Archive for category: The Roaring 10

Londan Means Charley ’13, M’18 Receives the 2024 Roaring10 Award

Londan Means Charley, an Anderson resident and Spartanburg native, received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences with a minor in psychology in 2013 and a graduate certificate in clinical and translational research in 2015. She received a master’s degree in biological sciences in 2018 and will complete a doctoral degree in educational leadership later this year.

Since 2022, Londan has served as Director of Advising and Student Development for Clemson’s Honors College where she provides vision and leadership for student services and initiatives. Previously, she worked for seven years as an Academic Advisor, Lead Advisor and then Director of Academic Advising in the Department of Biological Sciences. She began her professional career at Clemson in 2013 as a Data Coordinator in the Office of Registration Services.

Londan has participated in both the President’s Leadership Institute and the Women’s Administrative Leadership Development Program. She was a mentor and presenter in the CU Grow Staff Development Program and a frequent participant in the Men of Impact Summit and Women’s Roundtable Conference. Her many recognitions include the College of Science’s Outstanding Team Award and the Outstanding Staff Member Award. She also received the University-level Class of 1956 Staff Excellence Award and Unsung Student Hero of the Year Award.

Beneficiaries of Londan’s community service range from soup kitchens in Anderson and Spartanburg to the Clemson Free Clinic and the Clemson Child Development Center. Much of her volunteerism is accomplished through Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She was initiated into the sorority’s Omicron Phi Chapter as a Clemson student and has remained active as an alumna. She is the immediate past president of the sorority’s Anderson Alumnae Chapter and currently serves as South Carolina State Coordinator West for the South Atlantic Region.

Londan met her husband Christopher Charley  (BS Electrical Engineering 15’, BS Computer Engineering 15’) while they were attending Clemson as undergraduate students. They were married on June 22, 2019, at the Clemson University Madren Center & Owen Pavilion. They welcomed twins- a daughter and son, Londan and Landon Charley, in April 2021.

Austin Teague Ferguson ’15, M’17 Receives the 2024 Roaring10 Award

Austin Ferguson is a Greer native with two Clemson degrees, including a 2015 bachelor’s degree in architecture. After earning a master’s degree in the Architecture + Health program in 2017, he joined ZGF Architects in New York City. As a member of ZGF’s healthcare design team, he collaborated on projects across the country. In 2019, he received Healthcare Design magazine’s Rising Star award, which celebrates young industry professionals whose meaningful contributions help establish them as future leaders.

In 2020, Austin moved to Germany to accept a position in the Berlin office of the architecture firm heinlewischer and was soon tasked with planning and coordinating the construction of six COVID-19 mass vaccination centers in that city. The initial project was completed in six weeks and then expanded to include smaller booster vaccination sites.

A year after the vaccination centers closed, Austin and project consultants were asked to plan and construct a new arrival center at the former Tegel airport in Berlin to serve as a central hub for Ukrainian war refugees fleeing to Germany. The center was operational within one week and was able to accommodate up to 2,500 guests by the end of the second week.

While living in New York, Austin volunteered in the ACE Mentor Program of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing high school students for higher education and careers in design and construction by connecting them with industry experts. For Clemson, he participates in presentations and discussions with current students and is a guest critic for the Architecture + Health program, providing feedback as students prepare their projects for final reviews. He actively works to connect Clemson architecture students and recent graduates with internship and career opportunities.

Ann Collins Josey King ’20 Receives the 2024 Roaring10 Award

Ann Collins Josey King of Charleston graduated from Clemson in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. She earned a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2022.

As senior relationship manager in MUSC’s Office of Strategic Partnerships, she is responsible for relationship development and ongoing management of key strategic partnerships. This includes event planning, project management and communication with national executive leaders who are members of the MUSC President’s Advisory Group. She has facilitated partnerships with K-12 schools through which MUSC provides mental and emotional wellbeing curricula and fosters educational opportunities and support for students.

Ann Collins serves on the taskforce that works to improve the lives of MUSC’s 33,000 employees. She is MUSC’s liaison with its mental health partner, Modern Minds, ensuring that mental health resources are accessible and effective for those in need. She has played an instrumental role in piloting a subsidized care program through Modern Minds that is designed to support whole-person wellbeing for MUSC physicians. She was also a key driver of MUSC’s dependent care strategy.

The impact of Ann Collins’ work is statewide. She has supported MUSC’s relationship with Helix, the population genomics company that oversees the “In Our DNA SC” program. This initiative provides free genetic testing to 100,000 South Carolinians, offering critical insights into health and wellbeing. Her ability to forge strong community relationships and manage impactful partnerships has made her a trusted and influential advocate for public health in South Carolina.

Ann Collins is married to Benjamin King and comes from a family of Clemson graduates. Both of her parents and both of her brothers are Clemson alumni. She was involved in numerous leadership organizations, including Blue Key Honor Society, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the Student Alumni Council.

Brittany Sanders-Bell ’20, M’23 Receives the 2024 Roaring10 Award

Brittany Sanders-Bell has two Clemson degrees and is working on a third. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering in 2020 and 2023, respectively, and expects to complete a doctorate in engineering and science education in 2027.

