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College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

  • Four HRSM community members featured in a horizontal portrait lineup for the December 2025 News & Notes update. From left: Devin Borrero in a black suit with a red tie, Miyoung Jeong smiling in front of a garnet background, Rasheed Muhammad wearing glasses and a dark patterned blazer, and Liam Sullivan in a suit with a lavender tie. Each portrait is framed in garnet with their names displayed below.

December 2025 HRSM student, faculty, staff and alumni notes

Posted on: December 8, 2025; Updated on: December 8, 2025
By Allen Wallace, awallace@sc.edu

In the News

Faculty and Staff Notes

  • Stephen Shapiro has been appointed as the new Chair of the David and Nicole Tepper Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, effective Jan. 1.
  • Jessica Chavis and Matthew Dunn have been recognized as Top 25 Career Influencers by the USC Career Center. Sang-eun Byun, Stephanie Taylor and Mike Watson were also recognized as a Career Influencer by graduating students in the Career Center's First Destination Survey.
  • Congratulations to the following faculty members on their appointments to endowed professorships: Stephen Shapiro, Nicholas Watanabe, Susan O’Malley, Fevzi Okumus, Fang Meng and Miyoung Jeong.
  • Grace Yan was recognized by the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport as a 2025 NASSS Research Fellow.
  • Md. Rafiqul Islam Rana (PI) and Sang-eun Byun have received the 2026 Cotton in the Curriculum Grant from Cotton Incorporated for their project, “Cotton in the Digital Age: Advancing Cotton Sustainability through Technology-Driven Learning.” The project will integrate cotton-focused, AI-enhanced, and sustainability-based pedagogical research activities into two retailing courses, preparing students to become data-informed advocates for U.S. cotton and sustainable fashion practices.
  • Tena Crews completed the Susan G. Komen breast cancer research 3 day 60-mile walk in San Diego! She is appreciative of the support from colleagues. This was her seventh walk and second in San Diego.
  • The article “Can Career Mobility Be a New Solution to Lodging Workforce Development?” by Haemoon Oh and Miyoung Jeong was published in Hotel Executive.
  • The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management hosted the annual South Carolina Jr. Chefs Competition for high school students.
  • Welcome to new HRSM Executive Operations Manager Andrea Pack!

