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Mayor Osbon Visits USCA Classroom

Aiken, SC (11/29/2021) — Aiken mayor and University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) alumnus Rick Osbon recently visited the university's campus to consider students' input on local issues.

Undergraduate students in Dr. Sarah Young's political science course on state and local government were assigned a group project to pick a policy issue important to the USCA campus and then advocate for that issue to a key decision-maker. This group of students chose to advocate for Dreamport funding.

The Dreamport, to be located on USCA's campus, is the future home to the South Carolina National Guard's Cyber Battalion. Osbon has led funding requests for the project through the Savannah River Site MOX settlement. Students Nathan Garner, Clayton Ryles, Zach Tallent, Willie Wright, and Wilbur Holmes explained to Osbon why funding for this project could be a game-changer for future students, specifically.

During his visit, Osbon shared with students how he, as a local elected official, has worked with state-level policymakers on this issue to advance the university's interests.

"We have talked about the interplay between federal, state, and local government in this class, so Mayor Osbon's specific insights into the SRS settlement were quite instructive," Young said. "We are grateful to him for listening to our political science majors as they advocated for this important campus initiative. The students applied their learning to become active participants in the policy-making process, and they gained valuable insights from the mayor on the collaboration between local and state governments. It is terrific that our local leadership supports our political science program and our university."

Two additional student groups from the class are focusing their attention on other campus issues. One group is researching approaches to achieving high retention and graduation rates for USCA students, while the other group explores ways to better connect students to downtown Aiken. In each of the projects, students are using their skills to promote key priorities of the university.

Media Attachments

Undergraduate students in Dr. Sarah Young’s political science course on state and local government were assigned a group project to pick a policy issue important to the USCA campus and then advocate for that issue to a key decision-maker.

Wilbur

Holmes