Amy Austin says she feels like she has come full circle with her life and career and she thanks USC-Union for having a major part in her success.

“If Union did not have a university, I may have never gone to college,” said Mrs. Austin, who is foster family recruiter and licenser for the Department of Social Services in Union County.

Mrs. Austin graduated from Union High School in 1992 and attended North Greenville University on an art scholarship. She found at that time she simply wasn’t ready for college.

She began working at Paradise Home Center in Union in 1994 and remained in her job for almost seven years. She said Net Berry at Paradise was a huge influence and encouraged her to go back to school.

It wasn’t easy, but it was well worth the effort, she said. The professors at the school want students to succeed.

“Thomas Simpson (math professor) never let me give up,” she said. “I would take tests with a huge lump in my throat but he never gave up on me and never let me quit. Randy Ivey (English professor) always made learning interesting because of his love and enthusiasm for literature. Because of Mr. Ivey and another professor I studied under at Limestone, I wrote and illustrated a children’s book that I hope to have published someday. Mary Lawson was a great teacher and somehow I managed to do well in economics despite the fact that it was my least favorite subject, and she ended up becoming a dear friend. Jack Kelly was always there, too — tutoring and revising papers. I never thought that after all of those journals that he ‘made’ us do in high school that I would actually even go to him for help. Instead, I was very thankful to him for being such a demanding teacher then. I may not have ‘gotten’ it then but I know he was an influential part in who I have become.”

Support of her husband, Kendall, his parents and her parents helped make graduating from college a reality, Mrs. Austin said.

“Words cannot express the joy of accomplishment that I felt when I graduated from USC-Union,” she said. “It was a joy I may have never realized had I not had an opportunity to attend a university in Union County.”

Shortly before her graduation from USC-Union in the spring of 2002, Mrs. Austin gave birth to her first child, Chandler.

“Chandler has special needs and my husband encouraged me to be a stay at home mom so we could make sure he got all the services, therapies and support he needed to thrive and grow to be a strong, healthy boy,” she said. “I felt this would be a great opportunity to continue my education and decided to begin the block program at Limestone College. This way, I could be with our child during the day and he could be with his daddy in the evenings.”

Mrs. Austin earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, graduating in December of 2004. After the birth of her second child, Taylor, in July of 2005, she began pursuing job opportunities.

“A friend of mine, Kim Inabinet, was working for the Department of Social Services,” Mrs. Austin said. “She encouraged me to apply and I did. After working with Adult Protective Services in York County, a position became available in Union for Foster Family Recruiting. I was eager to be closer to home- — with two small children it just made sense. Needless to say, I feel like I have traveled full circle, not realizing I would end up right back here in Union County where it all started, and for that I am proud.”

USC-Union needs to remain open because of the opportunities it provides, Mrs. Austin said.

“Gov. Mark Sanford would be making a huge mistake if he chooses to close USC-Union,” she said. “Our economy is in crisis and according to our new president, it is going to be important that America be given more and better opportunities within education. It may not seem that Union is making tremendous progress with economic growth right now. It has been devastating on many families with the way the economy is. Union is fortunate to have our city council, county council, chamber of commerce, tourism commission and other groups working so diligently to bring economic growth to our community. It is going to be important with our projected growth that Union County still have USC-Union to offer as a plus when brinhing jobs and businesses to our area.”