Still on the move, business graduates mark 50 years since commencement

Markus Mittermayr ’75, who recently completed the Boston Marathon for the fifth time, knows how to move. That ability has served him well in successful marathons. In his freshman year at Erskine, when he was drawn to a sophomore named Susan Stroup, you could say he ran to catch up with her.

“Susan was a year ahead of me and we saw each other across the cafeteria,” Markus remembers. “I was fascinated by her beauty and red hair but didn’t think it would be possible to have a relationship with an upperclassman. I was wrong. I graduated in three years to catch up to her class.”

Markus and Susan both majored in business administration. They benefited from the knowledge they gained at Erskine, becoming successful in their careers, but their fondest Erskine memories center around their involvement in campus life and the relationships they formed.

“What I enjoyed most was the opportunity to participate in anything that was available,” Markus says.

He served as president of the Euphemian Literary Society, held several student government positions, worked as editor of The Arrow, and played on the men’s soccer team under Coach Darrell Saunders.

“He was a wonderful person who developed his team,” Markus says of Saunders. In fact, it was the soccer coach’s influence that brought Markus to Erskine. “When he offered me a position on the team the summer before college, I was hooked.”

Susan, who played Fleet basketball, had always known about Erskine. Her grandfather was an ARP minister, and her father, Dr. David Stroup ’43, along with some of his siblings, graduated from Erskine. It was on a road trip with her family that Susan finally saw the college for herself.

“We drove through the campus and I immediately felt at home,” Susan recalls. When she began her freshman year, she made a lifelong friend almost immediately. “My roommate and I met the day we arrived on campus and we developed a very close relationship. We remain in contact to this day.”

After graduation, Susan worked at an insurance company in Atlanta while Markus began MBA studies at the University of Georgia. After he completed his degree, the couple married and moved to the St. Petersburg area in Florida, where they still reside. The Mittermayrs have two children and five grandchildren.

Susan retired as vice president at Sabal Trust Company and Markus is the owner of St. Petersburg Travel Center, a travel agency his parents started in 1960.

Five decades after they first gazed at each other across Moffatt Dining Hall, Markus and Susan remain strongly connected with their alma mater. When Markus finished the Boston Marathon this year—achieving a qualifying time of 4:15:26 for next year’s race—he donned an Erskine T-shirt to pose for a picture.

The Mittermayrs still cherish memories of their time in Due West. “Erskine felt like a family, allowing me to grow and develop,” Markus says. “It was a wonderful experience.”

Shown at top, Susan and Markus Mittermayr pose at a Boston Marathon sign.