Stories for Students

An African American adult male in black t-shirt and ballcap looks into the camera

30 years after 'Reasonable Doubt,' Jay-Z's career embodies hip-hop's biggest contradictions

June 25, 2026, Jabari Evans

The cinematic complexity of Jay-Z’s first rap album “Reasonable Doubt” explains why it still matters 30 years later. Today, hip-hop powers advertising campaigns, luxury branding and streaming platforms. Jay-Z has played an outsized role in that transformation. Writing for The Conversation, USC assistant professor Jabari Evans explores the complicated history of hip-hop’s rise in a capitalist society.

Board Briefs: Trustees approve budget, key USC Next projects

June 19, 2026, Andy Shain

University of South Carolina trustees approved a 2026-27 fiscal year budget and advanced key projects tied to the Columbia campus’s USC Next master plan.

view of Russell House with pink flowers blooming in the foreground

USC board approves freezing tuition, expanding Russell House, building Civil Rights Center

June 18, 2026, Andy Shain

University of South Carolina trustees approved a 2026-27 fiscal year budget that freezes in-state tuition systemwide and advanced key projects tied to the Columbia campus’s USC Next master plan.

Israel softball players celebrate on the field, holding a national flag during an international competition.

Graduate's journey from softball to social work leads to selection as U.S. team therapist at Jewish Olympics

June 10, 2026, Carol J.G. Ward

After navigating the challenges of life beyond Division I softball, licensed clinical social worker Olivia Gott, now supports athletes facing similar transitions. She will serve as the U.S. team therapist at the 2026 Maccabiah Games, bringing both personal experience and professional care to the world stage.

Pages of a thesis document amid stacked books

From thesis to courtroom: Honors College honed skills, discipline for successful alumni

June 03, 2026, Carol J.G. Ward

Alumni Kathy Carlsten and Peter Siachos, who both graduated from the University of South Carolina Honors College in 1997 and the Joseph F. Rice School of Law in 2000, say they draw on the critical thinking and collaborative skills, the debate-oriented approach and intellectual ambition required in honors courses in their legal practices.

woman standing in front of greenery

Art in Medicine

May 28, 2026, Téa Smith

As she was earning her undergraduate degree at the USC, Sarah Aloi cultivated her love for art in her free time while also finding creative ways to merge art and medicine. Her love for art led the third-year medical student to start a club at USC School of Medicine Greenville called Art in Medicine.

Boston Red Sox player in green Nike-branded uniform with the No. 16 appears wearing batting helmet

As more athletes speak openly about depression, anxiety and suicide, a minority of fans are weaponizing it

May 27, 2026, Scott Parrott

Because elite athletes are seen as admired role models, many enjoy lucrative contracts as spokespeople for a variety of products. When Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran recently was harassed after revealing a mental illness, his expression of regret could potentially discourage others from talking publicly about their struggles for fear it could be weaponized against them. USC professor Scott Parrott explores this in a recent article for The Conversation.

Lauren Greenfield smiles for the camera with a football.

Alumna builds community as Washington Commanders executive

May 13, 2026, Megan Sexton

After earning her degree in sport and entertainment management, Lauren Greenfield went directly into Georgetown University’s sports industry management master’s program. Then she found her passion with the Washington Commanders. Greenfield focuses on innovative ways to create value for both new and existing sponsors — developing go-to-market strategy, examining industry-wide best practices, building sponsorable platforms across the business and working with internal and external constituents across the NFL.  

A coach high fives a student runner.

Physical education course prepares students for triathlons and life after college

May 08, 2026, Chris Horn

Joe Roof’s students had been preparing for their final test all semester: a modified triathlon super sprint. The students completed 200 meters swimming followed by seven miles pedaling on indoor spin bikes and two miles jogging on the Blatt practice field. It was the perfect ending to an elective physical education class called Triathlon Training.

Walker Weaver and Emma Connelly pose with books.

Reading between the feathers: How two students turned a mascot role into years of service

May 08, 2026, Michaela Taylor

You may know Cocky from game day at Williams-Brice, but some of his biggest fans sit on classroom floors, not stadium seats. Behind the yellow beak are two seniors  who’ve been involved with Cocky's Reading Express for the last four years. Meet Walker Weaver and Emma Connelly.  

Intern Olivia Branson with Alexandra Woodlief, ’13, owner and lead creative director of Alexandra Madison Weddings.

