ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: KATHIE JONES ‘93


When Kathie Jones ‘93 arrived at Winthrop as a freshman, she was certain that she would transfer somewhere else at the end of the year. She had turned down a full ride to Julliard and decided to instead focus on math. Since her brother was entering his senior year at Winthrop, it just made sense to choose a place that was somewhat familiar. She moved into Wofford dormitory, but her college experience was far from traditional compared to most undergraduate students.


While Kathie’s parents paid tuition for all five of their children, it was up to her to pay for books, housing, and meals. Kathie worked 40 hours a week and took classes full-time so she could graduate in four years. She started her days at 8 a.m. with a law firm on Cherry Road, took classes from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and worked at H&R Block in York, often until midnight or the early morning hours during tax season.


“They’d leave me a stack of papers and notes on what they wanted me to do,” Kathy recalls. “I still remember keying in the rapid return tax forms and using dial-up, where you could only enter 10 forms at a time,” she says.


Kathie decided to stay after all and was delighted to move to a room in Margaret Nance with floor to ceiling windows. She graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and skills that set her apart from other candidates.


“My Winthrop experience helped me develop excellent time management skills, which are still important today. I also felt like I had a leg up in 1993 because I already had exposure to Microsoft programs, computers, how to use a copier, and how an office works,” Kathie says.


4 “I love the diversity of my


team and that our people are all over the globe. I get to learn so much about other


cultures by working with them, and I get to travel to places


like India and China to work with them in person, too.”


Kathie Jones ‘93

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10