He is easily identified by his bowtie.

When Phil Smith first arrived at Elon six years ago, he was one of few on the campus who wore a bowtie, but as he prepares to leave Elon University, the associate chaplain leaves a larger legacy behind.

He said he feels he has grown and learned a lot, and now it is time for him to move on. While teaching the life entrepreneurship program for sophomore students, he found the lessons were applicable to his own life, he said.

“I realized a lot of what I was sharing with them about knowing when you need to move toward something, I found myself speaking to myself,” Smith said.

Throughout his time working with the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, Smith has witnessed the departure of chaplain emeritus Richard McBride, the search for and training of current chaplain Jan Fuller, the hire of program assistant Jan Register and the planning of a brand new Multi-faith Center.

While Smith said he has had a lot of spiritual growth at Elon, he has also learned a lot from other groups on campus.

“This job has really allowed me to be engaged with several other areas of campus outside of Religious and Spiritual Life,” Smith said. “And those have been tremendous opportunities, especially with leadership. I’ve worked with the Isabella Cannon Leadership Program, Elon 101, learning about academic advising, helping students that might not have had a connection with our office. Working with them has been developmental education for me.”

Jan Fuller, university chaplain, said Smith has worked hard for the past few years, comparing his will to that of the Energizer Bunny, and saying his detail-oriented nature is what made the two of them such a great team.

“I really have appreciated him, and I am going to miss him a lot,” Fuller said. “He’s got a great sense of humor. He’s as hard a worker as I’ve ever known.”

Smith Jackson, vice president and dean of Student Life, said while Smith has demonstrated his commitment to the university through his involvement in programs such as "Better Together," QUEST, the interfaith Morocco Winter Term trip and College Chapel, his greatest asset is his approachability.

“I think working with students on every level is where he’s made a tremendous impact,” Jackson said.

Many students have felt that impact. Sophomore Morgan D’Arcy, who has worked with Smith during his participation with Habitat for Humanity and Sigma Phi Epsilon, said he believes Smith has made a large impact on the campus as a whole.

“I think that Phil is someone who pretty much everyone on campus knows,” he said. “Anyone I’m talking to, when I say, ‘Oh, I’m meeting with Phil Smith later,’ that person’s like, ‘Oh, I love Phil Smith.’”

Freshman Lianna Mills has known Smith since she was a  young girl when he worked at her church, and since arriving here, the two have spoken on several occasions. She said she believes Smith has done a lot for the Truitt Center and for Elon.

“He’s a spiritual stronghold for the campus,” Mills said. “I think his presence will be greatly missed.”

Smith said he is looking at several options for the future, but has not chosen a path quite yet. He does know his time at Elon has had a great impact on his life.

“I love what we do here,” Smith said. “Elon is a place where the way we go about education, we do a good thing, so, yeah, it’s going to be hard to leave that behind.”

[box]Phil Smith’s words of wisdom for the Class of 2012 “First of all, beware of people dispensing words of wisdom.  But if you are still reading, here are mine: Just when you think you have it all figured out, something or someone comes along and causes you to question everything and to recalculate and/or recalibrate. Hopefully that has happened lots during your time at Elon and will keep on happening.  That is probably how some of your best learning will take place.”[/box]