Annual Report
The University of South Carolina Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support annual report, Moments that Matter, highlights the division’s efforts to support students throughout their university experience. The report shows how Student Affairs supports student well-being, encourages leadership and engagement and creates opportunities for students to contribute to their communities. By emphasizing these priorities, the division demonstrates its commitment to helping students succeed while strengthening connections between the university and the broader community.
Where the Journey Begins
Bringing together units from across the division for its 30th year, Carolina Welcome launched the 2025-26 year with two weeks of programs designed to foster connection, introduce key resources and help students build lasting memories at USC.
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A Campus Hub Turns 70
Marking a major milestone in campus history, the Russell House celebrated its 70th anniversary in October. Known as USC’s “Grand Central Station,” Russell House serves as a hub for student life and a cornerstone of community, connection and culture.
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Imagine Carolina: Gamecocks Present and Future
Imagine Carolina – a signature event that reflects the university’s ongoing commitment to student-centered leadership — brought together students from across USC to envision the future of student experiences at the University of South Carolina.
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A New Home for a Trusted National Voice
The National Resource Center For the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition welcomed the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) to the USC community, bringing together unparalleled transfer student research.
Gamecocks Helping Gamecocks
The Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support has continued to combat basic needs and food insecurities through nearly $300,000 in impact to the Gamecock CommUnity Shop, which recorded more than 25,000 client visits this year.
Meet the Inaugural Faculty Research Fellows
For the first time this year, the Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support pioneered a research partnership with three faculty fellows from across the university. Under the leadership of Assistant Vice President Renee Delgado-Riley and former Associate Vice President Pam Bowers, the inaugural group of SAAS Faculty Research Fellows, composed of Jamil Johnson, John Grady and Hengtao Tang, conducted research throughout the year aimed at furthering how the division can best support and enhance the Gamecock student experience.
With first-generation students, I’m always thinking about ‘how can we flip the script?’ I’m very aware that when working with first-generation students, I always want to be asset-based. I always want to celebrate first generation students.
This project sort of takes my research one step closer to home at the campus level and says, ‘how can we take those best practices for stadium management and kind of innovate and apply them to the university setting to make the campus and its programs more accessible?
Generative AI has a lot of benefits, allowing students to find much more information than maybe than a search engine.But at the same time, it creates an issue about using their agency, whether they are assessing the solution provided by AI and also how they integrate that into their work.
From Campus to Career
Preparing students for post-graduate success begins the moment they arrive on campus,
driven in part by the work of USC’s Career Center. A key initiative supporting these
efforts is the South Carolina Internship Program (SCIP).
Launched in summer 2023 with support from the State of South Carolina, SCIP empowers
USC students across all campuses to engage in meaningful experiential learning opportunities
during their time at the university.
Through the program, students who complete an internship or co-op in a high-demand
industry within the state are eligible to receive a $3,000 supplement.
2025 - 2026 South Carolina Internship Program By The Numbers
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3.6
GPA Average
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336
South Carolina Companies
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2.5M
Dollar Amount Awarded
I was blessed with the opportunity to work at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. I was an intern with their Collaborative Technologies division, specifically working with their M365 team. I was able to learn many new skills which extended my knowledge in the I.T. field. Thanks to the SCIP Program and their grant I was able to focus entirely on my internship without worrying as much about finances.
Evans Scholars
This year, USC welcomed its first class of Evans Scholars, bringing 10 student caddies to the renovated Thornwell Residence Hall. In year one, USC led all scholarship schools in first-year GPA, showcasing a focus on leadership and academic success.
First Destination
From their first day on campus, University of South Carolina students begin building their futures through academic discovery, campus involvement and career preparation.
2024 - 2025 First Destination Survey Stats
To better understand these outcomes, students were invited to share information about where they began their careers after graduation. Their responses help document first-destination employment trends, highlight the value of a Carolina education and inform continued efforts to support future graduates as they transition from campus to career.
Top Employers of USC Graduates*
- University of South Carolina
- Prisma Health
- MUSC Health
- Bank of America
- Lexington Health
- BlueCross BlueShield
- Pricewaterhouse Cooper
- Lexington County School District One
- Wells Fargo
- Amazon
- Atrium Health
- Ernst & Young
*Ranked by number of graduates hired
Top Employer Categories*
- Healthcare
- Education
- Financial Services
- Professional Services
- Technology
Post-Graduation Locations
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70%
of Graduates
enrolled in additional education who stayed in SC
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58%
of Graduates
staying in SC for employment or additional education
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54%
Employed graduates
who stayed in SC
We are building a differentiated campus-wide career readiness ecosystem that meets students where they already are in their classrooms, campus jobs, advising conversations and student organizations. The result is students graduate knowing how to talk about what they’ve learned, how to navigate a job market that changes faster than any curriculum can keep up with and how to advocate for themselves in rooms that matter.
SC Residents’ Post-Graduation Locations
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81%
SC Residents
enrolled in additional education who stayed in SC
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79%
SC Residents
staying in SC for employment of additional education
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79%
SC Residents
employed and stayed in SC