Contagious

Each week at Stories & Lunch, students explore a new topic together, sharing personal stories in a welcoming space where deep connection and community can grow. Jaylen first stepped into the Pace Center during his sophomore year at Virginia Commonwealth University. “After I found out about Stories & Lunch, I was hooked. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop coming.” 

On VCU’s massive campus, it can be easy to feel like a face in the crowd. But Pace offered something different. “I love the community,” said Jaylen. “You see people of all different ethnicities and majors coming together. You never know what might happen just by sitting down and having a conversation over some food.”

During one particular Stories & Lunch, Jaylen sat beside a woman whose mother had just passed away. He shared something that had helped him process his grief after losing his grandmother, "When somebody dies, it’s not something you get over - it’s something you get through.” Later, when asked the meal’s prompt - What’s the best thing to happen to you this week? - she replied, “The best thing that’s happened to me this week is what he just told me.” For Jaylen, it was a moment of realization. “The fact that I could be there for someone like that when they needed it - that’s when I saw the impact this space can have. I think Maya Angelou said, ‘People might forget what you said but they'll never forget how you made them feel.’ I think I really helped that woman that day.”

As he kept showing up, Jaylen noticed changes - not just in himself, but in others. “There was this one girl who wouldn’t talk to anyone when she first came. Now, she’s a social butterfly. Pace might have completely changed the trajectory of her college experience. It’s crazy.”

Jaylen and his twin brother, Jordan, are now proud VCU alumni who’ve started their own construction company. Whenever work brings them to the city, they make time for Stories & Lunch. “Pace is a place you can go whenever, and they’ll accept you no matter who you are. The community here is almost contagious. You can’t help but want to be a part of it.” Thank you for being a part of Pace’s community and supporting students like Jaylen.