AHA!
SOUTH CAROLINA HONORS COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA / FALL 2016
Teresa Wilson is building a world-class city plus ‘THE BEST SEMESTER’ AND THEY’RE OFF … CATCHING UP WITH MARSHALL WINN
Contents
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FALL 2016 South Carolina Honors College Dean / Steven Lynn Managing Editor / Writer / Aïda Rogers Director of Communications / Anna Redwine Honors College Partnership Board Marshall Winn Catherine Heigel Chairman Vice Chairwoman Roger Barnette Eddie Jones Jay Cain Jodie McLean Dan D’Alberto Ben Rex Bill Duncan Thomas Scott Lori Clos Fisher Jacob Shuford Kevin Hall Sherri Timmons Steve Hibbard Jeff Vinzani Anita Hood, M.D.
Stay Connected University Home Page: sc.edu SCHC Home Page: schc.sc.edu Facebook: facebook.com/SCHonorsCollege Twitter: twitter.com/SCHonorsCollege LinkedIn: “South Carolina Honors College Alumni” Instagram: southcarolinahonors University Creative Services / University Writers Group The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, genetics, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status. The University of South Carolina has designated as the ADA Title II, Section 504 and Title IX coordinator the Executive Assistant to the President for Equal Opportunity Programs. The Office of the Executive Assistant to the President for Equal Opportunity Programs is located at 1600 Hampton Street, Suite 805, Columbia, SC; telephone 803-777-3854. UCS16100 9/16
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In this issue 4/
Stronger every year A by-the-numbers look at the college's fall 2015 freshman class
6/
‘The best semester’ The Washington Semester Program has offered awesome career-building opportunities for the past 25 years.
8 / And they’re off ... The college’s most recent cohort of national fellowship and scholarship winners includes these students setting out for destinations around the world — and close to home.
12 / ON THE COVER Building a world-class city Teresa Wilson takes on the challenge of managing South Carolina’s capital city with high energy and a spirit of cooperation.
13 /
New assistant deans, adviser announced A roundup of new staff members and student scholars Cover photograph: City of Columbia Manager Teresa Wilson in front of City Hall
Dear alumni, Engaging with prospective students on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis, I get a variety of questions — from “Is the food good?” to “What does the neuroscience curriculum encompass?” Recently I was asked “Who comes to the Honors College?” and found my answers only scratching the surface. It’s trite, but accurate, to say they are the “best and the brightest.” It’s redundant, but appropriate, to call them “driven and motivated.” There is no saying that can really encapsulate who our incoming students are. They are athletes and teachers, travelers and writers, poets and singers, gamers and dreamers. Already they have served, researched, advocated, performed, engineered, calculated and led change in their
ELISE PORTER Recruiting coordinator and academic adviser SCHC Class of 2013, English
communities and around the world. All of them are scholars. They seek an enriching academic environment and discover what they are looking for here. Just since January, I have informed more than 400 prospective students of the support and opportunities available as an SCHC student and answered nearly 200 inquiries. They are drawn to our reputation and apply in increasing numbers — a nearly 14 percent jump in the past year alone. Fall 2015 saw our largest and most accomplished matriculating class to date, and fall 2016 promises to be even larger and stronger. Meanwhile, the quality of our students also increases. To grow in size while simultaneously growing in quality — that is a real feat. Knowing the accomplishments and accolades of our incoming class, I predict for them a profusion of achievements as undergraduates in the South Carolina Honors College. We are lucky they chose us. Best,
Elise Porter
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STRONGER EVERY YEAR
Honors freshmen
488
2015 HONORS COLLEGE CLASS SIZE
2 SETS OF TWINS 35 VALEDICTORIANS
1431 AVG ACT 32.4 AVG WCGPA 4.65 AVG SAT
Top Majors INT’L BUSINESS
97
BIOLOGY 52 BIOCHEMISTRY 37
Top 5 COUNTIES REPRESENTED 1. Richland 2. Lexington 3. Greenville 4. Charleston 5. Spartanburg
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BIOMED ENGINEERING
36
MECH ENGINEERING
30
100%
OF STUDENTS RECEIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT
HOW WAS YOUR FRESHMAN YEAR? TWO EXAMPLES Last year’s freshmen — all 488 of them — are high-achieving, talented and focused on making the world better. But they’re still having fun. Here’s an introduction to two of them.
SHREYA MEHTA
SAM ZARITSKY
Origins: Spartanburg, S.C.;
Origins: Buffalo Grove, Ill.;
Dorman High Major: public health Scholarships: Carolina, Lieber, Palmetto Fellows Accomplishments: Discovery Day winner for research on the benefits of blogging for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients Involvements: SCHC Ambassador; member, USC’s chapter of GlobeMed; member, Emerging Leaders Program Career goal: physician, not sure what kind
Adlai Stevenson High Major: international business and finance Scholarship: Cooper, USC Finance Scholar Accomplishments: Finalist, Summer Fulbright Scholarship Involvements: vice president of finance, Alpha Lambda Delta honor society; executive board member, Carolina Finance and Investment Association; member, Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity
Campus takeaway: “My story is cliché, but USC was the only
Career goal: Work for a venture capital firm or own a company
campus that truly felt like home, even before I moved in.
Campus takeaway: “In Chicago, you can’t really go around talk-
I can’t explain how I knew, but I was certain I would enjoy
ing to random people because they’ll just think you’re crazy.
my four years here.”
But in South Carolina, and especially USC, most people are really open to having a conversation with you even if they
Shreya Mehta can’t forget sitting in her dorm room reading
don’t know you.”
blog posts written by caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. “They were so inspirational and positive in spite of their situ-
Sam Zaritsky came to Carolina with 80 credit hours and the
ation,” she says. “They often mentioned life could be worse.
need to challenge himself. That meant leaving the Midwest
I wondered how they could be so positive when they were
and trying new things. “I thought — and still think — college is
living such a difficult life.” Her project to understand dementia from the caregiving perspective won first place in the Social
the time to branch out and learn more about yourself,” he says. “I ended up in a fraternity, am now on two executive boards,
Sciences A, Oral Presentations category of Discovery Day this
was a finalist in the Summer Fulbright and met plenty of great
past spring.
people along the way.”
Mehta’s drive to help others intensified after a campus talk in
Though most of his high school classmates chose colleges
which a nurse described how a Latino father responded to her
closer to home, Zaritsky is happy he ventured farther: “When
care for his daughter. “He told her she was the best doctor he
I found USC, I toured the campus and was instantly hooked.”
had ever had,” she says. “I was so inspired I decided in that moment to dedicate my undergraduate career to developing soft skills and mannerisms that give patients faith in their doctors.” Freshman year wasn’t all about studies. Mehta has made new friends and found they don’t all think alike, spurring lively conversations. “I grew up in a small neighborhood, so my favorite part of college so far has been the debates that result from different opinions.”
He plans to reciprocate what he’s been given. “By the time I leave Carolina, I would love to have started my own sustainability initiative by creating a club dedicated to making and installing solar panels for campus use,” he says. Though he added three more credit hours over winter break by taking the College-Level Examination Program, Zaritsky insists he’s not all-work no-play. “I still managed to go to the gym most days and have lots of fun while doing well in school.”
