What are we up to

Austin Caughman ’24 is a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and is stationed in Colorado Springs, CO.

This fall, Julie Covil ’24 began her first year in PC’s Occupational Therapy program. 

Minor alumna Kathryn Dover ’24 was promoted to Blog Administrator Assistant at Write2Ignite.

Minor alumnus Payton Hibler ’24 is stationed in Fairbanks, AK.

In August, Maddie Hopkins ’24 began a new position as an Assistant Account Executive at Smoak Public Relations in Greenville, SC.

In September, Landon Norizsan ’24 (pictured far right, below) began working for Fed Gov Today as a Production and Content Assistant. The show airs Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on ABC 7, and you can also listen to the podcast on Wednesdays (all platforms). Described as “a comprehensive source of information and analysis about the business of the federal government,” Fed Gov Today “provides a platform for agency leaders to share their insights and experiences about the successes and challenges of their respective agencies.”

In August, Dealo Parson ’24 became a Production Assistant for the Portia show at FOX 5 Atlanta, WAGA-TV.

Morgan Perkins ’24 will begin a Master’s degree in English at Arizona State University.

In August, Kiersten Phillips ’24 began a PR internship with South City Public Relations in Charleston, SC.

Minor alumna Claire Turner ’24 took a position in September as an Early Interventionist with Great Kids & Awesome Adults, which offers “Early Intervention Services for BabyNet (Age 0-3) eligible children and continued Early Intervention to age 6 years for children at risk for developmental delays with SCDDSN eligibility.”

In October of last year, Kenedie Conaway ’23 started a new position as a Life Science Technician at the University of Georgia.

Minor alumna Kelsey Craig ’23 is an accountant at a CPA firm in Greenville.

In May, Orion Griffin ’23 began working as an investigative reporter for the Index-Journal in Greenwood, SC. 

In July, Mitchell Mercer ’23 (pictured below) took a position as a Territory Sales Lead for The Hershey Company in the St. Louis, MO, market. (Pictures courtesy of Mitchell’s LinkedIn page.)

Minor alumna Cydni Miller ’23 is now the Assistant Volleyball Coach at the University of Texas-Permian Basin.

Hayley Steves ’23 is now a contracted editor with Spellbound Publishing. 

Sophie Sullinger ’23 has taken a job teaching 10th-grade English at Immokalee High School in Immokalee, FL. She’s also been coaching high-school and club lacrosse at Naples High School for the last year and will continue this year.

Marley Bickley, MA ’22 completed her Master of Arts in English at Clemson University and now works “as a Career Counselor at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, where [she] will serve and support students at the Johnson College of Business and Economics.”

In May, Savanna Page ’22 completed her second year at Charleston School of Law and began working as a law clerk for Bolus Law Office in North Charleston. In September, she “successfully passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)! This marks a significant milestone in my journey toward becoming a practicing attorney. Upholding ethical standards is crucial to the practice of law, and I’m proud to take this next step forward.”

Denise Devaney, JD ’20 received her law degree from the Charleston School of Law and is now waiting to take the SC Bar Exam. Currently, she works as a law clerk for the JaffeGlenn Law Group

In July, MK Kelly ’21 started a new position at Presbyterian College as Marketing Manager.

Minor alumna Trinity Williams ’21 has started work on her JD at the Elon University School of Law. She’s currently Project Manager Coordinator at Griffin & Strong, a law & public policy consulting firm in Atlanta.

Daniel Elrod ’20 began a new position as Database Manager with Circus Arts Conservatory, Inc., in Sarasota FL, last month. The CAC’s “mission is to engage and educate students using unique and innovative learning programs; to measurably improve the quality of life for individuals in care communities; and to advance the extraordinary legacy and heritage of the circus.”

In May, minor alumnus Kevin Yascur ’19 started a new position as Project Controls Area Specialist II at Novo Nordisk.

Kaitlyn Guinyard ’18 received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. This past May she “acquired [her] Certificate of Completion for ELVTR’s ‘Become a Game Writer’ course.” She’s a TFAC English Instructor at USC.

Since August 2023, minor alumna Phoebe Jones, MS ’18 has been working at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Atlanta as a technical writer.

Since May 2022, Molly Smathers ’17 has been Mid Market Account Executive (Government and Politics) with Yahoo in Washington, D.C.

Our beloved Instruction & Reference Librarian, Jillian Collier, MLIS ’16, left PC at the end of May to accept the position of Assessment and Patron Experience Librarian at Georgia Gwinnett College.

Minor alumna Julianna Franklin Dominick ’16 has had some big changes lately: she graduated from the University of Wyoming with a law degree and an MBA, and then in April she found out she passed the Montana bar exam. She’s starting her law career at Crowley Fleck in Billings, MT.

