Gamecocks of New York

Lakeyia Brown
2018 marketing, 2023 MMC

"A conference at USC during my sophomore year introduced me to the work that has been my livelihood since I graduated: social media management. Dawn Staley and A'ja Wilson helped me find a passion in basketball that would drive me to get to New York City.  

After working for both USC and the athletics department, I made a stop in Louisiana for a job and then had the opportunity a few months later to come up north to further pursue my dreams. Now, I manage social media for one of the top-three most valuable teams in the NBA. 

My time at Carolina showed me that there are no limits to what I can do, where I can go and how successful I can be. USC will always have a special place in my life. It’s where my dreams began, even when I didn't know what they were."

Lakeyia Brown is senior manager for digital content with the New York Knicks.

Joshua Gatewood
2010 MIB

“My favorite thing about running Yankee Doodle Dandy’s is how much we’re part of the fabric of NYC. We do countless music festivals and events around the city and support many tremendous causes. I love feeling like I’m creating the story for the brand using NYC as the backdrop. 

My objective is to have many, many restaurants. I think we’ll have about 20 stores on Long Island and then we’ll be reopening stores in NYC. I think the international focus of my studies provides opportunities for me to create lasting impressions with customers from around the globe. Whether I’m making Chinese customers laugh when I tell them in Mandarin that we have the best chicken ever — or getting French tourists to come by the truck by telling them we have the best chicken in the whole world — my international studies background facilitated my success. Also, it’s worth noting my time in the South definitely influenced my culinary style. I definitely wouldn’t have created the quality of the product I have now without my Southern education.” 

Joshua Gatewood earned a master of international business degree at USC then worked at Michelin North America in Greenville and Delta Air Lines in Atlanta. With startup money won on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, the Darla Moore School of Business alumnus made a career pivot in 2013, founding Yankee Doodle Dandy’s, a New York City-based chicken tender restaurant and food truck operation.  

Jordan Lim
2019 business administration

“I chose USC for the community. Coming from Seattle, I was looking for a school that could provide me with a range of perspectives, strong academics and professional opportunities. It doesn’t hurt that my parents met inside Russell House! After I graduated, I was fortunate to start at Microsoft right out of college. I began in Charlotte but moved with Microsoft to NYC to better serve our customers. My time at USC helped me build my network to where it is now. The Gamecock family has given me connections from peers to CEOs. Being a Gamecock is a universal love language!” 

Jordan Lim is a customer experience leader at Microsoft Americas.

Tati Chin
2015 integrated information technology

“Coming from USC prepared Lindsay and I to use our backgrounds as an advantage. From food, to culture, to music, and beyond, everything about the South is just different. We’ve also both experienced many corporate/client interactions where we’ve connected with someone over traditions like tailgating, barbecue, or college football. It’s very special. Being one person in a sea of people at USC, on a campus with 30,000 students, also taught us how to fit in and stand out. Living in New York isn’t that different.”

Lindsay Richardson
2015 business administration, 2018 J.D.

“USC teaches you about being open to ideas that are different from your own. When I was student body president, numerous visitors came to campus to speak about various ideas — some brilliant and insightful, others not so much, and dare I say, offensive? After hearing one inflammatory speech, I remember asking our faculty, ‘Why do we allow these types of speeches on campus?’ And the answer was that you cannot honestly form your own beliefs without hearing and understanding perspectives different than your own. Looking back, I am so thankful for that lesson and that exposure. 

Our motto at the university was ‘learning humanizes character and does not permit it to be cruel,’ and that motto continues to remind me to learn in every space, to be open to new ideas and to remember our shared humanity. To really take advantage of New York — or any new place or experience — you have to let go of expectations and be open to possibility. But you can’t be open to possibility unless you have confronted ideas that are different from your own and that have challenged you to consider a new perspective.”  

Tati Chin, is a vice president for technology risk at Goldman Sachs. Lindsay Richardson, was student body president at USC and is now an attorney at Ropes & Gray LLP. The two met at USC and maintained their friendship after moving to New York. 

