Steve Smith

Steve Smith

Leaving Connecticut for South Carolina adds up for McNair Scholar

  • Hometown: Granby, Conn.
  • High School: Granby Memorial High School
  • Major: Mathematics
  • Video (0:53)

A few eyebrows may have been raised in the Northeast when the academically gifted Steve Smith decided to head South for his education. But receiving a McNair Scholarship—the university's top award for out-of-state students—sealed the deal for Smith.

“I've been very happy here,” Smith said. “I had no idea what I was going to major in when I came to college, but I was interested in politics and government, and I was pretty good in math.”

Ultimately, he chose mathematics because of the career options that he would have. It was a good bet. Smith begins work in June as an actuary for MassMutual Life Insurance.

He gives high marks to faculty members Joshua Tebbs in statistics and Homayoun Valafar in computer science and engineering.

“Professor Tebbs helped me understand the many opportunities that I could have in statistics, and Dr. Valafar encouraged me to learn more about computers and computer engineering,” he said. “But I could go on and on about the many professors whom I had at the university that helped me so much.”

Smith, who plans ultimately to pursue a graduate degree in business or finance, said that he would encourage other out-of-state students to come to the University of South Carolina, too.

“You'll meet many interesting people and make great connections, and it's a completely new experience to sit in the stands and watch a football game with 85,000 people,” he said. “I wouldn't have been able to name 10 football players on a team if I hadn't been a student here.”

One of his fondest memories is hitting the road to New York with three friends in 2005 when the Gamecocks' basketball team was playing in the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament.

“We won on the buzzer, and it was so exciting,” he said. “We went out after the game with a lot of university alumni and fans, and it was just one of those experiences that you'll remember for a long time.”

And as he returns to the North, Smith's taking one important lesson about the South with him: “If I hadn't come to Carolina, I wouldn't have known that mustard-based barbecue is the best.”

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