Video by Terry Manning
Photos by Terry Manning and Jarred Bradley
At USC Upstate, where a vibrant, supportive community comes together to work and learn on a campus enveloped by natural beauty, magic can happen.
Cordelia Fingar ’25 and Zhane Johnson ’25 first met at Byrnes High School in Spartanburg County. When it came to choosing a college after graduation, Fingar knew she wanted a school that would give her exceptional, beyond-classroom preparation for her career. Johnson was looking for a school with a small, close-knit community. And they knew that wherever they went, they wanted to go together.
Photo by Jarred Bradley
They found the school that matched their vision at a transfer day event during their time at Spartanburg Community College. They met Ira Pace, director of undergraduate recruitment at Upstate, who guided them every step of the way to becoming part of the Spartan community. “He was not going to give up on us,” Fingar said. “Even when there were challenges in the transfer process, he helped us find resources and people who could support us.”
Fingar and Johnson soon began working as student ambassadors for the University’s admissions department. Through that work, they developed relationships with students and faculty and a familiarity with the campus. It was the close community Johnson had wanted.
Fingar and Johnson both worked in positions at Upstate that gave them the kind of beyond-classroom experience Fingar had been looking for. She majored in psychology with a minor in business administration and worked as a career coach in the George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics. Johnson was a computer information systems major and was a help desk specialist in the Division of Information Technology.
Photo by Jarred Bradley
One of the admissions team members, Jarred Bradley, asked Johnson and Fingar to do a photo shoot on campus for some images he needed. Johnson asked Bradley to get an extra shot at the amphitheater in the Susan Jacobs Arboretum. Fingar loves to go for walks in the arboretum and had remarked more than once to Johnson about how much she loves the place. For the shot, Bradley asked the two to walk away from each other and then turn around and walk toward each other with a sense of excitement. Bradley’s instructions were “a genius plan” Johnson recalls. “When she turned back around I was down on one knee proposing.”
Reflecting on why he chose Upstate for the engagement Johnson said, “I think it’s all the memories that we’ve made here. All the people – we’ve made lifelong friends for sure.” He added, “Having this be one of our favorite places that we’ve been to so far, I thought that it would be a very special place to do that.”
Photo by Terry Manning
Last fall, the Upstate community and campus took on a greater meaning for Fingar and Johnson.
The couple chose to remain in the Spartanburg area after graduation and want to stay connected to the campus. “We’ve both been equipped with experiences that will help us move confidently into our careers,” Fingar said. “We grew here — individually and together.”
Interested in transferring to USC Upstate? Let us streamline the process. Find more information on our Transfer Student page.
Story: Samuel Hermanson
Editing: Elizabeth Anderson, Director of Integrated Communications and Emily Gillespie, Communications Director