Welcome back to USC!

August 19, 2024

Dear Carolina students,

No matter how hot the weather may get in South Carolina, August is always my favorite time of the year, because that’s when you return to campus. Without you, we are not a university!

Many of you may have spent your summer doing some of the same things I did – traveling, spending time with family and friends, catching up on projects, and watching the Summer Olympics. We were inspired by our 12 Gamecock Olympians in Paris – 11 alumni and one student, including gold medalists Quincy Hall in Track and A’ja Wilson in Women’s Basketball. These athletes have dedicated themselves to achieving at their highest ability and giving their best efforts to realize their dreams.

I hope the Olympic spirit will inspire you as you begin a new academic year at USC. Just like those elite athletes, your success depends on how well you take care of your mind and body, how you motivate yourself each day to keep working toward your goals, and how you commit to achieving your personal best.

Here on campus, we are continuing to make improvements that create a better student experience. For example, the new ParkUSC app will help you efficiently locate available parking spaces in campus lots, and a new automated parking navigation system is coming to Bull Street Garage this fall. The latest Wi-Fi upgrades are under way at Russell House. The new academic calendar for the fall semester includes a full week’s break for Thanksgiving. New water bottle-filling stations have been installed around campus. The Golden Spur full-service restaurant is now open at Campus Village, and you’ll find other new campus dining options as well. And our Starship food-delivery robots are back for your convenience!

Many of these improvements were priorities for USC’s Student Government, and we worked together to implement the solutions. I encourage you to follow their example by getting involved in campus life wherever you can and contributing to a better USC experience for yourself and your classmates.

I look forward to welcoming our newest Gamecocks tonight at First Night Carolina on the Horseshoe. You’ll also see me in the student section of Williams-Brice at the start of home football games, at the President’s House for trick-or-treating at Halloween, in our dining halls for a Thanksgiving meal and for Midnight Breakfast before exams, and throughout the semester at many campus events. It’s a great pleasure for me and the First Lady to connect with you wherever we meet.

I wish you all a great start to a new semester!

Michael Amiridis
President