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‘The best semester’ S.C. WASHINGTON SEMESTER PROGRAM ENTERS ITS 25TH YEAR
For Hali Kerr, coming to the South Carolina Honors College was the first step in finding her professional calling. Depressed by the pollution overtaking her beloved Chesapeake Bay, she majored in marine science, envisioning a career in environmental research. Then, while interning at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a fellow with the S.C. Washington Semester Program, Kerr shadowed several NOAA lawyers with science backgrounds who were implementing President Obama’s order to improve ocean management and health. That was a few years ago. She keeps waders under her bed now, and she’ll finish law school at Georgetown University this spring. Her semester in D.C. changed everything. “It was absolutely amazing,” she says, ticking off the reasons why: She met her best friend, fell in love with Washington and found her true calling. Since that transformative semester in her sophomore year, she’s interned again for NOAA and worked in the environmental division at the U.S. Department of Justice and at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Instead of spending years doing research — her original plan — she sees herself helping write environmental laws and possibly leading a government agency, “where I could do good work for the country behind the scenes.” Kerr isn’t the only one to make important self-discoveries through the S.C. Washington Semester Program. Now celebrating its 25th year, the program counts nearly 500 fellows who have studied, worked and played in the nation’s capital since the program started in 1991. Many remained in the D.C. area, working in government offices and for national nonprofits. Others returned to S.C. and their home states, while still more went overseas. For Kerr, it’s ironic that D.C. has become her home. As a Maryland native, she’d visited D.C. only once before. The scavenger hunt that program director Korey Rothman designed to introduce fellows to the city did the trick. “We were running all over D.C., and I loved it right away — the monuments and beautiful neighborhoods and diversity, people from all over the world, all over the country, people who speak different languages,” she says. “It’s just such a cool mix.” While many fellows can’t wait to graduate and go back to Washington, others realize the nation’s capital is not for them. They also get a sense if their career paths need a change of course. “We tell students we like this to be the best semester of their academic careers,” says Rothman, program director since 2005. “They will apply classroom lessons to real-world experience — try on a job they think they would want. Students grow a lot in this semester, become more confident, hone their professional skills and make contacts.” Rothman especially likes that students from different parts of the state become lifelong friends. Several fellows have even met future spouses during the program. While it started at USC in Columbia and has been administered by the Honors College since 2009, the program is offered to honors students at 15 colleges and universities across South Carolina, both
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private and public. Fellows are placed in full-time internships according to their interests and majors. Besides working in the offices of the state’s congressional delegation, they’ve worked at the Children’s Defense Fund, CNN, Brookings Institute, Amnesty International, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Institution, Kennedy Center, the State Department and more. While there are plenty of political science, international studies and communications majors, there also are those studying biology, engineering, business, religion and other fields. All are placed in offices dealing with public policy. The fellows also take two night courses. Debating Washington Issues is taught by Rebecca Strauss, who holds a master’s in public policy from the John F. Kennedy Institute at Harvard. Rothman, a theater historian who teaches at the University of Maryland, teaches Theatre and Culture in Washington, D.C., which gives Beltway-weary fellows a taste of the city’s rich cultural offerings. USC political science professor and former Democratic National Committee chairman Don Fowler teaches five leadership seminars during the semester. “In terms of Washington Semester programs, which there are tens if not a hundred, that kind of rigor is unique,” says Steven Beckham, USC’s D.C.-based director of federal relations. Students in many other programs work two or three days a week and spend the rest of their time exploring the city. The South Carolina program, by contrast, combines full-time experiential learning with a significant academic component. “We get consistent feedback that our young people are some of the most outstanding,” he says. Beckham, ’78 accounting, was visiting the late Congressman Butler Derrick’s office when Connie Myers, ’86 political science, sparked the program’s start. “She said, ‘We can get all the students we want from Georgetown and Harvard. Why can’t we get students from South Carolina up here?’” Beckham approached Doug Dobson, then head of USC’s Institute of Public Affairs, with the idea, and he made it happen. A quarter-century later, hundreds of fellows are glad he did. The 15 credit hours are great, but a semester in D.C. is glorious.
Fellows share a townhouse behind Capitol Hill. “I think every one of us who stayed in touch felt like it really changed our lives. That semester is really special to me,” says Hali Kerr, far left.
There were three fellows in the first S.C. Washington Semester Program class. Now, the program accommodates up to 17 fellows per semester. From left: Lee Royall, ’94; Heidi Brooks, ’93; then-USC President John Palms; David O’Berry, ’93; and Steven Beckham, USC director of federal relations.
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And they’re off ... Look for these Honors College national scholarship and fellowship winnners in Cambridge, Colorado, Malaysia and beyond — and right here at USC.
RILEY BRADY “Total shock” is how Riley Brady, ’16 marine science, describes his reaction when he learned he’d received a Department of Energy Computational Sciences Graduate Fellowship. Valued at about $280,000, the fellowship provides four years of study, three 12-week summer internships at national labs and a salary. Awarded to only 27 students each year — from a pool of 400 to 600 applicants nationwide — the fellowship focuses on training scientists to harness supercomputers in applied fields. Brady is USC’s first DOE recipient, and one of only three this year to have majored in earth sciences. Now at the University of Colorado-Boulder, Brady is aiming for a Ph.D. in atmospheric and oceanic sciences. He’s excited about the required courses in applied mathematics and computer science. “I love these subjects, and they will allow me to have a diverse, multidisciplinary graduate education.” A Goldwater and Hollings scholar from Midlothian, Va., as well as a university McNair Scholar, Brady has researched climate issues affecting fisheries and food supply. He envisions a career as a professor or full-time researcher with a federal research institution, including NOAA, NASA or DOE. “I learned to really dig deep when considering future opportunities,” Brady said of his SCHC career. “Everyone associated with the program was eager and ready to give me the resources to help me assemble my dream career. I felt like I could go to the staff with any huge idea, and they would take it seriously and help me to put forth my best effort to make it a reality. I am thrilled to represent our special community out here in Boulder.”
Riley Brady
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Eric Bringley
ERIC BRINGLEY Three years from now, Eric Bringley, ’16 chemical engineering, could have his Ph.D. in the same subject from Cambridge University in England. He’s the first USC student to receive the internationally acclaimed Gates-Cambridge Scholarship, awarded to 90 socially committed and academically gifted students worldwide. “It was quite a rush,” Bringley recalled. “All of the work that went into getting there paid off.” Phi Beta Kappa, Goldwater Scholar, Magellan Ambassador and president of the USC student section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Bringley declined a Fulbright award to accept the Gates Cambridge. More than 4,500 students apply each year for the scholarship, which was established in 2000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Each three-year scholarship is valued at £162,900, or about $210,000. “I’m looking forward to exploring a new side of chemical engineering, specifically how programming and computer science shapes research,” said Bringley, an Irmo, S.C., native who minored in chemistry and math. “I’m also looking forward to meeting my peers at Cambridge, in the Gates Scholars community, in Robinson College and within the department. The Gates Scholars community is a valuable addition to the experience.”
Bringley has completed 13 technical presentations and spent last summer in Ulm, Germany, as an American Chemical Society International Research Experience Fellow. He is considering careers as a university professor or in private industry. The Honors College has given him a good start. “Ultimately, I learned a lot about what it’ll take to succeed and what success is, in both my personal and professional lives, and what type of consequences can occur from not balancing the two,” he says. “Everything I did at USC added value and experience to my communication skills, which ultimately helped me achieve all that I did. Everything I accomplished required the support of my friends, mentors and peers. I could not have done it without them.”
S.C., native who will graduate in 2018. Pharmacy school may follow, and possibly a career at a teaching hospital where she can be involved in patient care, teaching and research. While she doesn’t know yet at which NOAA lab she’ll be interning, she’s excited about learning from other scientists. Already she’s conducted research on the effects of panaxynol (a compound found in ginseng) on macrophages (a type of white blood cell) as part of the Hofseth Lab at USC’s pharmacy college. She’s received a chemistry department award and is starting a Christian women in science club at USC. She was also selected as an SCHC Artist in Residence. Her visual entry will depict pigments and dyes extracted from food. Brown’s summer 2016 internship solidified her appreciation for the Honors College. As the only USC intern at Arizona Chemical in Savannah, she compared notes with other interns. “Not everyone was exposed to self-directed research and grant writing. Not everyone was taught to draw their own conclusions instead of taking information at face value,” Brown says. “Not everyone has nearly unlimited access to some of the greatest minds in their field. If I had to do it again, I would choose no other place.”
