YOU DECIDED THE TWO:
Y’ALL WINNERS NAMED
Young alumni voters, about 1,000 of you, have spoken through ballots cast by the Aug. 8 deadline from 1,700 who registered at www.thefaceofyall.com. You viewed videos from the five finalists vying to be the two faces of the Y’ALL (Young Alumni Leaving a Legacy) campaign, and marveled at the talent and spirit there. Thank you for making such tough choices! The magnitude of your decision will carry forward for the next year.
And now, it is time to announce the Y’ALL winners who will make the University of South Carolina and all who cheer for the garnet and black, proud. The good news is you couldn’t have picked two better young alumni to represent you! They will be invited as VIP’s to attend University events, and activities giving young alumni a strong voice. .
One of the winners, Joey Bowers, 25, of Summerville, is a former kicker for the Gamecocks football team from 2000-2004 who is tackling new heights as his promising career enters the legal profession. He spent eight of the best years of his life in Columbia and came to call the city and his University home. In September, he will begin a two-year judicial clerkship with U.S. District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy in Charleston, and thereafter, will become a practicing attorney. .
“I feel very honored by this,” Bowers said, offering that when he thinks of all the tremendous alumni Carolina has, “It’s something of a miracle” to receive such an honor. His family is thrilled for his receiving the opportunity to represent more than 33,000 young alumni who graduated within the past 10 years. “They and I are going to be real curious to see how the next year plays out,” he said. “I want to do everything I can to help other young alumni achieve their objectives.” .
The other winner is Emily Stowe Leaphart, 27, of Leesville, someone who can truly state the claim to being “a bit more cocky” than all the rest. Leaphart, who was raised in Columbia, played trumpet in the “Mighty Sound of the Southeast” South Carolina marching band her first two years. Then came tryouts for Cocky, “which happened to be during my junior year,” she said. She exhibited the enthusiasm and verve to be Carolina’s favorite fighting bird for two years. She described Cocky as a major commitment she enjoyed thoroughly but requiring massive energy: Cocky’s presence is requested not for football and basketball games, but also soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming and many other athletic events and community functions. She is one of only three women to have been Cocky, what she calls “an elite group.” .
“I’m excited. The University of South Carolina is something very close to my heart after being there six years as a student,” said Leaphart, who is public relations coordinator for the Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative. In her job, Leaphart handles all of the cooperative’s media releases and advertising, while also coordinating community outreach for Mid-Carolina endeavors including Women Involved in Rural Electrification, or WIRE. .
Though Bowers and Leaphart did not know each other during their time as students, they have some things in common. For instance, their valid reason for having stayed at the University past the time for one degree: both are proud to have earned two! .
Leaphart graduated with the Class of 2003, earning a bachelor’s in Psychology, and then joined the Class of 2005 with a Journalism degree. Bowers graduated cum laude in Public Relations with the Class of 2004, like Leaphart, one of his two degrees earned from South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He earned his Juris Doctor with the School of Law in 2008, received a number of impressive honors and is awaiting Bar Exam results. .