Internships help USC students explore their potential

May 07, 2026, Laura Erskine, Téa Smith and Craig Brandhorst / photos by Kim Truett

Internships aren’t just for building resumés. When students take that first big step into their chosen career, the hard work of college begins to pay off. We spoke to nine student interns from across the USC system to find out what they've gained beyond the books from their internship experiences.

Frank Avignone in his campus laboratory with the Thomas F. Jones Memorial Electron Spectrometer.

Physicist Frank Avignone has fed his scientific curiosity with a steady pursuit of new ideas

May 07, 2026, Chris Horn

Frank Avignone has been fascinated by physics longer than most people have been alive, an intense curiosity that began in the waning days of World War II. Now, more than six decades after being recruited to the faculty of USC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, Avignone continues to conduct particle physics research with renowned scholars, some of them at international laboratories he helped build decades ago.

Magdalena Stawkowski smiles for the camera

The nuclear afterlife of the Cold War in the Eurasian Steppe has become the cornerstone of anthropologist Magdalena Stawkowski's research

May 04, 2026, Craig Brandhorst

USC anthropologist Magadalena Stawkowski spent years interviewing the people who live near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in rural Kazakhstan. Her 2025 book, “Atomic Collective”, examines culture and community in one of the most toxic places on Earth.

Austin Harper stands in an engineering lab.

Doctoral student gains systems engineering perspective through Scout Motors partnership

May 01, 2026, Chris Horn

This past fall, Scout Motor’s chief technology officer Burkhard Huhnke was the lead instructor for Applied Systems Engineering for Complex Systems, a class offered through the Molinaroli College’s new industrial engineering program. Ph.D. student Austin Harper shares how the course taught him about sophisticated technology and design processes, including those Scout will use at the new plant.

USC alumna Stephanie Kyle smiles warmly while standing in front of a financial data display board showing stock tickers

Connecting the dots: Alumna Stephanie Kyle thrives in global supply chain and beyond

May 01, 2026, Dan Cook

From an early age, Stephanie Kyle had an appreciation for people from all over the world. She entertained thoughts of traveling far from South Carolina for college, but everything changed when she toured USC. As a student, she traveled widely and got involved in student organizations focused on global business and supply chain. Today, she is pricing director at a major global company.

person in graduation robes wearing a bedazzled graduation cap with a gamecock and a block C on it

USC graduates celebrate spring commencement

April 29, 2026, Jeff Stensland

Thousands of graduates from across the University of South Carolina will celebrate May commencement ceremonies beginning Thursday, May 7. USC President Michael Amiridis will deliver remarks at all four baccalaureate ceremonies taking place at the Colonial Life Arena (schedule below). Separate ceremonies also will be held for the Joseph F. Rice School of Law, the two Schools of Medicine and the doctoral graduates.

Michelle Ayala-Perez smiles while outside on USC's historic Horseshoe

Balancing the books: First-gen student navigates pathway to accounting major

April 28, 2026, Chris Horn

What happens when a first-generation college student seeks advice from an instructor who was also a first-gen student? “Inspiration,” says Michelle Ayala-Perez. A conversation with an accounting instructor emboldened Ayala-Perez to explore changing her academic major. She is now enrolled in the accounting program at the Darla Moore School of Business and has her sights set on a career path that seems to have chosen her.

Student stands and waves at commencement cermony
View outside of a window of Benson school facing the USC water tower.

From segregation to preservation: The story of Florence C. Benson Elementary School

April 24, 2026, Hunter Mutherspaw

The University of South Carolina is restoring Florence C. Benson Elementary School, a former segregated school and one of the last remaining landmarks of the historic Black community of Wheeler Hill. The project aims not only to preserve the building’s structure but also to honor its role in the history of segregation and ensure that the community’s legacy is remembered for future generations.

Dawn Staley coaches her team from the sidelines during a game

Dawn Staley elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 22, 2026, Dan Cook

Dawn Staley has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Election to the Academy is a prestigious honor, and Coach Staley joins only three others from USC who are currently part of the academy. Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges.

A presenter talks with an attendee at Discover USC.

Students dig in on research, present findings at Discover USC

April 20, 2026, Marketing and communications

Every year, USC students and scholars from a variety of backgrounds and academic disciplines come together to present at Discover USC. The conference features 1,000-plus research projects. Undergraduates, graduate students, medical scholars and postdocs work with faculty mentors to hone their research skills and learn to present their findings. We talked with a few of the presenters.