Allendale County students earn spots on USC Columbia honor rolls

Sinaya Owens of Allendale, along with Zoe Dublin and Jenna Sobey of Fairfax, earned spots on the University of South Carolina Columbia Dean’s List for fall 2025, putting three Allendale County-tied students on a university honor roll that families can share with pride.

Their names appeared in The People Sentinel’s College Notes roundup posted Tuesday, May 26, alongside other students from the wider region. The same list included students from Barnwell, Blackville and Williston, showing that academic achievement is reaching across the county line and into the rural communities that feed students into major universities in South Carolina and beyond.

USC says it publishes its President’s Honor List and Dean’s Honor List each semester to recognize undergraduate students who achieved outstanding academic success during the previous term. The honors are calculated about 30 business days after the last day of exams. At USC Columbia, the President’s Honor List requires a 4.00 grade-point average on at least 12 credited semester hours, while the Dean’s Honor List requires at least a 3.50 GPA on the same credit-hour minimum.

For Allendale County, that kind of recognition carries extra weight. Federal educational-attainment data show that 79.5% of county residents age 25 and older are high school graduates or higher, while 14.3% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Local education research has also described the county’s broader attainment picture as below average compared with state and national norms, which makes each college honor roll appearance stand out as more than a line in a campus announcement.

The roundup also highlighted other regional students, including Bobby Gregory of Barnwell on Kennesaw State University’s Fall 2025 Dean’s List and Sarah Cullen of Williston on Kennesaw State’s Fall 2025 President’s List. Together, the names point to a growing pipeline of students from small towns around Allendale County who are not only making it to college but meeting the academic standards that keep them there.

For families in Allendale, Fairfax and the surrounding communities, the list was a straightforward celebration of persistence, strong study habits and the kind of college success that can inspire younger students watching from home.