A team of fellows from the Riley Institute’s Fall 2024 Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI) created a capstone project called the “Soft Skills Laboratory,” a workshop designed to teach high school and college students critical workplace skills—like communication, time management, and professionalism—through collaborative, peer-led learning. The pilot took place at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg and featured students from Spartanburg High School and USC Upstate.
This spring, the next DLI cohort—known as “Soft Skills Spartanburg”—built upon that foundation to launch the program’s second iteration. Team members Savannah Ray, Meghan Smith, Daphnie Glenn, Hannah Terpack, and others refined the curriculum to better support students’ needs. They introduced a new module on Advocacy and Resources in Higher Education, while removing more niche topics like personal branding and business dining etiquette to make the program more sustainable and scalable.
USC Upstate students, many of them first-generation or student-athletes, were matched with DLI mentors based on shared career goals. These students became facilitators for the April 24 event, which brought high schoolers from James F. Byrnes High School and the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind to campus for a day of hands-on learning.
“Having our college students lead these sessions made the experience more relatable and impactful for the high schoolers,” said Hannah Terpack, director of career management at USC Upstate. “They saw people just a few years older navigating college, careers, and leadership—and doing it well.”
For students like Latasha Johnson, a May 2025 graduate and peer facilitator, the experience was meaningful. “Teaching them how to carry themselves professionally, how to collaborate, and how to express themselves with clarity and confidence felt like planting seeds that could shape their future,” she said.
Team Spartanburg hopes the Soft Skills Lab continues to grow and evolve, with future DLI cohorts adapting the curriculum for communities across South Carolina.
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