It’s never been easier to buy Apple products on campus at the University of South Carolina.
Gamecock iHub, USC’s Apple Authorized Campus Store, is fully settled into its new home on the first floor of the Close-Hipp building and ready to serve USC students, faculty and staff, and alumni.
The store is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Friday 9-3 during the summer, and Monday-Friday 9-5 during the academic year. As a special welcome to new and returning students, Gamecock iHub will also be open from 1-3 on Saturday, Aug. 15, and all are invited to stop by that day and cool off with Pelican’s Snowballs!
Gamecock iHub, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary Aug. 13, offers Apple computers, watches and accessories at low education pricing to USC students, faculty and staff, and alumni, as well as software support and hardware repairs on MacBooks covered by AppleCare+. The store is also the official vendor for products featuring the official USC tartan, “Old Cocky.”
A new website, gamecockihub.com, launching in August, will allow customers to place orders online to pick up at the store. However, all that is only the tip of the iceberg.
The store is also the first Apple Authorized Campus Store in the region and only the second in the nation to incorporate a classroom component into its business model. Under the leadership of Store Manager Saundra Koesters, USC Department of Retailing students can gain hands-on experience with the world’s largest and most valuable consumer brand through a two-semester internship.
“The partnership with Apple has been a tremendous benefit to our students and Department of Retailing these past five years. We continue to see how innovation is driving our industry, and our students are much better prepared by working with a brand like Apple. We look forward to utilizing the store in more unique ways and serving the greater campus community in the years to come,” says Department of Retailing Chair Jeff Campbell.
It’s a learning opportunity unlike any other. The students earn real-world experience working with a global retail leader, gaining pragmatic knowledge in sales, inventory management and operations. They also gain niche training in areas of marketing, brand management and asset protection.
Students who are interested in future positions can fill out an interest form and open positions are posted each semester on Handshake.
“The iHub transforms learning from theory into practice, giving students the opportunity to develop the customer service, leadership and problem-solving skills that employees value,” says Koesters.
The students can also benefit from the collaboration with USC’s Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning (CIEL) and their offerings: experiential learning opportunities (ELO); graduation with leadership distinction (GLD); and reflection resources and Carolina Engage grants to support involvement in beyond-the-classroom engagements.
At the celebration on the Horseshoe of Gamecock iHub’s grand opening in 2021, Harris Pastides, then the university’s interim president, joked, “The university has been here since 1801 and people have been asking for an Apple store the whole time.”
Gamecock iHub is here now and getting better and better.