Growing up on highway 261 East towards Kingstree in the Lakeside subdivision, Walter Bennett spent his days studying for the classes he attended at Manning High School. Upon graduating in 2000, he left the town of Manning and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina Upstate. Bennett then earned his master’s degree in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Bennett said, “Before I left grad school, I was an intern with McLeod Regional Medical Center, Black River Health, Williamsburg Regional Hospital, and a graduate assistant for MUSC Department of Rehabilitation Services. Once I graduated, I moved to Spartanburg and began work at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System as their administrative resident. I have been with Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System for over sixteen years and fifteen of those years have been spent at their Pelham Medical Campus, where I had the privilege to build that facility from the ground up and operationalize it. In Spartanburg, I was blessed with the opportunity to engage in every aspect of healthcare administration and I have been promoted several times in my tenure there.”
On Jun. 12, Bennett will take on a different role as he has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer at MUSC’s Orangeburg facilities.
Bennett said, “My family and I have not settled on a location (to live), however I plan to be very engaged in the communities that MUSC-Orangeburg serves.”
Bennett is married to Dreneka Hammett Bennett and together they have two children, Nicholas and Natalie.
To the youth of Clarendon County who may one day want to follow a similar path as Bennett, he presented this advice:
“Do not set limits on what you can or cannot do; dream big, always learn from every opportunity (whether good or bad) that you are afforded; on your journey remember to pack your courage, faith, and determination; and always keep God first.”