Student Notes

  • Regan Baker (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a summer internship with Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
  • Devin Borrero (Sport and Entertainment Management) will join the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium as a sales development representative after graduation this month.
  • Samantha Brown (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a summer internship at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.
  • Jenna Callan (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be interning with FanCompass this spring.
  • Will Chieffo (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted an offer to join the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans as an inside sales consultant.
  • Carina DeLeon (Hospitality Management) accepted a position with Marriott International as a Banquets Voyager at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Colorado, to begin after graduation in May.
  • Isabella Donofrio (Hospitality Management) was elected to serve as vice president of external affairs for the Epsilon Kappa chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
  • Alycia Elizabeth (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) completed her Keyhole Social Media Listening Certification.
  • Coco Farrell (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) started a new position as stylist and visual merchandiser at Imagine This Boutique.
  • Lindsey Franz, Ella Mattes and Delanie Williams (all Sport and Entertainment Management) assisted the Gamecock Athletics Marketing and Fan Experience team at the USC vs. Clemson football game.
  • Sean Fulton (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position as an inside sales consultant with the New Orleans Pelicans and New Orleans Saints, to begin in June.
  • Taylor Hammond (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be joining the operations department at Colonial Life Arena as an intern for the Spring 2026 semester.
  • Augie Jansen (Tourism Management) a new position as social chair at Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity - Theta Eta Chapter.
  • Caitlin Kelley (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be joining Colonial Life Arena's marketing department as a marketing intern for the Spring 2026 semester.
  • Constantine Karounos (Hospitality Management) officially accepted a position with Hilton at the Conrad New York Downtown as a food and beverage trainee in the 2026 Management Development Program, to begin in August.
  • McKenna Kosofsky (Retailing) completed her Keyhole Social Media Listening Certification.
  • Morgan Mayer (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management) and Christopher Taddeo (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted inside sales internships with Trenton ECHL Hockey for this summer.
  • Meadow Motroni (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) was selected to serve as the vice president of communications for the 2026 Executive Board of the Kappa Gamma chapter of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority.
  • Thomas Neighbors (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be interning with the Pee Dee IceCats Hockey Team over the upcoming holiday season, and serving as an intern for the upcoming Bojangles Bash at Ridge View High School.
  • Marissa Roach (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) completed her Keyhole Social Media Listening Certification.
  • Tony Sanders (Retailing - Retail Management) completed his Keyhole Social Media Listening Certification.
  • Ryan Sigal (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management) was promoted to senior account executive - retention at The Gamecock Club.
  • Emily Skinner (Tourism Management) presented “Understanding Cultures Through Global Experiences” at USC’s Fall Showcase as part of her progress toward earning Leadership Distinction in Global Learning.
  • Sydney Smith (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be an intern for the upcoming Bojangles Bash at Ridge View High School.
  • Olivia Sucansky (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) earned her INSIDE LVMH certification in creation & branding, retail & customer experience through LVMH.
  • Liam Sullivan (Hospitality Management) will be joining the team at Xanterra Travel Collection as a culinary intern in the Many Glacier Hotel at Glacier National Park, Montana after graduation in May.
  • Reagan Uffelman (Hospitality Management) accepted a summer internship at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta.
  • Ruby Wallace (Sport and Entertainment Management) was promoted to senior team lead at her part-time job at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea.

Alumni Notes

  • Nicole Anderson (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as event administrator at Quint.
  • Avery Balfour (Hospitality Management, ‘24) began a new role as an internal consulting associate at LPL Financial.
  • Brittany Jones Brady (Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management, ‘10) was recognized by Consultant Connect as a Top 50 Economic Developer in North America.
  • Nicholas DeCirce (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) started a new position as recruiting coordinator at NCSA College Recruiting.
  • Daniel Goldstein (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) started a new position as account manager at Cvent.
  • Kiki Gormanos (Hospitality Management, ‘22) joined the Ritz-Carlton Chicago team as a conference services manager.
  • Molly Heidt (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) accepted a new position as volunteer operations coordinator for the 2026 PGA Championship. She served in the same role for the 2025 Ryder Cup.
  • Steven Hetzer (Hospitality Management, ‘18) completed his Certified Club Manager (CCM), a professional certification recognizing the unique skills and special knowledge required of today's club manager.
  • Jack Jennings (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) will be joining the team at Cattail Creek Country Club as an assistant golf professional.
  • Marissa King (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) joined the team at Foot Locker as a brand marketing manager for Champs Sports.
  • Parker Knight (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) accepted a position at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm as a golf operations intern for the 2026 season.
  • Colleen Mitchell (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘18) started  a new position as assistant director, life skills and education with the Philadelphia Phillies.
  • Rasheed Muhammad (Retailing - Retail Management, '95) was named to Variety’s Business Managers Elite of 2025.
  • Elijah Neal (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) started a new position as senior account executive at Retail Sports Marketing (RSM).
  • Courtney Perkins (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘19) started a new role as specialist performance marketing at Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
  • Haley Rea (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘19) joined the Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) corporate team as director of internal development.
  • Madison Scholl (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) started a new position as multimedia production manager at Discover Durham.
  • Carlee Talty (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new position as digital & event marketing specialist at JMP USA.
  • Daniela Traub (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘21) started a new position as product development sourcing associate with Tommy Hilfiger.
  • Mary Elizabeth Wade (Tourism Management, ‘18) started a new position as owner/operator at Chick-fil-A Restaurants.
  • Julia Wick (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) earned the Techtronic Industries (TTI) Circle of Excellence award.

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