Anne Rusinak
2010 political science

“I came back to New York after living abroad for a few years. Joining @nycgamecocks was really my way to reconnect to alumni and the university. I knew one person here, and she had me join the club to watch a game. Later, she asked if I wanted to join the board and I said yes. That was 10 years ago. 

There are so many different levels of engagement to get involved with us. Showing up is the first level, but we have members who help with our philanthropy initiatives, play in our intramural leagues and plan family-friendly events. We’re grateful for any involvement in our club and the opportunity to continue building Gamecock connections.”  

Anne Rusinak is president of New York City Gamecock Club and works as a sustainability and ESG services specialist at Anchin accounting and advisory firm.

Madison Patterson
2020 dance

“Both of us are so grateful for the experiences at USC that led us to NYC. First, and most importantly, USC is where we met. Through mutual friends involved in campus ministries like YoungLife and Midtown College, we became friends and started dating, enjoying time together with picnics on the Horseshoe, study dates at Cool Beans and Saturday mornings at the Soda City Market. We even had ‘our bench’ — right outside of Rutledge on the Horseshoe — where we’d meet for a few minutes in between classes.”

Robby Patterson
2020 public health

“Now that we’re in NYC, we’re thankful for the many opportunities USC provided us as students. For Madison, having the opportunity to apply for grants and complete research in the Arnold School of Public Health helped prepare her for PT school, where she continued to participate in research for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. For me, my time at USC enabled me to explore my passions alongside brilliant faculty and loyal friends and colleagues.” 

Madison Patterson, is a pediatric physical therapist at Hospital for Special Surgery. Her husband, Robby Patterson, is a labor optimization analyst for Shake Shack. The two met on campus as undergraduates. Their dog, Burrow, is a certified good boy.

Dylan Knight
2013 history

 "Coming from a family of Gamecocks, USC was always in my plans. My grandaddy would take me to Williams-Brice for games, and it felt like destiny. But growing up on a farm and attending a small high school where I knew almost everyone, the thought of going to a big school in a big city felt overwhelming.  

Luckily, I had the option to start at USC Lancaster, just 20 minutes from home. It was exactly what I needed. When I transferred to Columbia my junior year, I was ready. To my surprise, I found a community that welcomed me, not just a sea of people. I got one-on-one time with professors and felt supported in ways I didn’t expect from such a large school.  

Getting to New York wasn’t a straight line, but it started in Columbia. Studying abroad in Spain led to a year as an English teaching assistant, which eventually took me to law school in D.C. My Spanish skills opened the door to work in financial services with companies in Latin America, and that led me to J.P. Morgan in New York. My first time in the city was for the interview, and I was completely lost — getting yelled at for stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to check Google Maps. 

But just like I found community at USC, I found community in New York. The NYC Alumni group and football games at the Mason Jar gave me people I could connect with instantly. USC prepared me for the bigger world and showed me all the opportunities waiting for me to take them." 

Dylan Knight majored in history and minored in Spanish at USC. He is now director of global compliance for AmTrust Financial Services.

Stan Brown
1984 theater, 1989 MFA

“Opening night, I held it together until I walked out in the lobby and all my USC friends were there. There were three of them. Two from grad school and one from undergrad. That’s when I lost it, I just lost it, because I really do value my friendships. I've moved 46, 47 times since I was 17, and regardless of where I am, home is always right behind the eyes. It’s a timeless kind of feeling. 

I've had the conversation a lot recently with people who want to talk about ‘the goal of Broadway,’ ‘the goal of Broadway,’ ‘the goal of Broadway.’ I say, ‘No, my goal was acting. If I had this as my goal, I would have been a very bitter person for a very long time.’ I was just happy to get an acting gig, just to be acting at all. It didn’t matter if I was in New York or in Chicago or in England. I tell my students, ‘Go do that thing that you really like to do, and then let the universe respond to that."

Stan Brown is a journeyman actor and theater professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He relocated to New York City this year to make his Broadway debut at age 61 in the musical Water for Elephants. Read more about Brown.

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Gamecocks of New York will be shared on USC Social Media throughout the week before Thanksgiving.
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