Alumni and Friends,
We loved welcoming the newest cohort of legacy students to Winthrop during Family Orientation! At Winthrop, legacy students are children, grandchildren or siblings of Winthrop graduates. The Alumni Association invited incoming legacy students and their families to connect with us during their Family Orientation for a photo opportunity and some legacy swag! Check out the legacy student photos on the Alumni Association Facebook page!
Be a mentor. Make a Difference. Recruitment is now open for the 2025/2026 I’m Ready alumni to student mentor program! Join us for the third year of this impactful experience where Winthrop alumni guide students through topics related to career exploration, networking and professional growth. As a mentor, you will share your insights, career background and connect with current students through your shared Winthrop experience. Be a part of something meaningful – empower the next generation of Eagles by giving back in a personal and powerful way. To learn more, e-mail Leah Simmonds '23, Alumni Career Program Director, at simmondsl@winthrop.edu.
Visit the Alumni Association upcoming events page for full details. Use one of the free digital Winthrop backgrounds for virtual events and wear your garnet and gold attire to show your Eagle pride for both in-person and virtual activities!
*All event times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.
Virtual Alumni Book Club
"The Overnight Guest" by Heather Gudenkauf
May 23-July 25
The third book for the 2025 Virtual Alumni Book Club is "The Overnight Guest" by Heather Gudenkauf. True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace. Soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought. The reading period is May 23-July 25. Click here to read a summary and reviews for it. Join the Virtual Alumni Book Club by signing up at www.pbc.guru/winthrop.
"Birding to Change the World: A Memoir" by Trish O'Kane
Aug. 1-Oct. 3
The fourth book for the 2025 Virtual Alumni Book Club is "Birding to Change the World: A Memoir" by Trish O'Kane. In this uplifting memoir, a professor and activist shares what birds can teach us about life, social change and protecting the environment. O’Kane never expected to be a birder. It was a lone red cardinal and a bumptious cast of house sparrows that changed everything for O’Kane after Hurricane Katrina shattered her life in New Orleans. Watching birds thrive throughout the devastated city became her salvation and set her on a new path. Soon O’Kane found herself pursuing an environmental science Ph.D. in Wisconsin, where she became a full-on bird obsessive—logging hours and hours in a stunningly diverse urban park, filling field notebooks with observations of bird doings and dramas, and volunteering in a wildlife rehabilitation center bird nursery.
The reading period is Aug. 1-Oct. 3. Click here to read a summary and reviews for it. Join the Virtual Alumni Book Club by signing up at www.pbc.guru/winthrop.
Convocation
Monday, Aug. 25 | 11 a.m.
One of Winthrop's best known traditions, Convocation began with founding President David Bancroft Johnson gathering the student body together to mark the beginning of the school year. Today, President Serna '02 convenes all members of the entering class for an official welcome. The Student Alumni Council will welcome students to the event and distribute the Garnet and Gold Book which serves as a guide to all of Winthrop's history and traditions! At the close of Convocation, participate in another of Winthrop's treasured traditions, the Blue Line, as the newest class of Eagles processes to front campus for a community picnic!
Ring Days
Tuesday, Sept. 9 | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
DiGiorgio Campus Center Lobby
If you are a degree-holding alumnus, a current student who has completed 54 credit hours, or a graduate student who has completed at least 18 hours at Winthrop University, you are eligible to purchase the Official Winthrop Ring and other Winthrop jewelry! Stop by our table in the DiGiorgio Campus Center to speak with Jostens representatives about your options, get sized, and purchase your Official Winthrop Ring. You can get up to $150 off your ring when you order at the table! The Student Alumni Council will welcome you at the table to provide more information about the Official Winthrop Ring and Fall Ring Ceremony.
Winthrop Ever Stand,
Lori Tuttle
Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Reunion Giving
