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Download one of the free digital Winthrop backgrounds for virtual alumni events or for your personal use! Wear your garnet and gold attire to show your Eagle pride for both in-person and virtual activities! Purchase Winthrop gear in the bookstore on campus or online here!
*All event times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.
Join the Virtual Alumni Book Club by signing up at www.pbc.guru/winthrop.
"Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B?" by Terri-Lynne DeFino
July 31-Oct. 2
The fourth book for the 2026 Virtual Alumni Book Club is "Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B?" by Terri-Lynne DeFino.
Regina Benuzzi is Queenie B—a culinary goddess with Michelin Star restaurants, a bestselling cookbook empire, and multimillion-dollar TV deals. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous and curvaceous, with cascading black hair and signature red lips. She had it all. Until she didn’t.
After an epic fall from grace, Queenie B vanishes from the public eye, giving up her husband, her son, and the fame that she’d fought to achieve. Her shows are in rerun, her restaurants still popular, but her disappearance remains a mystery to her legions of fans.
Local line cook Gale Carmichael also knows a thing or two about disaster. Newly sober and struggling, Gale’s future dreams don’t hold space for culinary stardom; only earning enough to get by. Broke at the end of the week, he finds himself at a local soup kitchen in one of the roughest parts of New Haven, Connecticut. But Gale quickly realizes that the food coming out of the kitchen is not your standard free meal—it is delicious and prepared with gourmet flair.
Gale doesn’t recognize Regina, the soup kitchen’s cranky proprietor, whose famous black mane is now streaked with gray. It’s been more than ten years since Queenie B vanished into her careful new existence. But she sees Gale’s talent and recognizes a brokenness in him that she knows all too well. The culinary genius in hiding takes him under her wing.
Teaching Gale, Regina’s passion to create is reignited, and they both glimpse a shot at the redemption that had always seemed out of reach. When Gale is chosen to compete on the hit cooking show, Cut!, it’s a turning point for them both.
It’s Gale’s time to shine. And that means Queenie B might just have to come out of hiding…
The reading period is July 31-Oct. 2. Read a summary and reviews for it here.
Saturday, Aug. 1-Friday, Sept. 18
Purchase your 2026 Homecoming T-shirt from Aug. 1-Sept. 18. Homecoming T-shirts are $25, which includes shipping. T-shirts will be shipped to the address indicated on the order two weeks after orders close on Sept. 18.
The 2026 Homecoming T-shirts are adult unisex Gildan - SoftStyle™, 100% ring-spun cotton. The Homecoming graphic will be printed on the front of a heather navy T-shirt. Purchase your T-shirt here!
Thursday, Aug. 13│6-8 p.m.
19th at the Warehouses
Join the Rock Hill Alumni Chapter and Provost Sebastian van Delden to connect and learn about exciting updates from Winthrop! Enjoy community over drinks, hors d'oeuvres and a round of golf. 19th at the Warehouses is owned by Winthrop alumnus Harrison Dixon '18.
At 7 p.m., Dr. van Delden will share information about new academic programs, including aviation, financial technology, artificial intelligence, supply chain and logistics, game design, software engineering, our first doctoral degree program and more! Business casual attire is suggested. Please register by Friday, Aug. 7.
Thursday, Sept. 10│6-8 p.m.
The Rutledge Room
Join fellow Charleston-area alumni and Provost Sebastian van Delden to connect and learn about exciting updates from Winthrop! At 7 p.m., Dr. van Delden will share information about new academic programs, including aviation, financial technology, artificial intelligence, supply chain and logistics, game design, software engineering, our first doctoral degree program and more! Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be provided by the Alumni Association. Business casual attire is suggested. Please register by Thursday, Sept. 3.
Thursday, Sept. 24 │6 p.m.
Zoom
Terri-Lynne DeFino, author of the current Virtual Alumni Book Club read, "Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?" will host a live Author Talk on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. viz Zoom. Terri-Lynne brings the same warmth, wit, and big-heartedness to everything she writes, and we cannot wait to hear her talk about the inspiration behind Regina and Gale, the world of professional kitchens, and the real heart of this beautiful story. Register here for the Author Talk!
November 13-14
Save the date for Homecoming and Reunion 2026, Nov. 13-14! We look forward to welcoming alumni back to campus! If your class year ends in '6 or '1, you are celebrating a milestone reunion. 2026 Class Reunion registration and Homecoming event registration will open in August.
