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College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

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October 2024 HRSM student, faculty, staff and alumni notes

Posted on: October 3, 2024; Updated on: October 3, 2024
By Allen Wallace, awallace@sc.edu

In the News

Faculty and Staff Notes

Student Notes

  • Sport and Entertainment Management students worked with ESPN College GameDay, Octagon and Home Depot as GameDay broadcast live from Columbia. The opportunity was facilitated by Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Internship Director Steve Taylor.
  • Congratulations to Saad Alshamari (Ph.D., Sport and Entertainment Management) on his first peer-reviewed publication, “Examining the relationship between pre-sport mega-event programming and physical activity participation.” His co-authors were faculty member Stephen Shapiro and Ph.D. program alum Ryan Dastrup.
  • Sport and Entertainment Management students Olivia Ballweg, Caitlin Cassidy, Sydney Herz and Katie Lewis represented the department and college at the Alex English Celebrity Golf Tournament.
  • Olivia Ballweg (Sport and Entertainment Management) started a new position as university relations intern at Wasserman Next Gen.
  • Ginny Burt (Retailing - Retail Management) started a new position as social media coordinator at Metro Vieve Magazine.
  • Ambar Ferra (Sport and Entertainment Management) will continue working with the Carolina Panthers this season as an away team attendant on game days.
  • Kaileigh Hamilton (Tourism Management) completed social media certification through HubSpot Academy.
  • Kinsey Holmen (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be serving as a premium suite associate with the Carolina Panthers this season.
  • Dean Karounos and Trevor Lazarus (both Hospitality Management) represented HRSM and all of USC as student interns at the International Society of Hospitality Consultants Annual Conference in Dubai, UAE.
  • Ava Luongo (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) started a new position as social media coordinator at Metro Vieve Magazine.
  • Jackson Marcincuk (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a new position as stadium event assistant at Acrisure Stadium / PSSI Stadium LLC.
  • Julia Miller (Retailing) competed in “The Pitch” sales and marketing competition with Gallo & Breakthru Beverage Group in Napa, California.
  • Katherine Moore and Zoe Mullins (both Retailing) represented HRSM at New York Fashion Week, an opportunity made possible through a partnership with the Department of Retailing, USC Office of Trademark Licensing, and CLC / Learfield's U of NYFW program.
  • Hannah Proce (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position with Chubb beginning after graduation as a major accounts - property associate underwriter in the Chubb Associate Program.
  • Kinsley Spearman (Sport and Entertainment Management) started a new position as event coordinator at Legacy Martial Arts.
  • Madilyn Steffe (cognate in Sport and Entertainment Management) and her team earned the $10,000 prize for first place in the Call for Code: IBM watsonx workshop, sponsored by the University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications. 

Alumni Notes

  • Haissam Baityeh (Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration, ‘89) started a new position as General Manager and Chief Operating Officer at Washington Golf & Country Club.
  • Emily Barbare (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, '24) started a new position as a merchandise assistant at Belk, joining the buying team for women's comfort and athletic shoes.
  • Aubrey Chandler (Sport and Entertainment Management, '24) accepted a new role as a leasing sales agent with Lynd Living at The Villas of Tuttle Royale in Royal Palm Beach.
  • Kendell Collins (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘23) completed her master’s degree in Fashion Marketing and Communications from Polimoda.
  • Lauren Copeland (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘21) started a new position as client services associate at Lake Pajamas headquarters in Savannah, Georgia.
  • Lizzie Crawford (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) started a new position as coordinator, tournament relations for the WTA.
  • Brittany Deaton (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘12) started a new position as sales development manager at Order.co.
  • Ashlie DeCarlo (Sport and Entertainment Management, ′16) accepted a new position as senior coordinator, MiLB Club Services with Major League Baseball.
  • Noah Delevan (Hospitality Management, ‘23) started a new position as account manager at Stellantis Financial Services US.
  • Morgan Edlin (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘13) started a new position as a business manager at the University of South Carolina College of Arts and Sciences.
  • William Flood (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new position as an inside sales executive at The Millennium Alliance.
  • Patrick Flynn (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘17) was named one of Columbia Business Monthly’s Best & Brightest 35 and Under for 2024.
  • Caroline Frank (Retailing - Retail Management, ‘24) passed the North Carolina Property and Casualty insurance examinations and will begin her career as an insurance agent at InFocus Insurance.
  • Matthew Fuller (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started law school at the Northern Illinois University College of Law.
  • Mike Harrison (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘91) started a new position as senior director, tournament business affairs for the PGA Tour Champions.
  • Joseph Hawkins (Sport and Entertainment Management, '24) accepted a new role as a Chubb associate underwriter with the financial lines team at Westchester, a Chubb Company.
  • Ellie Hill (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new role as premium hospitality and catering manager with the Columbia Fireflies.
  • Bailey Levine (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘20) started a new position as assistant director - development with Special Olympics Illinois.
  • Jamie Lipson (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) started a new position as guest and event experience manager for the Carolina Hurricanes and PNC Arena.
  • Haley Lynch (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) started a new position as trading compliance analyst at BetMGM.
  • Ellen Maloney (Hospitality Management, ‘22) was promoted to a service lead position at James Beard and Emmy Award winning Chef Ming Tsai’s restaurant, BāBā, at Yellowstone Club, in Big Sky, Montana (the world's only private golf and ski club).
  • Averi McNeil (Sport and Entertainment Management, '21) started a new position as business operations specialist at CBS Sports.
  • Griffin Miller (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘19) started a new position as manager, partnership sales at Tepper Sports & Entertainment.
  • Brigid Pfeifer (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) started a new position as senior sales development representative at Justworks.
  • Grace Powlas (Sport and Entertainment Management) was recognized as a rising star in the VenuesNow 2024 IMPACT: NextGen list.
  • Ford Pugh (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) accepted a new position with Learfield as manager, business development for the Gamecock Sports Properties team.
  • Brittany Raven (Hospitality Management, ‘17) started a new position as human resources coordinator for the City of West Columbia.
  • Emma Riefler (Hospitality Management, ‘22) was promoted to associate director of sales at City Experiences.
  • Morgan Roberts (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘21) started a new position as field sales administrator at CPI Security.
  • Anna Kate Smith (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘17) started a new position as associate manager, e-commerce Marketing at YETI.
  • Conrad Vassallo (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) started a new position as sales assistant - men's wholesale with Ralph Lauren.
  • Katherine Venteicher (Hospitality Management, ‘24) started the manager in development program at Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta.
  • Sophie Vota (Retailing - Retail Management, ‘24) started a new role as a senior merchandising analyst in the Merchandising Development Program at Walmart.
  • Brent Weaver (Tourism Management, ‘20) started a new position as an account executive at US Foods.
  • Kathleen Williams (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘20) started a new position as account executive at Stella McCartney.
  • Emily Woodham (Retailing - Retail Management, ‘24) started a new position as an admissions counselor at USC.
  • Kristen Zegowitz (Tourism Management, ‘16) started a new position as brand marketing manager at Techtronic Industries.

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