Gamecock of the Week

As a USC student in mid-1980s, Steve Loflin was a Student Government senator, an orientation leader and a Resident Mentor while serving on multiple University-wide committees.

Now, he’s the executive director of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, working with thousands of top scholars nationwide.

The society has 245 campuses with at least one in every state, Loflin said, and he’s happy there’s one in Columbia.

“NSCS is the largest honor society recognizing the academic success of high-achieving first and second year college students,” Loflin said. “I am very proud that we have an NSCS chapter at USC. I recently promised the chapter president, James Strickland, that I will visit the chapter soon, and I am looking forward to that.”

With his new job, Loflin is in charge of coordinating all national office activities, setting the vision for the organization throughout the country.  He often travels to meet with campus leaders.

Mary Stuart Hunter, USC’s assistant vice provost, said she works with the University 101 program in the National Resource Center for first-year experience of students in transition. Hunter has known Loflin for a long time and sees his success as a product of a Carolina education.

“He’s doing great,” Hunter said. “He’s quite an accomplished man. He left Carolina after a stellar senior year and went on to graduate school. Since then he has been working at a number of different institutions and has the grown that organization from an idea to an organization with over 200 chapters in colleges and universities across the country. He’s doing outstanding work.”

His visit back to Columbia will bring tons of memories, Loflin said. 

“I have too many good memories of classes, activities and special friends from USC,” Loflin said. “The fact that I was an active and involved undergraduate student was very instrumental and transformational in my decision to want to make a difference for college students.”

The advice that Loflin would give to future Gamecocks: college is a unique opportunity to explore a variety of opportunities and experiences.

“Get involved and find ways to serve on committees and meet as many people as you possibly can,” Loflin said. “Your academic major can open doors for you but doesn’t have to define your career path. Make sure you make decisions that are aligned with something you are passionate about, and make sure you use your life to do something fulfilling and fun.”