MORGAN LUNDY
Christian Brown
CHRISTIAN BROWN Christian Brown confesses her mind is always changing when it comes to her future career, but one thing she knows for sure: She loves her major. “Biochemistry and molecular biology seek to explain overarching biological patterns through the lens of chemistry. It evaluates the individual building blocks of life, how they fit together and the amazingly well-designed picture they create,” she says. Brown is one of eight USC students to win a 2016 NOAA Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship, which provides $28,000 for tuition, plus summer internships at NOAA labs across the country, and travel. Forty-two USC students have been named Hollings Scholars to date. “I almost couldn’t believe I had won, and as a result, I held off telling my family for a few days,” says Brown, an Anderson,
Morgan Lundy knows the world is both big and small and that the best way for her to experience it is through language, literature and being there. After a semester at the University of Warwick in England and this past summer in Beijing, where she taught English language skills to kindergarteners, the Fulbright Finalist is back on campus this fall, pursuing concurrent master’s degrees in English and information and library science. Then in January it’s back east — way east — to Malaysia, where she’ll spend her Fulbright year as an English Teaching Assistant. “I couldn’t be more excited to return to a very different culture in Asia and keep doing what I have fallen in love with — creating language learning experiences for incredible students, while learning all I can about a part of the world so different from the U.S. that we often have so many misconceptions about,” she says. A Dacula, Ga., native, Lundy logged more than 800 hours of community service at USC, where she helped coordinate flood relief efforts, led Alternative Break Service Trips and worked as an AmeriCorps Summer associate at the Richland Library.
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GRANT FLEMING
Morgan Lundy
“Library science is absolutely the intersection of my passions. The field allows me to use the transformative power of literature as a tool to equip others with resources and the tools to succeed,” she says. “Responsibly making information accessible to all demographics drew me to the career.” Lundy is one of 27 Fulbright Finalists USC has produced since 2012. While a full year in Malaysia means she will have more time with students, Lundy also is excited about other things the country will teach her. “I’m looking forward to maybe learning new dancing, cooking or language skills from a diverse and mixed culture,” she says. A McNair Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa, Lundy isn’t sure if her dream career lies with children’s librarianship or academic libraries. The first would allow her to plan programs that use children’s literature as “an introduction to society in a social justice-minded way.” The second would require her literary background to focus on research and preservation. “It’s the same core values, just in very a different setting.”
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Grant Fleming speaks American English just fine, but it’s Mandarin Chinese he’s after. Five semesters of study in the U.S. plus eight weeks in Taiwan haven’t given him the fluency he wants. He should be singing a different song this time next year, though. Thanks to the Boren Scholarship, Fleming is spending his senior year at Shanghai University and is scheduled to graduate with a BARSC degree from the SCHC in 2017. He is USC’s 45th Boren Scholar, one of 270 scholars named this year from among 1,500 applicants in the nation. “I could not quite wrap my head around it all,” the Cary, N.C., native says. Valued at $20,000, the Boren Scholarship is sponsored by the National Security Education Program to “build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills.” In return, scholars agree to work for the federal government for at least one year. Fleming is cool with that. He wants to work in national security, using statistics and data science to “help individuals and organizations make more prudent decisions and produce the most good for the public.” He’s already co-authored two papers about climate service needs for Senegal communities and written a 126-page thesis about Chinese aid, investment and trade within sub-Saharan Africa. A recipient of the Ceny Walker Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Fleming says his time in Shanghai will speed him on his way to a successful future. “While I can listen and follow commands fairly well, expressing myself in the spoken language is something I still cannot do adequately,” he says. “More long-term immersion is the key to getting to a conversational level of skill, and an academic year spent studying Chinese in Shanghai will go a long way toward that.” Then, he adds, he wants to learn Arabic.
Grant Fleming
Ryan Geiser
RYAN GEISER Ryan Geiser is back on campus in Columbia, but he’s back as the 47th Goldwater Scholar from the Honors College. Awarded to sophomores and juniors studying natural sciences, math and engineering who plan careers in research and/or college-level teaching, the Goldwater provides $7,500 for tuition, fees, books, room and board. Geiser, a biomedical engineering major with a minor in chemistry, will pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in biomedical engineering after he graduates in 2017. He was sitting in his anatomy class — too anxious to pay attention — when he learned he’d won. “I quietly rushed out of the room to call and text my principal investigator, parents and siblings,” he recalled. “Then I began composing emails thanking everyone who assisted me through the application process, as I know I would not have received this award without their invaluable advice, edits and encouragement.” One of 257 chosen from more than 1,200 applicants, Geiser says the “real value” of the scholarship comes from
the work to get it. The interviews, writing and committee meetings required “deep personal reflection” that will help him with future applications. That future includes conducting research that integrates medical technologies and procedures to engineer better health. Other Goldwater benefits include an invitation to be an associate member of Sigma Xi, an Honors Society of research leaders around the world, and reassurance that research is the right career for him. “This scholarship has given me confidence that I’ll be capable of working in this field,” he says. “This award has opened doors I didn’t know were there. I’m learning these opened doors are everlasting, and I’m eager to see where the Goldwater will lead me next.” A native of West Chester, Ohio, Geiser was a senator in Student Government, president of the Biomedical Engineering Society and a Carolina Creed ambassador in the Carolina Judicial Council. He’s worked in Alzheimer’s research and at the Centers for Disease Control and Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. An Eagle Scout and treasurer of the Methodist Student Network, Geiser says the SCHC has imparted lifelong lessons. “I’ve learned no matter how many accolades and awards someone receives, it is what you do to make a positive impact that matters,” he says. “I believe that much of someone’s character is built outside the classroom, applying what they know to their surrounding area and personal connections. “Classes don’t teach how to lend money to a friend, how to donate to charities like the Carolina Closet or how to spend time downtown feeding the less fortunate at the Washington Street Soup Cellar. I believe the SCHC provides an environment that has expanded my knowledge on these issues, allowing me to critically analyze how my actions are impacting the world around me.”
SCHC students are supported throughout the application process for national scholarships and fellowships by the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs. For a complete list of USC’s national award winners this year, go to sc.edu/ofsp/awards.shtml.
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Building a world-class city Teresa Wilson was never one of those kids itching to leave town. She liked growing up in Irmo. She chose the Honors College for undergraduate studies and the USC School of Law afterward. Now, as she watches Columbia literally rising all around her, she knows her decision to stay home was right for her. “There were opportunities for me at various times to go on a different path, but I really have enjoyed the changes and growth I’ve seen here,” said Wilson, Columbia’s city manager since January 2013. “It is very fulfilling to touch that growth and help run and grow a city and be part of this tremendous experience of transforming it.” Columbia’s motto is “Together we will build a world-class city,” and as Main Street’s renaissance marches northward, a baseball stadium opens at Bull Street and apartments for students and professionals reach skyward, it’s clear the capital city’s time is now. For Wilson, ’96 English, making sure services keep up with the growth is critical. So is not letting less fortunate neighborhoods slide. “They want to grow just as much,” she said, noting she attends community meetings weekly if not daily. The personalities she works with — from citizens and employees to the council members who set policy — have taught her valuable people skills. “In the work I do, the answer is often no, but I try to find alternate solutions,” she says. “Often it’s not what you’ve done but how you treat people and how you communicate. I really put a lot of emphasis on relationship building and problem solving.”
