Irmo High School in partnership with the Irmo High School Education Foundation has selected members for its 2018 Hall of Fame

The inductees are: Tammy Maier, Terry Knecht Dozier, Captain Dan McCollum, Stewart Mungo, Caroline Potter and Teresa Wilson.

Tammy Maier is a 1988 graduate of Irmo High School. Following graduation, she gave birth to her daughter Brittany who was born four months premature. Due to the extreme high levels of oxygen to keep Brittany alive, she lost her vision and was later diagnosed with autism. Early on, Brittany’s parents noticed how music soothed their little girl. She became very familiar with the family’s stereo system. Nearly five years later, a miracle happened. A child that had never spoken began to sing. Brittany’s parents gave her a keyboard and she took it everywhere. One year later, she played her first song and never looked back. At the age of six, Brittany had taught herself hundreds of songs. Now, Maier and her 29-year-old daughter live in New York where they are continuing Brittany’s musical training. Tammy accompanies Brittany at performances as her onstage facilitator speaking for her and even singing along for her daughter’s enjoyment. Their story has been featured nationally including CNN, Dateline and the Montel Williams Show.

Terry Knecht Dozier taught at Irmo High School from 1977-1985, 1989-1990 and 1992-1993. While teaching world history at Irmo High, Dozier was named the 1985 South Carolina and National Teacher of the Year. She currently serves as director at the Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. She also serves as associate professor in the school of education. Dozier works with accomplished teachers to promote the concept of teachers as leaders of change, develop more effective teacher leaders through high quality professional development and share the knowledge, experience and insight of teachers with policymakers and others. Prior to joining VCU, Dozier served as the first senior advisor on teaching to former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. In this role, she served as the Clinton administration’s top policy advisor on all teaching issues. Dozier also led the department’s teaching initiative with primary responsibility for the development and implementation of a strategic plan to improve teacher recruitment, preparation, and ongoing professional development, including overall leadership in research, evaluation and data collection on teacher quality.

Captain Dan McCollum was a 1992 graduate of Irmo High School. He finished as a runner-up in the wrestling state finals during his high school career. Upon graduation, McCollum attended Clemson University where he obtained a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1997, McCollum was commissioned as a Marine Corps Officer and the following year was placed on the Commodore’s list of the top five percent of pilots in the U.S. Navy’s flight training program. In 1999, McCollum earned his pilot wings and was a pilot of a KC130 refuel aircraft in the U.S. Marine Corps. Following the 9/11 attacks, McCollum was serving the U.S. in Pakistan and Afghanistan when a plane he was aboard crashed in January 2002. He was honored in 2010 posthumously with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Medal of Courage.

Stewart Mungo is a 1970 graduate of Irmo High School. He serves as CEO of Mungo Homes which builds over 1500 homes a year in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. A graduate of Wofford College in 1974, Mungo served as a trustee of Wofford College from 2001-2013. He received an honorary doctorate from Wofford in 2016. Mungo was inducted into the SC Housing Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2012, he was named National Builder of the Year and Mungo Homes was named America’s Best Builder by Builder magazine. Stewart and his brother Steven were honored in 2017 as the United Way of the Midlands’ Humanitarians of the Year. Mungo currently serves on the board of Pawmetto Lifeline and is the chairman of the Michael J. Mungo Foundation which has donated approximately $250,000 to schools in the Irmo Cluster in the last five years.

Caroline Potter is a 1995 graduate of Irmo High School. She currently serves as research officer in the health services research unit at the University of Oxford. After graduating from Irmo High, Potter attended the University of South Carolina Honors College with a major in chemical engineering. Shortly after graduating from USC, Potter won a Rhodes Scholarship in 2000 that enabled her to attend graduate school at the University of Oxford in England. There, she studied medical anthropology where she was the first person to complete the new two-year Masters’ degree and was part of the first group of doctoral graduates in this program. Potter also has held a passion for dance and has spent time doing professional dance training in London. She earned Oxford Blue for her performance in competitive ballroom and Latin American dancing.

Teresa Wilson is a 1992 graduate of Irmo High School. She currently serves as the city manager of the City of Columbia. Wilson leads the executive team in growing the city’s operations each day. She works diligently to address the needs of residents in the community while also focusing on public safety and economic development initiatives. Prior to this role, Wilson served in various professional capacities including her role as the Government and Community Relations Coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s Office of the President. After transitioning into municipal government, Wilson served as Chief Lobbyist and Director of Governmental Affairs for the City of Columbia. Her leadership was key in a number of groundbreaking initiatives including transforming Columbia’s Community Development department into a nationally recognized model organization and reducing the city’s Commercial Revolving Loan Fund’s default rate from 29% to 4% in just one fiscal year. She has been recognized as one of Columbia’s “Top 20 Under 40” business professionals, Columbia Business Monthly’s “50 Most Influential People” and one of Southeast Small Business Magazine’s “Top Women of Influence.”

Irmo High School principal David Riegel said of the inductees, “The Hall of Fame shows our current students the different paths they can take in their lives with the foundation that an Irmo High School education provides them. The current class of inductees includes graduates from all walks of life. I couldn’t be more proud of our alumni and the difference they have made in our society!”