video montage showing scenes from new york city

Gamecock Nation

New York City

Posted on: November 18, 2024; Updated on: November 18, 2024
By Communications and Marketing, usctoday@mailbox.sc.edu

Graphic that has tail feathers and the text NYC 212. — **Connect with New York City Gamecock alumni**

As we celebrate the Mighty Sound of the Southeast’s appearance at the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, let’s also take a moment to celebrate the greater Gamecock spirit. From Times Square Studios to the New York Public Library, from Bryant Park to Broadway, New York is Carolina country, and we’ve got the stories and pictures to prove it.

For the latest installment of Gamecock Nation, the University of South Carolina social media team and Carolinian magazine traveled to New York City to meet a cross section of proud alumni living, working and chasing their dreams in the city that never sleeps. These proud Gamecocks have all blossomed in the Big Apple, but their stories remain firmly rooted on the campus they call home.

For more stories about alumni living the dream in New York City check out “Gamecocks Take Manhattan” in the winter edition of Carolinian. To keep up with everything else garnet and black, follow the university on social media.

woman stands outside with trees and tall buildings in the background

Carolinian spotlight: Sara Bako

As division president for London Times, a subsidiary of dressmaker Maggy London, Sara Bako is living two of her biggest dreams at once: She and her family live in New York City, and she works in the retail industry. But the Atlanta native and ’04 retail management graduate draws on her Southern roots every day.

“I consider myself a Southerner in New York,” says Bako. “I won't ever let go of that. It’s a defining part of who I am, and it's a defining part of my approach to business. So much of women's apparel is based in the Northeast, and too often stores make assumptions about what Southern customers want. I understand that customer and that part of the U.S. That’s one of my secret weapons.”

Gamecocks of New York

Finding a University of South Carolina connection in New York City is easy. Whether it’s hearing a spirited “Go Cocks!” from a fellow subway rider or meeting parents who dropped off their youngest at campus last week, the Gamecock family feels ever-present — even in the hustle and bustle of NYC.

With over 5,000 alumni in New York State, we celebrate this community in the style of "Humans of New York" — capturing the stories of 10 alumni across fields from technology to the arts, from basketball to pediatric care, each pursuing their dreams in the city that never sleeps.

Carolinian spotlight: Stan Brown

This spring, actor Stan Brown made his Broadway debut at the age of 61. The theatre double alumnus, ’84, ’89 MFA, calls the role as Camel in the musical Water for Elephants “a dream deferred,” but it’s not as if he has been waiting in the wings all these years. The Great White Way is just the latest chapter in a long and gratifying career.

“I never expected to do Broadway when I came here as a younger man,” Brown explains from a box overlooking the stage of the Imperial Theater. “I couldn't get an agent to meet with me, let alone represent me, so I just kind of changed my plans. I had my degree from USC, so I could teach, and I fell in love with that.”

Mason Jar x NYC Gamecock Club

When the NYC Gamecock Club needed a regular spot to meet and watch Gamecock sporting events, they found the Mason Jar in New York City. It was the perfect home with Southern fare already on the menu and a quintessential Southern symbol as the logo.

The Mason Jar partners, Brendan Gardner (left) and Brian Ausfeld, are not South Carolina alumni but are considered honorary Gamecocks. The Mason Jar has Gamecock events year-round hosting athletes, coaches, colleges and schools and more.

For over a decade, the NYC Gamecock Club and Gamecock alumni have filled the Mason Jar every football Saturday, often with a line out the door waiting for a table. Learn more about the New York City Gamecock Club and follow them on social media to attend an upcoming event.

Co-owners of the Mason Jar pose in front of the Mason Jar Bar in NYC.

woman sits in front of a cityscape backdrop

Carolinian spotlight: Eva Pilgrim

You’ve seen Eva Pilgrim in the co-host seat on Good Morning America and GMA3, but the broadcast journalism alumna has a rich life beyond TV. And while she’s been living, working and enjoying her career in New York City for nearly a decade, she approaches life in the Big Apple on her own terms.

“People think of New York as this big city, hustle and bustle, but it can also be what you choose to make it,” she says. “I did live the hustle and bustle life for a very long time — I was a single young person in the city, living it up for a while — but you can also have something very different.”

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