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College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

  • Headshots of Lori Anna Davis, Libby Floyd, Kios Perrin II, and Di Zhang, featured in the University of South Carolina College of HRSM September 2025 news and notes.

September 2025 HRSM student, faculty, staff and alumni notes

Posted on: September 5, 2025; Updated on: September 5, 2025
By Allen Wallace, awallace@sc.edu

In the News

Faculty and Staff Notes

  • Jeff Campbell became President of the American Collegiate Retailing Association.
  • Mike Watson received a new certification from Harvard Business School for Teaching with Cases.
  • Congratulations to Miyoung Jeong and Haemoon Oh on winning the Best Paper Award at the 23rd annual Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (APacCHRIE) Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand for their paper “Is AI a friend or foe to hospitality employees? Employees’ perceived fear of their job insecurity.”
  • Rich Harrill’s article “Music films and videos as recolonizing media in tourism” (co-authored by School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Ph.D. student Omid Oshriyeh) was published in the prestigious Annals of Tourism Research, an A+ publication with an 8% acceptance rate.
  • Haemoon Oh and Miyoung Jeong coauthored “Career mobility to social mobility: The case of hospitality employment and beyond”, recently published in Tourism Management.
  • Kathy Smiling has been selected to participate in the 2025–2026 USC Pipeline of Academy Leaders (PAL) Program.
  • Tyler Skinner’s research, “State abortion bans and talent acquisition: evidence from NCAA women’s college basketball,” was published in Applied Economics Letters.
  • Mike Watson created a negotiation bot for use in his retail buying class for students to interact with, simulating actual negotiation tactics between a retail buyer and vendor.

Student Notes

  • Continuing a decades-long tradition, HRSM students worked the NASCAR Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
  • Clare Ehnes (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations), Kaitlyn Hardy (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) and Hattie Jennings (Visual Communications, minor in Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) will represent HRSM and USC this week at New York Fashion Week, taking part in an exclusive program granting behind the scenes and learning opportunities.
  • Tonazia Benson (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) and her team won the Belk Case Study Challenge during the company’s Sophomore Spree program.
  • Lauren Cavallaro (Sport and Entertainment Management) began social media internships with the College of HRSM and Gamecock Athletics.
  • Alexandra Market (Retailing - Retail Management) will be joining Hugo Boss in New York City this fall as a wholesale intern.
  • Zoe Mullins (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) started a corporate engagement internship with the National Retail Federation (NRF) Foundation.
  • Kios Perrin II (Sport and Entertainment Management) started a new position as varsity associate head coach for Gilbert High School boys basketball.
  • Thomas Stapleton (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be starting a new role as a student manager for the USC men's basketball team this fall.
  • Reagan Uffelman (Hospitality Management) started a new position as a student assistant with the HRSM Office of Organizational Development and Innovation.
  • Brooke Walsh (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position as a pre-tournament hospitality operations assistant with Augusta National Golf Club, starting in January 2026.

Alumni Notes

  • Lilly Anglum (Hospitality Management, ‘25) started a new position as catering sales and convention services manager at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston.
  • Lauren Barth (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) received the New Jersey Devils Leadership Award for the 2024-25 season.
  • Lauren Black (Hospitality Management, ‘24) started a new position as associate district manager for the Greater Savannah area with ADP.
  • Lori Anna Davis (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, '11), Heather Harley (Hospitality Management, ‘15) and Laurie Savidge (Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management, ‘05) were chosen for the Leadership South Carolina Class of 2026.
  • Trevor Donnelly (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as coordinator, partnership services - Gamecock Sports Properties at Learfield.
  • Libby Floyd (Retailing, ‘86) released her second novel, Lake Hollywood, on Amazon.
  • Ben Granish (Hospitality Management, ‘19) started a new position as assistant clubhouse manager at Cherokee Town and Country Club.
  • Angela Grillo (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as an events coordinator with On Location in Augusta.
  • Jonathan Hampton (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) started a new position as director of retention at the Gamecock Club.
  • Kyra Hatch (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as event services coordinator at Colonial Life Arena.
  • Kendra Holaday (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘19) started a new position as vice president of premium seating and special events at the Gamecock Club.
  • Milan Johnson (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘25) accepted a new position as a sales assistant with Haddad Brands in New York City.
  • Thomas (TJ) Leon (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as an operations assistant at the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship.
  • Rachel Lofurno (Hospitality Management, ‘24) started a new position as external relations events coordinator with USC’s McCausland College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Julie Manners (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘25) began the Master of Science in Business Analytics program at USC’s Darla Moore School of Business.
  • Lauren McAteer (Hospitality Management, ‘25) accepted a new position as catering and events coordinator with the Conrad New York Downtown.
  • Seth McBrayer (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) accepted a new position as an associate specialist with TaylorMade Golf Company.
  • Madelyn Miller (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new position as team travel and equipment operations coordinator with the Milwaukee Bucks.
  • Jordan Mooring (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) joined the Carolina Panthers as a Youth Football Intern for this year.
  • Jisset Pena (Sport and Entertainment Management, '08), director of talent management with Roc Nation Sports, was recognized as an honoree by Latinos in Sports.
  • Michael C. Pfeffer (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘08) was named to the 2025 Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State list.
  • Tyler Restrepo (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘18) was promoted to director of stadium operations with the Columbia Fireflies.
  • Sarah (Olsgaard) Sipes (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘07) started a new position as director of administration at University of South Carolina Foundations.
  • Matthew Snyder (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new position as director of athletic events, facilities and equipment with Gannon University.
  • Paige Tucci (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as an inside sales representative with the Salem Red Sox, the Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
  • DeJean Williams (Hospitality Management, ‘23) accepted a new position with the management team at Governors Club in Chapel Hill.
  • Matthew Weissman (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as an inside sales representative with the Salem Red Sox, the Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
  • Di Zhang (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) started a new position as protocol director for the 6th Asian Beach Games Sanya 2026.

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