Technical College of the Lowcountry names first ever mascot. Tomatoes, Tides or Shrimp?

The Technical College of the Lowcountry announced its first ever mascot Wednesday: the tides.

Jumbo shrimp, loggerheads and tomatoes were the other three final options, and the public decided the winner by voting on the school’s website.

“Tides are part of the Lowcountry life,” Cosmetology Program Director Libby DeLoach said in the video announcement. “I see the tides representing TCL as the students come in, and they grow and they go.”

In 2024, students can expect a costumed mascot around campus, though the school doesn’t have any sports teams. In Fall 2023 the mascot will be on merchandise and marketing materials.

The college hasn’t had a mascot since it was formed as the Mather School, in 1868 for the daughters of freed enslaved people. Now, it has four campuses, including a standalone culinary school and an upcoming workforce training center. The state of South Carolina acquired the school in 1968 as a trade school and it eventually became one of the state’s 16 technical colleges.

“Right as the tide comes in I can see the tides of the Mather School coming in and it lasted on this campus for 100 years,” said Rufus Pinckney, president of Mather School Coastal/Lowcountry Alumni and Associates Chapter. “So there’s a powerful analogy between TCL, Mather and the goings and comings.”