Paying it Forward

Lovell Lemons made a career of connecting young adults with meaningful community work.

For more than 34 years, he helped spearhead Georgia State’s philanthropic efforts and encouraged civic engagement among students. Lemons’ contributions have come to define the university’s commitment to public service.

When he retired in 2019, Lemons sought a way to continue to nurture Georgia State’s charitable spirit from afar. With his wife, Terri, he created the Panthers4Change Servant Leader Scholarship, which provides financial support to Georgia State students who volunteer in the community. The scholarship supplies a stipend to cover some living expenses so recipients can worry less about their earnings and take jobs with organizations and causes they support.

Since joining the Georgia State staff in 1985, Lemons met hundreds of students who had altruistic aspirations but lacked the resources to see them through. That’s what inspired him to fund the scholarship.

“I saw students who had a lot to offer and who wanted to work for social justice or issues in the community but couldn’t because nonprofits aren’t able to pay, and students need money,” Lemons said.

Lemons’ roles with the university varied throughout the decades, but each shared a common thread: a special bond with students.

He spent his first decade with the university helping students prepare for and secure professional jobs, cooperative education opportunities and internships.

As part of an initiative in 1992 led by then-university President Carl Patton to better align the university with the city of Atlanta, Georgia State tapped Lemons to develop a new volunteer program. In the process, he created critical community relationships, meeting with nonprofits to identify ways students could get involved and effect change.

Lemons soon became the first director of the Office of Community Service (now the Office of Student Engagement). Over nearly the next quarter-century, he built a vital organization that serves as a central hub and clearinghouse tying the university community to local service organizations.

The groundwork Lemons and his team laid proved invaluable as they worked to establish a new nonprofit organization, one that would give back to the Georgia State family. They called it the Panther’s Pantry.

“Over the years, we realized there were a number of students dealing with food insecurity,” Lemons said. “The Panther’s Pantry was created through the hard work of many, including Student Health Services and the Department of Nutrition in the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing & Health Professions. Partnering with local organizations, as well as members of the Georgia State community, enabled it to grow.”

The Panther’s Pantry remains a core part of the university’s philanthropic mission, supplying food and other nutritional essentials to students who have fallen on hard times.

And thanks to the Panthers4Change Scholarship, the Lemons family has ensured students will be able to return the favor and pay it forward for years to come.

“I’m always thinking, ‘Leave the place better than you found it,’” Lemons said. “My wife and I thought that endowing this scholarship was the best way to do it.”