More Than a Degree: Relationships Defined York’s Pfeiffer Experience

When Addison York '21, '23 MBA transferred to Pfeiffer University as a junior, her initial goal was to find a better fit for her talents as a softball outfielder. Mission accomplished: Her stellar play on offense and defense for elite coach Monte Sherrill '87 would help the Falcons become USA South regular season East Division champions in 2021. She contributed to the team's 16-1 start in a COVID-shortened junior season.

York's success on the diamond, though, was only one of several ways that she profited from becoming a Falcon.

She graduated in 2021 with a degree in Business Management and Leadership, and she finished her Pfeiffer MBA in 2023. These two credentials have helped pave the way for the job success she now enjoys, as Director of Sales Strategy at Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County Inc. in Statesville, N.C. She leads a team that works to "create relationships and drive connections" among such sources of clients as physician offices and senior living facilities.

"We want to ensure that patients have more access to care. Anytime a transition to palliative care or hospice services comes into play, we work to make sure that it's happening in a smooth, seamless way for the patient and for the family."

York has held her current position for about 15 months. Before that, she worked in the beverage industry, where she envisioned building her career after securing her dream job. A massive restructuring at her employer made her rethink that objective.

"I'm a believer in God and His plan for my life," she said. "And I took some time to look at what had unfolded. I got what I thought was my dream job and not even a few months later, this is where we had landed."

York began searching out other career possibilities, even some she'd never considered before. When working at Hospice & Palliative Care emerged as a possibility, she felt drawn to it for several reasons. Up to that point, she'd never had anyone work under her. Her position at Hospice & Palliative Care would enable her to "tie in all these different things that I learned in my time at Pfeiffer and really build myself as a leader now that I have this opportunity to actually lead people."

York praised several of her Pfeiffer professors, including Dr. Raushan Gross and Dr. Susan Luck, for "setting" her leadership style, which emphasizes attributes such as collaboration and leading by example.

Remarkably, York was able to tap her former Pfeiffer professors periodically for advice as she began her current job. One of them was Dr. Christopher "Doc" Howard, who will become the Program Director of the Adult and Graduate Studies Business Programs at Montreat College in August.

"I just had him talk me through a couple things," she said. "I asked him some questions about some different situations and to figure out when it was best to do what in terms of how I should start out and set the standard for my team being the newest person there."

A general philosophy took hold, namely to "adapt to the situation; adopt new ideas, new strategies; and abandon them if they don't work." Then, start the process all over again.

Another reason working at Hospice & Palliative Care appealed to her was personal. Her two grandmothers each received hospice care from the organization several years before she would work at it.

"They passed away under hospice, and I saw how much it helped our family just by having that resource," she said. "I think that's something that you see with everyone who works at our organization. Every single person who works there has been touched directly by hospice in a way. And it's just really special."

York, having recognized that she can look forward to a bright future largely because of the great start she got at Pfeiffer, has found many ways to give back to the University.

A few months ago, she sat on a panel aimed at freshmen who learned about her experiences during and after her time at Pfeiffer. She's delivered two guest lectures for Gross. And she's interested in sitting on the Alumni Board in the future.

She and other members of her family underwrote the restoration of the Pfeiffer Prayer Labyrinth, which is located near Henry Pfeiffer Chapel on Pfeiffer's campus in Misenheimer, N.C. in memory of Pfeiffer alumna Rev. Rebecca Lynn Watts Cash '96, York's great-aunt. The labyrinth had been originally placed by the United Methodist Women in 2005.York described the labyrinth as "a reflective area where students or staff or faculty can go and just take time and be present, be where their feet are, pray, just be spiritual, however that looks for them."

These days, York's reflections include a lot of gratitude for her Pfeiffer experiences. "Pfeiffer's given me so much," she said. "It's given me my degrees. It's given me the opportunity to go and work at the jobs that I've been able to work at. It's given me my soon-to-be husband (Zach Cates '22). It's given me all these friendships. I am forever thankful that God put me at Pfeiffer University."