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Those skills served her well last October when floods destroyed homes, businesses and roads in Columbia. Working around the clock, Wilson and her staff made sure residents stayed safe. Conserving the city’s water source was paramount, and knowing the flood was coming, she planned ahead to not lose water. “Sometimes you get criticized for overkill, but I err on the side of caution,” she says. “It was hard to be under a systemwide boil water advisory, but the reality is we never lost water. Never.” While “resiliency” is her word for Columbians during the catastrophe, Wilson was privately gratified to learn her managing skills worked. Her philosophy? Don’t micromanage. “I let them work. I know I have to make decisions and I don’t shy away from doing that, but the flood reiterated for me how important it is to own my management and leadership style, which is to work as a team,” she says. Only the earlier search for a new police chief was as challenging. With Skip Holbrook hired in 2014 and flood relief efforts continuing, Wilson is now refocusing on Columbia’s other needs. Earlier she’d secured tens of millions in grant dollars for public safety and leveraged $425,000 in federal funds to create more than $6.1 million in private downtown investment. City managers are “worker bees who navigate big staffs and big budgets and try to make citizens and policy makers proud,” she says. While numerous awards have come to her and Columbia since stepping into the city manager’s office, Wilson says the true reward is watching a vibrant city flourish. “I’m really driven to see a lot of things we’ve been working on happen. I do believe it is happening right in front of our eyes.”
Teresa Wilson manages approximately 2,300 employees. Here, she guides intern Allison Sansone, a USC journalism major.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CAPITAL GAINS Calling herself “homegrown,” Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson believes in capitalizing on obvious opportunities. Columbia has many, and she makes sure she points them out to interns at City Hall. “I purposefully tell them, ‘The sky’s the limit and do what you want to do, but don’t blow off an experience that might be right in front of you just because you might be here, or your parents are here, and you want to get away,” says Wilson, ’96 English, ’99 law. “Give
“We were all working off adrenalin and a lot of faith. We
yourself that opportunity to see how having that support system
weren’t even thinking about how tired we were,” says Wilson
around you and taking advantage of what’s right here might be
of the October 2015 flooding. Here, she discusses the City of
one of the best things you ever did.”
Columbia’s partnership with the S.C. National Guard to repair the Columbia canal during the flood recovery. Photo courtesy of the City of Columbia.
A single mother, Wilson appreciates having her parents nearby to help with Alex, her preteen daughter, particularly during 12-hour days when City Council meets and round-the-clock emergencies like last year’s flood. “I want her to have opportunities like I had,” she says, “and being able to influence those opportunities, not just for her but for all children, makes this job beneficial.”
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New assistant deans, adviser announced New staff appointments at SCHC CHAPPELL SUBER WILSON
Chappell Suber Wilson
As the Honors College grows, administration grows — and changes — too. Chappell Suber Wilson, who grew the college’s philanthropy from $80,000 a year to $2 million-plus annually, is the new, and first, assistant dean of administration and external relations. In her new position, Wilson will work with strategic planning and implementation to ensure the long-term health of the college, guide areas of the college that interact with external audiences, direct marketing and communication efforts and manage endowment spending and scholarship awards. Wilson is a 1999 marketing and management graduate of SCHC and earned an M.B.A. from USC’s Moore School of Business.
NOVELLA FORTNER BESKID
Novella Fortner Beskid
The SCHC’s other new assistant dean is Novella Fortner Beskid. Director of USC’s Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs since it was established in 1994, Beskid and her staff have worked closely with the Honors College for years. Beskid’s new duties include serving as part of the college’s leadership, with a continued focus on the recruitment and mentoring of honors students as national fellowship applicants. The OFSP, which merged with the Honors College last spring, is the institutional home for the Carolina, Carolina Stamps, McNair, Hamilton and Horseshoe Scholars. Beskid holds a bachelor’s degree in English and sociology from Wofford College and an M.Ed. in student personnel services and higher education from USC.
ZACK LORD Zack Lord has joined SCHC as academic adviser and event coordinator. Lord is in the USC College of Education’s graduate program in higher education and is a graduate of the Honors Program at Belmont University, where he majored in business administration. A native of Douglas, Ga., Lord volunteered at Camp One Fifty-One, a nonprofit that serves families by repairing their homes. Zack Lord
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‘Wholly original’ Hamlet adaptation wins Mould thesis award Alexander Jones, ’16 English, is the recipient of the 2016 William A. Mould Outstanding Senior Thesis Award. In “Hamlet from Stage to Screen,” Jones restructured Shakespeare’s tragedy Quentin Tarantino-style, retelling the story from the perspectives of different characters. Along with writing a 130-page adaptation, Jones wrote From left: Weber Pike, Morgan Lundy, Riley Brady
THREE SENIORS CAPTURE TOP HONORS Three of the university’s top four senior honors were awarded to Honors College students. Riley Brady, ’16 marine science, and Weber Pike, ’16 biomedical engineering, received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Morgan Lundy, ’16 English, received the Steven N. Swanger Leadership Award. Brady and Lundy are McNair Scholars; Pike is a Hamilton Scholar. Brady is a 2013 Hollings Scholar, a 2014 Magellan Scholar, a 2015 Goldwater Scholar and a 2016 DOE Computational Sciences Fellow. He was director of education for Green Greeks and co-founder of Walk Home Cocky, a campus safety initiative. He also was a University 101 peer leader, Magellan Ambassador for the Office of Undergraduate Research and student mentor for Buddies Beyond Borders. Brady also was USC’s 2014 Homecoming King. Lundy, a Fulbright Finalist and member of Phi Beta Kappa, volunteered throughout her USC career with AmeriCorps Summer Service and in the Leadership and Service Center. She was Alternative Breaks student coordinator and site leader for many trips, a social justice dialogues facilitator and president and treasurer of INK!, the undergraduate English association. After working as a kindergarten teacher this summer, she’s back at USC pursuing master’s degrees in English and library and information science. Pike is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Gamecock baseball team, playing in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, where he helped organize community service activities for all student-athletes. He made the All-SEC Honor Roll all four years and was treasurer for Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society.
production notes and a critical detailed analysis of each character. “The writing is superb, the analysis penetrating, thorough and wholly original,” wrote English professor David Miller in his nomination letter. Describing it as both “critical and creative,” Miller upheld Jones’ thesis as “the single most impressive piece of work I have seen from a college undergraduate. It is far superior to most master’s theses I have seen.” Jones, who played Hamlet at Cardinal Newman High School in Columbia, had been curious about what a film version of the play would be like, one that didn’t focus specifically on the main character. The character’s need for revenge and the tragic consequences that result for him and others prove Shakespeare’s genius for illustrating a timeless message, Jones said. “The idea that vengeance is not the way to pursue justice, and proper justice is more about mercy and forgiveness than revenge — I do think that’s present as a theme in the work.” Robert Richmond, associate chair, co-artistic director and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Theatre and Dance, was Jones’ second reader. “As a theatre practitioner it was very inspiring to read his ability to conceptualize such a well-known play in a brilliantly abstract way.” The Mould Thesis Award was started in 2015 by the family of the late William A. Mould, a founding dean of the SCHC. Recipients receive $1,000. The award recognizes a senior whose work will make a significant impact in his or her field of study and larger community. Jones, who was performing in “The Merry Wives of Windsor” with the South Carolina Shakespeare Company and finishing his thesis at the same time, is now writing a novel. He’s contemplating graduate school, perhaps to study linguistics.
Alexander Jones
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CATCHING UP WITH MARSHALL WINN, ’74 Marshall Winn doesn’t like speculating about what might have
That means he knows to check several sources before accept-
happened if he’d taken that full ride to Harvard instead of
ing something written as true, a critical practice for any coun-
accepting the one to the South Carolina Honors College.
selor at law.
