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Name: Becky Swindell
Hometown: Bamberg
Class: Alumni University
Q. You’re attending this year’s Alumni University sponsored by the Carolina Alumni Association, are you a USC alumna?
A. No, I’m not. I’m married to a USC alum, Charles. I went to Columbia College across town and majored in music. But I’d love to be a USC alum. I did take some graduate classes here.
Q. Is this the first time you’ve been to Alumni University?
A. This is my fifth time. I’m a permanent Alumni University attendee.
Q. What brings you back every year?
A. All the wonderful, different, interesting things that have been presented to us. My knowledge has been broadened. My pride in the University has been increased. It’s just a wonderful experience.
Q. Any particular sessions that stand out to you?
A. I tend to be more of a liberal arts kind of person, so the things like Dr. [Don} Greiner’s class and the class we had this morning, Dr. [Carol McGinnis] Kay’s lecture on Sue Grafton. She’s the co-author of her biography. Last year, Dr. Walter Edgar delighted us with history and took us to King’s Mountain. We’ve asked for him back. This class on music obscura [taught by Craig Kreidel, education, who played the serpent and other antique instruments] has been a thrill for me. Music is dear to my heart. He was delightful.
Q. What other classes are you taking?
A. Our next one today is on the Electoral College. Rudy Mancke is tomorrow, and we’re going to the Congaree National Forest Saturday on a tour. We’ve had some wonderful field trips. We’ve done walking tours of Charleston. We’ve been to the Belle Baruch Center in Georgetown and the Fuji Film plant and Park Seed in Greenwood.
Q. How about the people you meet?
A. It’s a wonderful group. We come with some friends from Greenwood. He and my husband here classmates at Carolina. This is one of our annual get-togethers. You’d be surprised at the number of people who have been here every year besides us. I’d say three-fourths have been here every year. We look forward to it and have formed some close friendships over the years.
Q. What keeps you coming back?
A. It’s an opportunity to increase your knowledge. If I lived in Columbia or any college town, I’d be auditing classes, but living in Bamberg, I don’t have that opportunity. This is really an opportunity for me to go back to school and not get old and stale.
06/04
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