Alvin Monte’ Curry
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S. C.) — As Winthrop University has experienced growth in enrollment this Fall, the school is making an effort to get more students involved on campus.

Enrollment has grown nearly 40 percent since 2022, as Winthrop has welcomed more than 1,000 freshman and over 330 transfer students for the fall 2025 semester. That makes the class of 2029 the largest freshman class since 2015.

Last month the DiGiorgio Student Union, a group that focuses on planning and hosting events, held its annual Involvement Fair, which is intended to help students become more engaged on campus.

Freshman Saniyah Tyler, a business administration major, said attending events is helping to shape her first-year experience.

“I would say my Winthrop experience has been pretty good, because I have been able to meet a lot of new people,” Tyler said. “(Events have) taught me to become more independent and just like to branch out and find out who I am.”

She said one event she enjoyed was a culture event focused on criminal justice education called “Behind the Badge.”

Tianna Harrell, technology services coordinator for the DiGiorgio Campus Center, says she has noticed more “student energy” on campus this semester.

“The culture has changed, because more people are actually more active and involved. I love to see it,” Harrell said.

Third-year student Jay Whittaker says his involvement in the student group Call Me MISTER and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity have helped him become a leader on campus.

“Freshman year I wasn’t as involved or on campus as much as I am right now, so things are becoming a lot more apparent to me,” Whittaker said.

“Back then, people’s social etiquette wasn’t really there, so they weren’t trying to collaborate or do stuff on campus, but now the community seems a whole lot more in tandem and open to doing more events.”

Whittaker said he feels like the student body is more connected now, compared to his first semester on campus.