April 12, 2022
“Columbia College helped me find my voice in a world where I felt unheard and overlooked.”
LeAngelia Thompson-Stephan joined the Columbia College family completely positive (as she had been for a long time) that she would one day be a first grade teacher. While her years spent attaining her undergraduate degree proved to be formative and impactful, LeAngelia had no idea of the ways in which Columbia College would prepare her for her career in an entirely different way than she had expected. After a few semesters in the Division of Education, LeAnglia had a conversation with her advisor, Dr. Tracy West, that changed everything. While LeAngelia was enjoying her time at Columbia College, something was still missing from her experience. Because of a discerning, honest conversation about where LeAngelia’s academic interests truly lied, she soon found herself with a new major: Business Administration.
LeAngelia says that she has always been interested in finance and taxation, but she was impacted so meaningfully by her own first grade teacher, that she had been determined to follow in that teacher’s footsteps. After time spent at Columbia College with faculty and advisors who truly listened and presented all of her options to her, she understood that she could impact people in countless ways, not only the ways that she herself had been impacted. Columbia College gave her access to outspoken and thought-provoking female professors, like Dr. Burk and Dr. Heidari, that equipped her with the 4 C’s (Courage, Commitment, Confidence, and Competence) that have served her well-beyond her graduation in 2010. These values have enhanced the communication and leadership skills that led to her current role as Miscellaneous Tax Supervisor of the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
When asked what her favorite part of her job is, LeAngelia says she loves working with her colleagues within the Department of Revenue and other state agencies in order to collectively fund a better state in which to live, work, and play. LeAngelia’s work with the Department of Revenue makes a direct impact on taxpayers every day, and she was able to achieve this through the discernment, education, and empowerment that she received as a student at Columbia College. The College is humbled to have played even a small role in helping students like LeAngelia find their voices so that they may enter the world after graduation ready to be heard.