Sarah Seegars was intrigued by a sentence in John Codega’s dating app bio: “I was detained in Russia one time.” On their first date, John shared the story of an incident that occurred overseas during the early part of his teaching career. Two years later, in 2024, the couple, who were then engaged to be married, sat down with StoryCorps so that John, a teacher in Columbia, could recount the story that captured Sarah’s heart.

While friends Chiara Cox and Elen Callahan did not grow up together, they share a similar journey. They were both born in the Philippines, but eventually moved to the United States. Although they sought to assimilate into their new American culture, they began to long for the people and traditions they had once known in their youth.

Mark and Virginia Pulver of Greenwood, S.C., have been together for over 50 years. During that time, their military and humanitarian work has taken them around the world. They sat down with StoryCorps in 2024 to discuss some of their adventures and the occasional cultural differences they would encounter, including at mealtime.

Amanda Hamilton is a South Carolina mom who invited her daughter, Eliza, to join her at StoryCorps in 2024 to ask her candid questions about her life and her experience with depression and anxiety. Hamilton is an employee of South Carolina ETV and SC Public Radio.

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center’s founder Sue Berkowitz joins her friend and executive director Bridget Brown to share what launched her career path, and what continues to inspire her passionate work at the agency.

Claire Mattes and Sam Livoti met while working at the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina. In 2024, the two sat down with StoryCorps to discuss the impact of the book The Diary of Anne Frank, and how the book can be a helpful starting point for learning about World War II and the Holocaust.

The original Columbia neighborhood of Wheeler Hill is now just a memory for those who once called the historically African American community “home.” That includes former resident Crissandra Elliott, whose childhood home was located at 215 Bull Street.

Cecil Williams is well-known as a chronicler of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. The photojournalist was born and raised in the town of Orangeburg where he still resides, as does the museum which he built. The South Carolina Civil Rights Museum is home to hundreds of photographs Williams captured that bore witness to the realities of striving for racial equality.

In the early 1950s, Holly Scott enrolled in the Columbia Hospital School of Nursing, which was first established in 1935 as the School of Nursing for Black Students. When it closed in 1965, the school had graduated a total of 401 nurses in its history, including Scott.

On August 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people made their way to Washington, D.C. to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. In attendance at the March on Washington was Gloria Dreher Eaddy of Columbia, SC, who later became a friend and mentor to Dr. Bobby Donaldson, a professor at the University of South Carolina. They spoke with StoryCorps in 2024.