For one thing, he might not have married Jeannette, his high
These days Winn stays busy advocating for clients, serving
school girlfriend. For another, he wouldn’t have had English
on numerous upstate boards, singing baritone with the Green-
with James Meriwether, French with Bill Mould, history with
ville Chorale and supporting the Honors College financially
Bob Patterson or philosophy with Foster Tait. Those stimulat-
and with his time as chair of its partnership board.
ing courses, taught by some of USC’s most creative, exacting professors, did exactly what the college intended — kept a
“When you come out of the Honors College, you have had tremendous advantages given to you that were not
young promising South Carolinian in state to become a con-
inexpensive, especially if you received a scholarship. The least
tributing citizen.
you should do is pay that forward, particularly if you’re lucky
“The most important thing the Honors College did for me
enough to make a little money down the line,” he says. “You
was prepare me to live a very interesting and reasonably well-
should pay it back with what I like to say, interest. If you can,
examined life,” said Winn, ’74 English, a lauded Greenville trial
endow it, so it will be forever. Be generous with your money
and business lawyer who grew up in Spartanburg. When he
because somebody else was generous with his or her money
enrolled in Harvard Law School in 1979, he was gratified to find
and made it possible for you.”
he was just as prepared as his classmates from better-known schools across the country. In some cases, even better. Take film — French and otherwise. Thanks to Mould, Winn
Good at: Interesting conversation. It’s interesting to me, at least.
had acted in French plays, watched French movies, listened to
Bad at: Doing everything my wife wants me to do.
radio broadcasts from Montreal, studied a Deux Chevaux. After
For fun: Bicycling, either solo or tandem with my wife. Often
graduation, during the five years he worked for the SCHC’s admissions office, Winn watched movie after movie — all free — of American New Wave and foreign films in the Russell House. “There I was, getting this fabulous cinematic education,”
in Europe! Favorite movie: “La Grande Illusion,” a 1937 French movie by Jean Renoir Most people don’t know: My wife and I are master naturalists
he recalled, noting the film series was organized by two SCHC
(and have certificates from Clemson to prove it!) and do lots
students. “I was much better educated when I went to Harvard
of hiking in the S.C. mountains.
when it came to movies. They were playing things I’d already seen.” It may have been the shocking B-minus on a paper for Patterson’s History 101 honors course — “I was horrified” —
Best SCHC memory: When Bert Dillon, who taught freshman English, handed me back my first paper and it had an A on it. He said, ‘Mr. Winn, you are an excellent writer. You do not have to worry.’ That gave me a little confidence.
that helped Winn most. “It was the most challenging class I’ve
Advice for SCHC students: Get outside what you think is your
taken anywhere at any level,” he says. “He used the Socratic
field of interest. Who knows where it will lead? It might lead
Method the way it’s supposed to be used. I ended up pulling
nowhere, which is fine.
an A out of that class, but it was hard — really, really hard. But I learned to think like a historian.”
16 / S O UTH C A R O L IN A H ONORS COLLEGE
Donor Honor Roll Students at the South Carolina Honors College continue to thrive because of the generous support of alumni and friends. $25,000 and above Mr. and Mrs. Aaron L. Hark Mr. Robert H. Hill $5,000 to $24,999 Dr. and Mrs. Paul M. Aitchison Biogen Idec Foundation Dr. Judith Farley Hoffman and Dr. Thomas Hoffman
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Rex
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Brunelli
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Timmons Jr.
Ms. Julia C. Royall and Mr. Brian G. Kahin
Mr. and Mrs. William C. Burns III
Dr. Lee Morrell Royall
Mr. and Mrs. Steven Charles Burritt
$1,000 to $1,800 Mr. and Mrs. David E. Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Neil Sansbury
Mr. and Mrs. William Walker McAnulty
Dr. Thomas Daniel Silvester, MD
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Bailey Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Brian K. Nunnally
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan M. Skvoretz
Dr. Gretchen Van Der Veer and Mr. J. Steven Beckham
Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Smoak
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Scott Bingham Mr. Stephen M. Brown
Mr. and Mrs. John G. Taylor Mr. and Mrs. Paul Zimmermann
Anonymous
Mr. James R. Clark
$100 to $999
Dr. Christopher T. Bardi
Ms. Pamela Whitt Cobb
Mrs. Beth Benko and Mr. James L. Atkinson
Dr. Frankie Crain-Ruf
The Honorable Frank R. Addy Jr. and Mrs. Addy
Dr. E. Jeffrey Dinkins
Dr. and Mrs. Francis J. Dannerbeck
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Field
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Engoren
Ms. Catherine Edwards Heigel
Dr. P.C. Herrmann and Mr. S.R. Olson
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Hibbard
The Reverend James C. Howell and Mrs. Howell
Ms. Yu Hui ZhouMcGovern and Mr. John McGovern Dr. and Mrs. William M. Rambo Jr.
Mr. David James Ensor
Dr. and Mrs. Charles R. Tatum
Mr. and Mrs. Eldon A. Bailey
Mr. and Mrs. Alvaro Lopez
Mr. and Mrs. Theadore Ellefson
Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Brown
KPMG Foundation
Mr. Aaron W. Knowlton
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Alan Bradley
Mr. and Mrs. Mark W. Ranney
Mr. and Mrs. Barry L. Saunders
$1,801 to $4,999
Ms. Judith A. Frost and Mr. Donald F. Elias
LTG and Mrs. William P. Tangney
Ms. Dorcas J. Alexander
The Honorable Thadeous H. Westbrook III and Mrs. Westbrook
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony E. Bowser
Johnson & Johnson
Dr. Susan Alexander Ms. A. Lorraine Aun and Dr. Pierre H. Barakat The Ayco Charitable Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Todd D. Bailey Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Baker Mr. Matthew S. Ballard
Mr. Lawrence A. Laddaga
Dr. Kay Banks
Mr. and Mrs. S. Joseph Moore
BASF Corporation
Ms. Julia Blair Barber
Dr. Joseph C. Muller
Ms. Carolyn Michelle Bell
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Ng
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Adam Bowman
Mr. and Mrs. James P. Byrd Mr. Joby C. Castine Ms. Lori Clos Fisher and Mr. Edmond G. Fisher III Mr. and Mrs. David M. Cohn Mr. G. Lee Cole Jr. The Columbus Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Harold W. Cousar Mrs. Mary McElaney and Mr. Hanson B. Cowan Mr. Charles Stewart Cromer Ms. Gloria Dale Cummins Ms. Patricia K. Davidson Deloitte & Touche Foundation Dr. Caroline Hoffman Dilworth Ms. Gwendolyn T. DrakeÂford Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Dumiak Jr.
EQT Foundation Dr. Elaine Conradi Eustis and Dr. T. Chadwick Eustis Dr. and Mrs. Albert G. Fedalei Dr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Fleming Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Bruce Floyd The Fluor Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Ian S. Ford Ms. Susan McBurney and Mr. Michael S. Gadd The GE Foundation Dr. and Mrs. George F. Geils Jr. Ms. Katrinna T. Gladden Dr. Heather R. Gleaton and Mr. Ralph L. Gleaton II Ms. Teresa deBorde Glenn and Mr. Terrell Lyles Glenn Jr. Ms. Sarah Elizabeth Gluek and Mr. Gregory R. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Phillip J. Goodman Ms. Mallory Amons Goodrich Mr. and Mrs. David Evans Green
A special thank you to the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation for their substantial support of the McNair Scholars Scholarship Program.
U NI V E RS I T Y O F S O U TH C A R O LIN A
/ 17
Mr. and Mrs. Porter W. Gregory III
Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Kingsmore Jr.
Mr. Thomas P. Guild erson
Mr. Andrew T. Newman
SCANA Services Inc.
Dr. Theresa Knoepp and Dr. Louis F. Knoepp
Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Benjamin Nicholson Jr.
Ms. Kristen M. Little and Mr. Thomas J.G. Scott
Dr. and Mrs. Richard Duncan Hardin
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kobal
Dr. and Mrs. Herbert B. Niestat
Mrs. Holly Elizabeth Selvig
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Hardwick Jr.
