After moving every few years with her father in the military, Dawn Minton doesn’t take extended stays in any one place for granted.
Originally from Virginia, Minton has lived all over the world, even reaching across the Atlantic Ocean to Italy and Germany. After her father retired in Alabama, she received her undergraduate degree in athletic training from the University of Alabama.
Following graduation, she moved to Florida International University, where she began her graduate degree.
However, because of a less-than-satisfactory experience and a connection at USC, Minton found herself in Columbia, which she now calls home. Minton pursued a master’s degree in physical education and is now working on her doctoral degree in exercise science.
Minton is one of the newest faculty members at USC this semester, where she is working as a clinical instructor in the Department of Physical Education. Minton will be working specifically with athletic training students, both undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Office of the Provost does not yet know how many faculty members came to the university this semester, but nearly every college hired new faculty members this semester, according to Derlene Lowder, director of academic research.
Nearly 150 new faculty members in Columbia attended the USC new faculty orientation, so Minton is by no means alone.
But coming from the land of “Roll Tide” to garnet-and-black country can leave one conflicted.
She sometimes feels the need to cheer for her undergraduate alma mater but Minton said that she has been converted to the Gamecock way.
“I’m a big Alabama fan, but after being here for such a long time, I’m obviously a Gamecock now,” she said. “It was a big transition, but I always pull for South Carolina. South Carolina is my home.”
Minton said she came to USC largely because she knew that she had the opportunity to come into a program that was well known, cared about education and had a lot to offer. She said that she saw potential in the program even before she entered.
“When I came, the program was still growing, and to be a part of that, I had a fantastic opportunity to work with experts in the field and also be in the athletic training program,” she said.
And while the program may have been what drew Minton to Columbia, she stayed for a different reason entirely.
“Being in the military, we moved every three years, and this is the longest I’ve been in one place,” she said. “I look around Columbia, and I call it my home now.”