University of South Carolina

Alumni Updates

Alumni of the South Carolina Washington Semester Program are among an elite group of highly motivated and accomplished individuals. While their post-undergraduate studies and career paths have varied, the common thread has been the unique experience of working and learning in Washington, DC. We hear countless stories of how the South Carolina Washington Semester Program opened doors and broadened horizons.

We now have a way for alumni to connect with each other using the Washington Semester Program Alumni Facebook page.  Alumni who are not registered with Facebook can email WSP Academic Director Korey Rothman at rothman@sc.edu and she will include you on emails to alumni.

Alumni Accomplishments

Not only are we excited to hear about what you have achieved, but we like to tell others, especially students who may be considering spending a semester in Washington, Send a brief description of what you are currently doing to Korey Rothman at rothman@sc.edu and we'll post it on this alumni page.

Spring 2009 Fellows

• Sanaz Arjomand (College of Charleston).  In the summer of 2009 Sanaz traveled to Iran, and her blog about her trip was featured by the Huffington Post and the American Public Television program Worldfocus. Visit Sanaz's blog.

Fall 2008 Fellows

• Laura Barker (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In spring of 2009 Laura interned at a human rights organization called the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict. In fall of 2009 she started law school at the University of Pennsylvania to study international law.
• Caroline Burns (College of Charleston). In 2009 Caroline received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study in Africa.
• William Davis (Wofford). In 2009 William accepted a position as Development Coordinator for a group home for troubled youth in South Carolina. William married in June 2009.

Spring 2008 Fellows

• Kelly Amell (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In spring of 2009 Kelly graduated Cum Laude. In summer of 2009 she paged for South Carolina Senator Paul Campbell. In fall of 2009 Kelly started law school at Wake Forest University
• Hailey (Davis) James (Winthrop).  In 2009 Hailey started a lifestyle photography business in Charleston, SC, Hailey James Photography. She plans to attend a Master in Health Administration (MHA) program, an interest shaped by her fellowship in the office of Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), who was the Chair of the Subcommittee on African and Global Health. Hailey married in spring of 2009.
• Chantel Knowling (South Carolina State University). Chantel will graduate in 2010, and she is looking at possible law schools.
• Craig Morford (University of South Carolina, Columbia). In fall of 2009, Craig started his first year of law school at Ohio State University.
• Krystal Webber (University of South Carolina, Columbia). In fall of 2008, Krystal began work as a Field Coordinator for the Citizens for Biden, a Senatorial re-election campaign. She is currently an Account Executive for Cyberwoven, South Carolina's largest web development company.

Fall 2007 Fellows

• Ryan Melton (Francis Marion).  In spring of 2009 Ryan graduated top of his class and received the Mark Blackwell Award for the graduate with the highest GPA over their college career (4.0). He also received the School of Business Management Award, the FMU Scholastic Achievement Award, and the Duane P. Myers Honors Award. In 2009 Ryan began working as a project coordinator with the Tennis Industry Association, a trade association for the tennis industry.

Spring 2007 Fellows

• Michael Brinson (The Citadel).  In 2008 Michael attended Birzeit University in Palestine and the American University in Cairo.
• Omar Figueroa (University of South Carolina, Upstate).  After graduation Omar continued to work as a Spanish Medical Interpreter at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. He is hoping to attend Dentistry School in fall of 2010.
• Sarah Harvey (College of Charleston).  After graduation Sarah worked as a Staff Assistant for California Representative Jerry McNerne. In 2009 she moved to Beirut and began working as a Program Assistant for the Access Microscholarship Program, which is run by AMIDEAST, an American Education NGO that works closely with USAID and the US State Department.
• Kyle Petersen (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In fall of 2009 Kyle began the Masters in English Literature program at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and he is working as a graduate assistant in the University of South Carolina Honors College.

Fall 2006 Fellows

• Malvina Hryniewicz (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In fall of 2009 Malvina began her final year of law school at George Mason University. She is working as a legal intern at the US Office of Special Counsel in DC.
• Antoine Marshall (Claflin University).  In spring of 2009 Antoine graduated with a BA in American Studies and a minor in Biology. In fall of 2009 Antoine started law school at Wake Forest University on a partial scholarship.
• Brandon Sousa (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In 2007, Brandon began working as an AmeriCorps volunteer, which is the domestic equivalent of the Peace Corps. He worked for an environmental nonprofit, the Marin Conservation Corps, in San Francisco, CA, assisting with environmental education in low-income schools, volunteer coordination, and service event planning. In the fall of 2008, he began law school at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was awarded a Dean's Merit Scholarship. During his time at Tulane, he was involved in the 14th annual Tulane Environmental Law and Policy Summit, which was attended by over. 400 people. In summer of 2009 Brandon was a law clerk at the firm of Martzell & Bickford in the New Orleans central business district. In fall of 2009 he will be a member of the Tulane Law Review, President of the Environmental Law Society, and he will continue part-time clerking for Martzell & Bickford. As president of ELS, he will plan and coordinate programming for the group, which is one of the largest and most active student organizations at Tulane Law School, and he will also help in the preparations and execution of the 15th Environmental Law and Policy Summit.