Mr. Wade S. Kolb III
Mr. William S. Norton
Dr. Harry F. Sharp III
Dr. Maribeth B. Kowalski and Mr. Paul R. Kowalski
Mr. and Mrs. Eric O'Brien
Mr. and Mrs. Reid T. Sherard
Dr. Maja Osterman
Mr. and Mrs. Whit Lanier
Mr. and Mrs. Michael John Owens
Mr. and Mrs. Manishmohan Madhusudan Shrivastava
Ms. Sherre L. Harrington Mr. Charles K. Harrison Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John G. Haslup Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey M. Hendrick
Dr. Amy Y. Lawton and Dr. Boyce M. Lawton III
Dr. and Mrs. Hudnall W. Paschal
Mrs. Keri Harrison Shull Ms. M. Alicia Sikes
Ms. Kathleen A. Layden
Ms. Beverly A. Pascoe
Ms. Michele Silva
Ms. Susan Lee Hitchcock
Mr. and Mrs. Deryl D. Leaphart
Mr. Daniel Stephen Peach
Mr. and Mrs. A. Richard Silver
Mr. and Mrs. Kaz Holley
Dr. Julie Wilson Lemmon and Mr. Jeremy R. Lemmon
Mr. and Mrs. Francis E. Pennisi
Dr. Kimberly Simmons
Dr. and Mrs. Frederick B. Piellusch
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Slovensky
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Pietras
Dr. and Mrs. A. Emerson Smith Jr.
Mr. Michael Pietras
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip H. Smith
Mr. Thomas W. Holmes Jr. Ms. Kathryn Gwen Hope Mr. Thomas J. Horan The Honorable Jenny A. Horne and Mr. Marc F. Horne Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Hurt Ms. Beth Hutchison IBM Corporation Matching Grants Program Dr. and Mrs. David Isenhower Dr. and Mrs. James P. Jamison Mr. and Mrs. Jon Jaques Mr. and Mrs. Donald Jodrey Ms. Julye Johns Ms. Betsy Johnson Ms. Katelyn Darby Johnson The Reverend and Mrs. Norman Ernest Jones, Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. O. William Lever Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Litwin Mr. and Mrs. Denny P. Major Dr. Courtney H. Mann and Mr. Scott G. Mann Ms. Sara Ravold Mareno Mr. and Mrs. Alan R. Marshall Dr. Mary Anne and Mr. Rajiv Mashruwala Mrs. Maxine D. McIntyre Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. McKinney Mr. and Mrs. Paul D. McLaughlin Ms. Lucia Savage McWilliams Dr. and Mrs. James F. Metherell
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Plyler Sr. Mr. and Mrs. William Polleys Dr. Jennifer Kinwa Poon PriceWaterhouse Coopers Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Darrell R. Printz The Procter & Gamble Fund Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Pulte Dr. and Mrs. Robert Frederick Rafoth Mr. and Mrs. J. Scott Ravan
Ms. Tracy L. Skipper
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Andrew Smoak Mr. William D. Smyth Dr. Erin Dunn Snyder and Mr. Adam R. Snyder Ms. Sarah P. Spruill and Mr. Timothy Hudgens Mrs. Stephanie Sonnenfeld Stinn Dr. Randall W. Stowe Ms. Kerry G. Stubbs and Mr. Tyson Neil Boheler Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sullivan Dr. and Mrs. Sanjay Muleshchandra Swami
Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Mills Jr.
Ms. Mary Lucy Reep and Mr. Andrew C. Foster
Mr. James E. Monogan III
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Gregory Reitler
Dr. and Mrs. James C. Karegeannes
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Paul Mooney
Robert D. Robbins Attorney at Law LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Thiergartner
Dr. Danne G. Kasparek and Dr. Gene A. Kasparek
Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan B. Morris
Dr. and Mrs. O. Adetola Roberts
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest T. Thompson III
Mr. and Mrs. Eric C. Mostoller
Roper Mountain Animal Hospital
Mr. and Mrs. John Thompson
Prof. Lucille P. Mould
Ms. Donna K. Roper
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Musgrave
Ms. Susan M. Carsten sen and Dr. Edward Munn Sanchez
Mrs. Lynn E. PruittTimko and Mr. Joseph M. Timko
Mr. and Mrs. G.L. Kalinauskas Dr. Prashanth Jayaram Kamath
Ms. Robyn Kirsten Kelly Dr. Richard M. Kennedy III and Mrs. Catherine H. Kennedy
18 / S OUTH C A R O LIN A H ONORS COLLEGE
Dr. and Mrs. Edward J. Swift Jr. Mrs. Susan C. Tarnower
Ms. Christy A. Tinnes and Mr. Frank Volpe Dr. Brian C. Turner Dr. and Mrs. William H. Turnley Jr. Ms. Jamie M. Wlodinguer and Mr. Brian S. Uholik Mr. and Mrs. John R. Wagner Mr. and Mrs. David M. Washer Ms. Rachel L. Waterhouse and Mr. James Selleh Dr. Leigh Watson Wells Fargo Matching Gifts Program Mr. and Mrs. Jason E. Westmeyer The Honorable Mack I. Whittle Jr. and Mrs. Whittle Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Williams Jr. Mr. Adam T. Wilson Jeannette and Marshall Winn Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Cain Woodlee Mr. and Mrs. Brian A. Zondlak
CAROLINA SCHOLARS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM The Honors College would also like to thank the following donors who supported our students with gifts to the Carolina Scholar Scholarship Program.
$50,000 and above Anonymous
Mr. and Mrs. Lee S. Dixon
Stamps Family Charitable Foundation Inc.
Ernst & Young Foundation
Jeannette and Marshall Winn
Mr. and Mrs. H. Scott Fogler
$10,000 to $49,999
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Fortson Jr.
Ms. Randi A. Berry Bill and Connie Timmons Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Griffin
Estate of Sol Blatt Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin A. Hall
Estate of William B. Douglas
Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Hogue
Mr. and Mrs. Jack S. Graybill
Colonel and Mrs. D. Mark Husband
R.C. McEntire & Company Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Matt McGinley
$1,000 to $9,999
Mrs. Chalmers W. Poston
Mr. and Mrs. James Harold Addison Bank of America Mr. and Mrs. Duncan F. Breckenridge Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William T. Cassels Jr. Ms. Lori Clos Fisher and Mr. Edmond G. Fisher III The David W. & Susan G. Robinson Foundation
$100 to $999 Dr. and Mrs. James Russell Banks
You can make a gift to the Honors College online at; schc.sc.edu (click on “Donate”) —Thank you!
Mr. and Mrs. James S. Beskid Mr. and Mrs. Steven Charles Burritt Mr. and Mrs. James S. Guignard Mrs. Colleen Parry Jones Mrs. Bobbi C. Kennedy Dr. and Mrs. Harry S. Miley Ms. Kathy Lei Niu
Honors College Dean’s Circle
Mrs. Mitzie F. Trotter Chappell and Marty Wilson
Dr. Susan P. Shimp and Mr. John A. Shimp The Reverend Bradley D. Smith and Mrs. Smith
Honors College Dean’s Circle members have
Mr. and Mrs. M. Jeffrey Vinzani
each given more than $1,000 this year. This
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Vlahoplus
special giving society allows alumni and
Mr. and Mrs. John Watkins
friends to support programs and scholarships at the Honors College through annual gifts of $1,000 or more. Annual gifts are essential to the growth and success of the Honors College because your donation will be applied toward
Thank you to the 372 alumni, businesses and friends who contributed $317,000 to the South Carolina Honors College to provide scholarships, research stipends and course enhancements. And thank you to the 45 donors who contributed $769,000 to scholarships in the Carolina Scholars program. It is your generosity that allows us to provide an exceptional educational experience for Honors College students.
an area of greatest need. Donors who contribute $1,801-plus annually are granted membership in the President’s Society. Donors who give at any level for three or more consecutive years are members of the Carolina Circle. For more infor-
These lists include donors of $100 or more for the 2016 fiscal year (July 1,
mation on these and other giving societies,
2015–June 30, 2016). Every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy.
visit giving.sc.edu/donorcommunications
For a complete list of donors, visit schc.sc.edu/support/donor-honor-
andstewardship/givingsocieties.aspx and
roll-0.
schc.sc.edu/support/deans-circle.
