Janet Ownley Helps Remember 9/11 Victims

Senior Janet Ownley believes Winthrop empowers its students to be engaged.

“I think the reason I have been able to be involved in so much is because of the support of the faculty and their trust of the students that we can do and be responsible for a lot,” said Ownley, a native of Hartsville, S.C., majoring in business administration.

Ownley helped orchestrate the 9/11 Never Forget Project, a joint effort among the College Republicans, the Winthrop Psychology Club and the Young America’s Foundation in honor of the seventh anniversary of September 11. Students placed 2,977 flags in front of Byrnes Auditorium to represent the victims lost at the World Trade Center Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania.

In addition to her numerous campus activities, including serving as the vice president of College Republicans and working as a career advisor in the Center for Career and Civic Engagement, Ownley has traveled abroad for mission work with Winthrop’s Cooperative Student Fellowship and the Oakland Avenue Baptist Church in Rock Hill.

She went to Spain and Northern Africa for 10 days to work with African refugees last December, and for spring break this year she traveled to Toronto, where she met people from 27 countries.

“When I came to Winthrop, I had never been out of the country. I learned a lot about the different students and their different backgrounds working with Orientation and Peer Mentors,” said Ownley, who hopes to pursue a master’s degree in accounting after graduation in May 2009.

Next up for Ownley is a student-hosted political debate she is coordinating with the College Democrats and Socialist Student Union in October. She said the event will allow students to learn about the different student organizations and to discuss current political issues.

Janet at a Glance

• Concentration: Accounting

• High School: Hartsville High School

• Additional Campus Activities: Cooperative Student Fellowship, Peer Mentor for three years, 2007 Orientation staff coordinator, 2006 Orientation Assistant