics after graduating or not. Edwards said she’s considering becoming a judge or an elected official, but even if that doesn’t happen, she said her work for the SGA has made her a better public speaker and “more comfortable speaking on my feet, speaking on the fly” — as when, for example, she briefed Pfeiffer Trustee chairman Roger Dick on the organization’s work during a dinner for Pfeiffer’s scholarship recipients.

As for Sparks, he never went into politics after leaving Pfeiffer but feels his time as SGA president strengthened his leadership skills, which he brought to his career in coaching. “I was able to bring people together behind a common goal,” he said. “Anybody can be successful if they can do that.”