U NI V E RS I T Y O F S O U TH C A R O LIN A
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Alumni News 1970
1980
Nathan C. Goldman, ’72, a practicing attorney, began a new career in 2013 as professor of government at College of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas. His most recent book of poems and essays is Above History, Beyond Time: Verse Essays on the Jewish Experience.
Terry Dugas, ’75, recently accepted the position of general manager at Wyoming PBS, the Wyoming statewide PBS network. Darline Cellier Waring, ’76, teaches developmental math at Trident Technical College in Charleston. Ruth Simpson Welesko, ’76, is a critical care pharmacist working with the intensive care unit at an academic/tertiary care hospital in Macon, Ga.
20 / S O UTH C A R O LIN A H ONORS COLLEGE
Betsy Platte Johnson, ’80, is the office managing shareholder for the Los Angeles office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart P.C.
Thomas Wilkinson, ’80, teaches high school English and social studies in Dusseldorf, Germany, where he coached cricket for three years and directed theater for two years. David Corvette, ’82, was recently recognized for volunteering 2,000 hours as a scuba diver at the S.C. Aquarium in Charleston. He helps maintain the Great Ocean Tank, the aquarium’s largest exhibit. Vicki Grooms, ’82, joined CharlotteMecklenburg Schools last fall as a media relations specialist. She previously
worked for The Sun News and Forbes Inc. Stephen Hibbard, ’83, is a senior litigation partner at Jones Day, a global law firm. He focuses on financial litigation and has represented clients in every major financial crisis of the past 30 years. He serves on the Honors College Partnership Board, is vice chairman of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and serves on the board of Lawyers Without Borders. Steve and his wife live in Tiburon, Calif., with their two young sons. Carl Pierce II, ’83, graduated from the USC School of Law and is a founding partner in the Charleston law firm of Pierce, Herns, Sloan & Wilson LLC. He was named to Best Lawyers in America in the Defense of Mass Torts in 2010 and each year since. Gregory Queen, ’83, lives in Raleigh, where he is vice president and group region manager for Realty Services at PNC Bank. He and his wife, Wanda, have two children and four grandchildren.
GG Howard, ’84, is an attorney at Barrickman, Allred, and Young PC in Decatur, Ga. Cheri Fountain Wiles, ’84, married her kindergarten sweetheart in 2015, after getting reacquainted through Facebook. She lives in Charleston, where she is a self-employed copywriter. Sandra Dunn, ’85, lives in Hampton Bays, N.Y., was appointed to the N.Y. State Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 2013 and received the Lawrence A. Timpa Award for Professional Service from the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. She co-edited and cotranslated a bilingual anthology of Spanish language memoirs, Latinas Write/Escriben, in 2011. Doug Keith, ’85, is celebrating his company’s ninth anniversary. Future Research Consulting provides market research consulting services to global research companies and brands. He lives in Doylestown, Pa.
Karyn Lawson Warner, ’86, is leading a literacy initiative funded by Mark Zuckerberg’s and Priscilla Chan’s foundation, Startup Education, to address the digital divide affecting students in the San Francisco Bay area. The program trains teachers in best practices for integrating technology in the classroom.
Christopher Hardy, ’87, was promoted to director of engineering at Kigre Inc., a laser transmitter and specialty laser glass manufacturer on Hilton Head Island. Elizabeth Lucas Reynolds, ’87, and her husband, Michael, enjoyed a nearly three-week trip around the world in 2014. Each carried only a backpack and made stops in Taipei, Hiroshima, Ho Chi Minh City, St. Petersburg, Athens and Paris. They live in Jacksonville, Fla.
William D. Anderson III, ’89, was recently named chief medical officer for Palmetto Health-USC Medical Group in Columbia.
Gene Godbold, ’89, develops software to study antibiotic resistance and contributes to epidemiological projects. For the next 18 months he will be the research coordinator for a biothreat reduction program in Armenia. Leighton McLendon, ’89, lives in Columbia and works for AgFirst Farm Credit Bank as a vice president for capital markets. He and his wife, Allison, have two children. Ronald Odom III, ’89, lives in North Augusta and works as a plant chemist in the research and development sector of Graniteville Specialty Fabrics.
1990 Marty McGirt Hucks, ’90, is assistant professor of nursing at Francis Marion University in Florence and a family nurse practitioner at Internal Medicine Specialists.
Casey Smith, ’91, oversees all slot machines in Florida as chief of slot operations for the state’s Department of Business & Professional Regulation. He lives near Ft. Lauderdale. Daniel Hayes, ’94, recently had a book published by the South Carolina Bar. “Medicare Issues in Liability and Workers’ Compensation Settlements” was written to guide legal prac titioners through analyses of how to best consider Medicare’s interests when resolving claims involving medical exposure. He lives in Asheville. Zac Moore, ’94, started a socially responsible trading newsletter, Green Hedges, for investors who want to move money to capacitybuilding endeavors in social movements and local economic or creative pursuits. He lives in Savannah.
Laura Hall, ’96, has spent the past five years as the U.S. Department of State’s director of Middle East and North Africa assistance, helping the government respond to the challenges and opportunities in those regions.
Steven Burritt, ’96, is program director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving S.C. in Lexington and serves on the USC Truman Scholarship Committee. Paul Segars, ’96, is an associate professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at Duke University in Durham.
Kim Buckner Land, ’98, was named 2016 Distinguished Young Alumna by the Moore School of Business for her work in marketing and community service. She is currently an instructor of marketing at the Johnson College of Business and Economics, USC Upstate.
has also recognized her as a recipient of its “40 under 40” Atlanta’s Rising Business and Community Leaders Award. And she was named one of five Rising Star Award finalists from around the globe by the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, an international nonprofit organization devoted to enhancing the status of women in the insolvency and restructuring profession. Adam Snyder, ’99, works for The Nature Conservancy in Birmingham, Ala., where he serves as the conservation campaigns manager.
2000
Toby Jenkins-Henry, ’97, returned to Columbia from Hawaii and is an assistant professor of higher education at Georgia Southern University, focusing on unity of culture. In 2013, the USC Alumni Association honored her with the Outstanding Black Alumni Award. Russell Cann, ’98, is taking time off after owning several businesses to volunteer with the Boy Scouts’ National Foundation, Young President’s Organization and Lions Clubs International in Columbia.
Alison Elko Franklin, ’99, is an attorney with the Atlanta office of Dentons, a global law firm. The Daily Report recently honored Alison as “On the Rise,” a selection of 25 Georgia lawyers under the age of 40 who are making a difference in the community. The Atlanta Business Chronicle
Christi Boyes Tillery, ’00, is director of development for civil and environ mental engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Adam, and two young sons. Vanessa Perlman, ’01, recently launched Mockingbird Travel, an international tour company specializing
We would like to include you in the Alumni News section. Please send us your news or update your contact information at schc.sc.edu. Search “Keep In Touch.”
✈ Still want to study abroad? We’re working on alumni small-group travel for May 2017. Watch for more details via SCHC communications. Contact Beth Hutchison at beth.h@sc.edu.