Columbia Business Monthly named Helen Dennis, MA ’15 one of their Best & Brightest Under 35 in September.

Leah Mayo, JD ’15 gave the keynote address–“To Move Forward, You Have to Give Back”–at PC’s 145th Opening Convocation in August. Read more here.

Minor alumna Jada Suber, PhD ’15 (pictured below) presented her research at the European Mast Cell and Basophil Research Network Meeting in Toulouse, France. She won an award for best poster presentation!

Jacob Rogers, MS ’14 took a job in September as an Expert Services Consultant with Logik.io in Chicago. The company “simplifies complex omnichannel transaction processes with the industry’s first and only composable AI-powered CPQ solution.”

Minor alumnus Jack Warren ’14 began “a new position as a Senior Director in Digital Strategy at Octagon” in May. Octagon is “a global agency in sports, entertainment, and culture…and the world’s largest creative marketing and sponsorship consulting practice, and a pioneer and leader in athlete and personality representation and management.”

Mary Ellis Glymph, MA ’13 has returned to the classroom: she accepted a full-time instructor position in the English department at Northeast State Community College in Blountville, TN, where she’s teaching dual-enrollment composition and college/lifelong learning courses. Previously, Mary Ellis was the Director for Teaching and Learning at East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City, TN.

Brittany Kirkland Sass ’13 became a Brand Partner Specialist, Automation, with IBM in New York City in July. She has worked at IBM in various positions since 2016, including as Manager, Marketing Analytics; Data Driven Strategy Lead (in London!); Manage, Digital Experience; Senior Manager, Account Based Marketing; and Global Demand Leader, IBM Instana.

Minor alumna Lacy Feigh, PhD ’12 was profiled on PC’s website. Lacy “is a lecturer in the Council of the Humanities and History and a Link-Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society Fellows at Princeton University, where she specializes in the history of modern Ethiopia and the legacies of slavery, empire, and race in the greater Nile Valley.”

In August, minor alum Matt Orck ’12 started a new position as Concierge Manager for Mediate Management Company in Boston, MA.

Katie Kent, MA ’11 began an M.S. in Social Work at Fayetteville State University in August.

William Baker ’10 is the Director of Communications at Ezekiel Ministries, which “mentors kids from hard places in partnership with local churches,” in Columbia, SC.

Back in April, Waypost Marketing posted this piece on Michelle Griggs ’10 on their LinkedIn page:

Join us in celebrating Michelle Griggs’s 6 years of dedication and creativity at Waypost! As our Creative Director, Michelle’s unwavering commitment to problem-solving through design has elevated our agency and delighted our clients.

With over 15 years of professional design experience, Michelle brings a wealth of expertise to every project she touches. From spearheading major branding initiatives to crafting visually stunning web designs, she transforms clients’ needs into ingenious solutions, setting aside fleeting trends in favor of timeless, purposeful design.

Michelle’s leadership extends beyond her role, fostering a culture of collaboration and genuine care within our team. Her passion for treating client budgets as our own ensures that every project is not just visually striking but also strategically sound.

We’re immensely grateful to have Michelle as an integral part of our Waypost family. Here’s to many more years of innovation, creativity, and impactful design!

Minor alumna Callie Murr ’10 has “been promoted to Associate Director of Operations at Publicis Digital Experience, a dynamic company under the prestigious Publicis Groupe umbrella!”

In September, minor alumna Erin Dooney ’09 was promoted to Design Director at Compass, a real-estate technology company in Los Angeles, CA (she started as a Designer there in 2018 and moved up the ranks).

In August, Paige Ellisor-Catoe, PhD ’03 began serving as the Chair of the English Department at Anderson University.

Ever wonder what English majors/minors (and Communication Studies majors and Creative Writing majors/minors) and alums—as well as our departmental faculty—have been up to lately? Please enjoy this semester’s update below!

In September, Dr. Terry Barr had an essay published with Comeback Town, titled “Celebrate Birmingham Authors Who Speak the Truth.” He also continues to publish essays at Medium.

Dr. Justin Brent was named the Mary Henry Edmunds & de Saussure Davis Edmunds Chair of English on Honors Day. Also in April, Dr. Brent was interviewed by Fox Carolina about the “Safe Streets and Roads for All” grant program. 

On Honors Day, Dr. Kendra Hamilton received the 2024 Robert H. Freymeyer Award for Meritorious Scholarship. In September, PC profiled Dr. Hamilton on the website about her new book, Romancing the Gullah in the Age of Porgy and Bess. Read all about it here!

Dr. Lynne Simpson was named the Charles A. Dana Professor of English on Honors Day.

Dr. Emily Taylor and her newsletter, Hot Feminism: Letters from South Carolina, received a shout-out from Matriarchy Report. In September, her guest post at Publish Not Perish—“Writing Like a Mother”–was published.