Homecoming week at USC holds a lot of value for not only current students but the alumni, as well. The week gives graduates a chance to return to their alma mater to celebrate school spirit and reconnect with the people and places that changed their lives.
Julie Horton, a member of the MyCarolina Alumni Association Board of Directors, graduated from USC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications in 1985. The school has changed drastically since then, including construction of new dorms and facilities, but she fully supports its growth.
Horton’s daughter currently attends USC, a third-generation Gamecock.
“I want her to think USC is just as wonderful, just as magical as it was for me when I was there," she said. “You want to make sure that students who come behind you get the same kind of feeling about USC and the same great experience.”
Horton recounted her involvement at USC, including everything from her job as a hall advisor to being a bat girl for the baseball team. But the most important thing, she said, was meeting people and broadening horizons.
“There are people I met as an undergrad that I am still friends with,” Horton said. “If I need something professionally, there are people that I can call.”
Horton also explained how many new academic opportunities are available to students now that weren't back in her day.
“Academically, [USC] can teach you a lot, but it teaches you a lot of real word skills if you access all that’s available to you,” she said.
She explained that the Office of Student Engagement is one of those opportunities, preparing students to enter the professional world by teaching them everything from networking skills to table manners proper for a business dinner.
The university has added programs like these year after year to offer more chances for students to improve their experiences here. And alumni like Horton are impressed by the steps that the university has taken to improve the education of future students.
Things like that keep USC in Horton's thoughts, even decades later.
“You can’t appreciate something like homecoming,” she said. “You don’t know what it means until you graduate and look back on what an incredible experience it was.”
So, take Horton's advice and enjoy the homecoming festivities, remember to treasure every moment and take advantage of the resources that the college offers. Because, as she said, “They help you find you and what you want to be, and they give you the tools to help you get there.”
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