U NI V E RS I T Y O F S O U T H C A R O LIN A
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in small-group, guided tours to less-traveled destinations. It focuses on sustainable travel and global health programs. She practiced law in Atlanta for several years and continues to practice part time. Patrick Pope, ’02, completed his doctor of music from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in December 2015. This year he played solo organ recitals at New York’s Saint Patrick’s Cathe dral, Washington, D.C.’s National Cathe dral and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston. He is organist and director of music at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Charlotte. Michelle Parsons Kelley, ’04, was selected as the 2015 Outstanding Young Alumni of the Year by USC’s My Carolina Alumni Association and was named a 2016 Top 20 Under 40 Midlands Professional by The State newspaper. She was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley to the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Review Committee. Hilary Schramm Culbertson, ’05, moved to Hartsville with her husband, Graham Culbertson, ’05. He joined the English faculty at the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Math, and she is working in public relations at Sonoco.
22 / S O UTH C A R O L IN A H ONORS COLLEGE
Ross Nesbit, ’05, moved to the Knoxville area in July 2014 after completing his nephrology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He works at UT Medical Center as a private practice nephrologist and helps train internal medicine residents in nephrology. He and his wife, Melissa (Pharm.D.), have two daughters.
Victoria ‘Tori’ Boozer, ’06, is office manager for Unforgettable Fine Jewelry in Columbia. JuLee Leopard Colner, ’06, works at the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program, an HIV treatment and global health systems program, at Columbia University in New York. She lives in Brooklyn.
Zach Ellard, ’06, is regional general manager for Zipcar in Atlanta.
Jessica Foster, ’06, is a consultant at Health Management Associates and lives in Silver Spring, Md. Holly Bowdre Glover, ’06, completed medical school at USC School of Medicine and a dermatology residency at the Medical College of Georgia. She practices at Grand Strand Dermatology in Myrtle Beach. In 2010 she married fellow USC School of Medicine classmate Andrew Glover. They have two children. Alicia Marchioni, ’06, played women’s pro fessional football in the Legends Football League for the Min nesota Valkyrie. Alicia volunteers as a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association with the Twin Cities Blondes vs. Bru nettes, a flag football competition. She lives in the MinneapolisSt. Paul area.
Truslow, ’05, owner of Barre3, have been recognized by The State Newspaper’s 20 Under 40 for personal successes and their roles in the community. Katie Stilwell Waites, ’06, is an epidemiologist at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control in Columbia. Megan Mueller, ’07, is an environmental attorney and biologist working as a shoreline compliance analyst for the City of Seattle. Jordan Beckman Fischer, ’09, finished her master’s in public history at Armstrong State University in December 2014. She and her husband, a captain in the Army, currently live in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Todd Gandy, ’09, will soon finish his medical residency at the Carolinas Healthcare System in Charlotte and is pursuing a fellowship in pulmonary critical care.
Alisha Epps Smith, ’06, recently moved to Spokane, Wash., with her new husband, Brian, a high school teacher. She is a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Whitworth University with a special focus on biological psychology and behavioral neuroscience education and research.
Alex Nicyper, ’09, works as an account supervisor with Proctor & Gamble Olympics and with corporate events at GMR Marketing, a global marketing agency. She lives in Charlotte.
Neal Truslow, ’06, works in a general litigation practice, Truslow & Truslow in Columbia, while serving in the National Guard. In the past two years Neal and his wife, Lauren Toole
John Warren, ’09, finished a two-year clerkship with the S.C. Supreme Court and is an attorney with Simmons Law Firm in Columbia. He recently published articles in the Elon
Law Review and Washington University Jurisprudence Review on the First Amendment and judicial elections, respectively.
2010 Ian Porter, ’10, works in the U.S. Nuclear Regula tory Commission’s Office of Research in Washington, D.C., and recently became the technical adviser for the NRC’s nuclear fuel performance codes. He married Mary Hope, ’11, in July 2015. Jessica Silvaggio, ’10, works at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles in the communicable disease area as an epidemiology assistant and health communications intern. In December 2014, during the height of the Ebola outbreak worldwide, she was deployed to the Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta. Julian DuRant, ’11, has extended his clerkship for the Honorable Richard L. Voorhees at the U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina. He lives in Charlotte. Greg Goetz, ’11, was hired to write an episode of the new ABC TV Shondaland series “The Catch,” currently in production. He also works as the show’s script coordinator in Los Angeles.
hospitality management program. After hours, she runs a boutique design firm, feather + fern.
Benjamin Groneman, ’12, joined Property Consulting Group, a Chicago-based sports marketing and consulting firm, in 2015. He lives in Chicago. Tyler McBride, ’12, has worked at ESPN since May 2012 and recently became a coordinator in international programming for ESPN in Bristol, Conn.
graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in May.
Jacquelyn Mohan, ’14, is pursuing an M.F.A. in creative writing in fiction at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where she also is a teaching assistant in creative writing.
Molly Higgins Bateman, ’13, is an occupational therapist at Heritage Healthcare in Columbia. Trey Gordner, ’13, married Andrea Martin, ’15, over Easter weekend. Together, they have settled in the Washington, D.C., area. Trey’s civic technology company, Koios, continues to grow as he and his team develop new online marketing and search engine opti mization products for public libraries.
Roseanne Sullivan Prim, ’13, and David Andrew Prim, ’13, married last December. She graduated from the USC law school in May, and he is earning a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at USC’s School of Medicine.
Taylor F. Jones, ’13, is senior manager of Digital Marketing at Arise Virtual Solutions. He completed his M.B.A. at Queens University in Charlotte.
Alexandra Whitehill Smith, ’12, appeared on “Jeopardy” Dec. 4, 2015, placing second. She is an administrative associate at Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands in Columbia.
Steven Kanczewski, ’13, was selected as one of two auditors from the Charlotte office of Pricewater houseCoopers to spend April-July 2016 on an international assignment in Luxembourg.
Lauren Stefan, ’12, is associate director of international recruitment and admissions at Long Island University in New York. Anna Westbury, ’12, is marketing coordinator in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at USC and completing her master’s in the international tourism and
Bethany Williams, ’14, graduated in May with a master’s in environmental management and a certificate in geo spatial analysis from Duke University, with a focus on water resource management and data analytics.
Andrew Kovtun, ’15, finished his first year pursuing a master of arts degree in international finance and international development at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.
Lindsay Bossong, ’15, works at Bank of America in Charlotte as a global loan products analyst.
Beth Smith, ’13, is in her third year of the doctor of veterinary medicine program at N.C. State University. Randall Stewart, ’13, is athletic media relations director for Brevard College in North Carolina. Danielle Sword, ’13, works in Boston as an actuarial consultant at MassMutual Financial Group.
Elena Faria Mitchell, ’13, married Joe Mitchell, ’12, in January. She
traveling internationally with his successful networking job search.
Chase Mizzell, ’14, began working in April as a consultant for McKinsey & Company in Charlotte. He credits many USC alumni he met
SAVE THE DATE FOR HOMECOMING BRUNCH Mark Nov. 5 for the annual SCHC homecoming champagne brunch. Alumni and faculty and staff members will gather from 10 a.m. to noon in the Campus Room at Capstone before the Gamecocks play the University of Missouri. Along with brunch, the annual Distinguished Honors Alumni and Young Alumni winners will be announced. To register for the brunch, go to the alumni page on schc.sc.edu and click on the homecoming link.
U NI V E RS I T Y O F S O U T H C A R O LIN A
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Columbia, SC 29208
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We make South Carolina healthier. Most of us assume the water where we live, work and play is safe. Catherine Heigel and the agency she leads make it their business to ensure that’s the case. She’s leading DHEC’s efforts to enforce drinking water standards and improve recreational water quality across the state, keeping South Carolinians and their communities healthy and vibrant.
CAROLINA CHANGES EVERYTHING SOUTHCAROLINA.EDU/IMPACT
CATHERINE HEIGEL, SCHC, ’92 Agency Director S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control
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