Spring 2006 Fellows

• Max Blachman (College of Charleston).  After graduation, Max worked as a field organizer with the Obama campaign, where he spent eight months organizing Northeast Richland County before heading to five additional primary states. During the general election, he was hired as the Regional Field Director for Northern Franklin County in Ohio, where he was responsible for half of Columbus and Ohio State University. He currently works for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown as his Regional Representative for Northeast Ohio, where he does community outreach in a ten-county region with a primary focus on Akron, Canton, and Youngstown.
• Sarah Chakales (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In 2008 Sarah went to Hong Kong on a Rotary Ambassador Scholarship. During that time she worked toward a Master's Degree in journalism at the University of Hong Kong.
• Nicole (Modeen) Hark (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In spring of 2007 Nicole studied in Cairo, Egypt on a Rotary Ambassador Scholarship. After graduation, she moved to D.C. and worked temporarily for Al Jazeera. In 2008 Nicole took a full-time position with American University's Center for Democracy and Election Management. She also began a Master's of Arts program in Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University in the School of International Service. In 2009 Nicole traveled to Indonesia as an election observer for their Presidential elections. She is also the project coordinator for a new program that will connect US high schools across the country with partner classes in Iraq, Algeria and Yemen. Nicole married in 2008.
• Loren Hyatt (Wofford).  In 2008 Loren worked at The White House in the Office of Public Liaisons, an office that promotes Presidential priorities through outreach to concerned constituencies and public interest groups. During that time she traveled to Ukraine in support of the President's trip to Kyiv.

Fall 2005 Fellows

• Meghan Hughes (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  Meghan began working part-time for Senator Lindsey Graham immediately after completing her fellowship in his office while with the WSP. Upon graduation, she was hired full-time as the Deputy Finance Director, involved with fundraising efforts. She also handled FEC compliance, coordinates the interns, and has helped with political activities around the state. She is currently Deputy Press Secretary in Senator Graham's DC office.
• Kristen Munsey (College of Charleston).  In 2008 Kristen served as of South Carolina Low Country Field Representative for Senator John McCain's 2008 Presidential campaign.
• Michael Pesta (College of Charleston).  In fall of 2009 Mike started law school at Loyola University in Las Angeles on a partial scholarship.
• Sonam Shah (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In fall of 2007 Sonam started medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Spring 2005 Fellows

• Mary Lauren Kennedy (College of Charleston).  In 2009 Mary Lauren and her husband welcomed into their family a baby girl.
• Meg More (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In spring of 2009 Meg graduated from Harvard Law School. She is spending a year as an associate at The Nature Conservancy's regional office in Boston, a position sponsored by the Boston-headquartered law firm for which she is scheduled to begin working in the fall of 2010.
• Mark Ziats (Clemson).  Mark is completing an MD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. In spring of 2010 we will begin a Ph.D. program, working on neural stem cell genetics at the University of Oxford in the UK.

Fall 2004 Fellows

• Will Anderson (The Citadel).  In the summer of 2008 Will returned to DC to serve as a Health Care Fellow through the American Medical Association in the office of Senator Jim DeMint. In fall of 2009 Will entered his third year of medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, and he plans to pursue a residency in ophthalmology.
• Rebecca Spencer (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  Rebecca worked in Miami, FL as project coordinator for a non-profit called the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. She was project manager for one of their programs that helps unaccompanied immigrant children. In fall of 2009 she returned to DC to begin the Master in Public Administration program at George Washington University.
• Bobbie Wofford-Kanwat (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In 2009 Bobbie graduated from the University of South Carolina, Columbia with a JD/IMBA - Spanish track. She interned in Chile with Banco Estado Microempresasm a microfinance bank that was ranked five this year in the top places to work in Latin America. In 2009 she accepted a job as a staff attorney at the SC Court of Appeals.

Spring 2004 Fellows

• Karen Henderson (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  After graduating magna cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in Political Science and a minor Religious Studies, Karen received the Rotary Ambassador Scholarship for graduate study at a foreign institution. She received her Masters of Arts in Global Governance and Administration from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. Karen relocated to Charlotte, NC to open up an artisan lighting store, featuring handmade copper lighting. In fall of 2009 she began law school at Charlotte School of Law.

Spring 2002 Fellows

• Matt Gerrald (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  In spring of 2007 Matt graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He passed the bar exam in November 2007 and was ceremonially administered the South Carolina Attorney's Oath by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He currently works for the Columbia Law firm of Barnes, Alford, Stork & Johnson. His first child, a son, was born in May 2007 and his second son was born July 2009.

Fall 1999 Fellows

• Daniel Layfield (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  Daniel worked on Governor Sanford's first campaign for governor and then worked in the governor's office in Columbia for two years as a policy advisor. In 2007 he graduated from law school at the University of Virginia. Since then, Daniel has been working as an associate in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York, NY.

Spring 1999 Fellows

• Clay Woody (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  Clay lives Greenville, SC where he is working for Lockheed Martin. He has five children.

Spring 1998 Fellows

• Todd Columbus (University of South Carolina, Columbia).  Todd is currently a United States Border Patrol Agent in Montana. He was also stationed in Arizona with the Border Patrol, and he also worked as a counter-drug intelligence analyst with the US Department of Justice.