July 21, 2025
from the Record, Spring 2025
Serving with Heart
How One Tiger Is Changing Lives On and Off the Court
At Hampden-Sydney College, service and leadership are deeply woven into the student experience—and nowhere is that more evident than through the Tigers Serve program. Offering a variety of volunteer opportunities, including new student orientation, food bank assistance, and a unique mentorship initiative with Prince Edward Elementary School, Tigers Serve empowers students to give back to the community while growing personally and professionally. One standout participant, Dillon McReynolds ’26, exemplifies the spirit of the program through his compassion, consistency, and drive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
“Dillon embodies the spirit of the H-SC Tigers Serve program through his dedication as both a mentor in our local elementary school and an orientation leader,” says Director of Student Affairs Operations, Orientation, and Civic Engagement Sandy Cooke. “His commitment to guiding and supporting both fellow students and children in the local community reflects our mission of service, leadership, and community engagement. Through his efforts, he not only strengthens the bonds within our campus but also inspires others to give back and make a difference.”
Dillon, now in his second year as a mentor with Tigers Serve, had a special calling to getting involved with the program. Serving with Heart How One Tiger Is Changing Lives On and Off the Court
“When I was growing up, I had a very close family friend who I considered my big brother. He passed away in a car accident the night before he was supposed to graduate,” Dillon says. “Knowing how special he was to me helped me realize just how important that kind of role model is to shaping who you're going to become. Freshman year at Hampden-Sydney when I was looking for some different opportunities to get involved, Tigers Serve really stood out to me because I saw that chance to pay forward the influence my ‘big brother’ had in my life.”
As a pre-med biology major, though, Dillon is gaining more than just good karma from his involvement as a mentor. Dillon first learned about the organization when his advisor, Trinkle Professor of Biology Kristian Hargadon ’01, suggested he get involved with Tigers Serve to give him skills he will need as he pursues a career in medicine. “Dillon is such an outstanding young man and role model—as a student, as an athlete, as an overall person—that he quickly stood out to me as a perfect fit for the Tigers Serve mentor program as I came to know him early during his time at Hampden-Sydney. Having participated in an earlier iteration of the program myself, I found the program so rewarding, and I knew that Dillon would be such a great support system for his mentee,” Hargadon says.
“Dillon's ongoing commitment to this program speaks volumes about his serviceoriented nature, and that is something that, as an aspiring physician, honestly just comes naturally to him. Dillon will no doubt continue to serve those in need throughout his career, and I think his service record to date demonstrates exactly why he will become the kind of doctor who is going to make a real difference for his future patients and community for years to come.”
Dillon says his experience working in the community surrounding the College has been eye-opening, helping him to understand the real challenges that some of the local citizens face. Coming from a different background, Dillon says he has a new appreciation for the opportunities he’s been afforded both before and during his time at Hampden-Sydney, lending him a new perspective that will be crucial when treating patients from varying circumstances.
“It's helped me to learn how to relate to people better and to really listen to them and not try to assert my opinion before I really hear them out,” Dillon says. “My father, who is also a physician, always says ‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’”
H-SC students meet with their mentees one to two times a week during the schoolyear, taking time to talk with them, help them with schoolwork, and play with them and their friends. Students are paired up at equivalent school years: first graders with freshmen, second graders with sophomores, and so on. This way, students meet with the same mentees over several years and end up graduating from college and elementary school together.
“I’ve really seen my mentee's confidence improve as we’ve built a relationship. He knows I’m going to be coming back. It's one of the highlights of my week now,” Dillon says, smiling. “Seeing the look of pure joy on their face when you get there, you can tell how much it means for them to have that kind of big brother in their life. It really makes you feel good to know you're making a difference in somebody's life.”
When he’s not serving the community, Dillon can be found serving aces on the tennis court. In his third year on the Tiger Tennis team, Dillon is a second-year team captain and a member of the ODAC All-Academic Team and the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Men’s Tennis Team.
Dillon’s journey with Tigers Serve highlights the powerful impact of mentorship on mentee and mentor alike. Through his dedication to service, both in the classroom and beyond, he has become a role model for what it means to lead with empathy, purpose, and humility. As he prepares for a future in medicine, Dillon carries forward the lessons learned through service— lessons that will continue to shape the kind of physician, leader, and person he aspires to be.