She is Assistant Director of Next Engineers Greenville, a $5.5 million partnership between the GE Aerospace Foundation, GE Vernova and Clemson’s PEER and WISE program. The mission of PEER (Programs for Educational Enrichment and Retention) and WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) is to educate, recruit and retain students in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math through mentoring, academic coaching and academic enrichment.

Brittany oversees Next Engineers Greenville’s operations, logistics, reporting and relationships. She also facilitates quarterly meetings with colleagues in other Next Engineers global cities (Cincinnati, Ohio; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Staffordshire, United Kingdom) to share best practices, foster connections and discuss programming. Under her leadership, the first cohort of Next Engineers Greenville produced 49 graduates, many of whom enrolled at Clemson.

In her dual role as an assistant director for PEER and WISE, focusing on mentoring and supporting underrepresented students in STEM, she has been instrumental in guiding students from diverse backgrounds toward academic and professional success. Also, her experience as a working mother allows her to empathize with and support students balancing academic and personal challenges.

Brittany gives impromptu tours of Clemson’s campus to potential engineering students and their families and participates in outreach to local schools, encouraging students to pursue STEM careers and ensuring more diverse voices are represented in engineering fields. She is married to Derek Wayne Bell.

Dante Christian Stewart ’14 Receives the 2024 Roaring10 Award

Danté Stewart graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Clemson, where he played football for three years. He earned a master’s degree in modern religious thought and experience from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2023.

He is an associate minister at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga, and a widely published writer of works ranging from essays to poetry. His debut book, “Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle,” was published in 2021. He was the lead writer on an essay that evolved into an ESPN documentary highlighting the significance of football in a small Southern community. He has been published or featured by numerous other outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN, NPR and MSNBC.

In 2022, Danté was named “Georgia Writer of the Year” by the Georgia Writers Association, one of “22 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2022” by the Center for American Progress and one of “Ten Up-And-Coming Faith Influencers” by the Religion News Service. He has delivered lectures and keynote addresses at literary conferences, public events and multiple universities. For Clemson, he has spoken to sociology classes and the PAW Journey Black History Month program.

As a volunteer, Danté has taught creative writing to local high school juniors and seniors and coached high school football and track teams. Following Hurricane Helene last fall, he used his social media platform to bring awareness and aid to the Augusta area, prepared and delivered more than 250 meals for people without power and water, including 60 active duty U.S. military service members, and spearheaded the collection of more than 5,000 pound of supplies for three local communities.

Danté and his wife, Jasmine, are the parents of a son and a daughter.

Brandon Boatwright of Central, S.C., has two Clemson degrees: a 2010 bachelor’s in communication studies and a 2013 master’s in communication, technology and society. After earning a doctorate in communication and information sciences from the University of Tennessee in 2020, he rejoined Clemson as an assistant professor of sports communication and director of the Social Media Listening Center (SMLC).

He teaches and mentors both undergraduate and graduate students and conducts and publishes research in a range of topics related to online opinion leadership, internet and social media use, and social advocacy and activism. For the SMLC, he coordinates operations, manages intern teams and fosters collaborative relationships with corporate partners.

His numerous professional, campus and community activities include participation in regional, national and international communication conferences and associations; current or former service on the University’s Emergency Management Council and Athletic Council; and serves on the board of directors for Clemson Wesley. He also directs service-learning projects devoted to helping local non-profit organizations.

Brandon’s interest in sports communication stretches back to his undergraduate days, when he was a sports writer and editor for The Tiger newspaper. His wife, Megan, is associate director of the University’s Gantt Multicultural Center, and both of his parents graduated from Clemson: his father, Frank, in 1977 and his mother, Susan, in 1980.

Rashard Hall of Clemson has two Clemson degrees and is working on a third. The St. Augustine, Fla., native graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and earned a dual master’s degree in professional communications and business administration in 2016. He is nearing completion of an MBA degree in entrepreneurship and innovation.

An All-American safety for the Tigers, Rashard joined the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams in 2013. After the NFL, he worked with Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedic medical sales division for two years before accepting a graduate assistant role with Clemson’s athletic academic center and becoming a certified academic advisor. In 2016, he entered the corporate finance industry with Merrill Lynch.

In 2018, he joined the Clemson football program’s P.A.W. (Passionate About Winning) Journey leadership initiative as director of career and professional development, combining his athletic and corporate experiences. He has become an industry leader in career and development programming worldwide, while achieving a 100 percent career placement rate for 143 Clemson football scholar-athletes over five consecutive years.

Rashard serves on boards for the NFL and Clemson’s MBA program, leads two nonprofits, is co-founder of The Bryan Askew Clemson Memorial Scholarship and teaches sports entrepreneurship for Clemson’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business. He also has authored “The Scholar-AthELITE,” a book that encourages

Stephanie Madison of Clemson manages one of the largest grants ever received by the University’s College of Education. The $3 million initiative aims to improve teacher effectiveness in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines.

Stephanie earned a doctorate in literacy, language and culture from Clemson in 2020. She has a bachelor’s in Spanish, with K-12 teaching licensure, from the College of Charleston and a master’s in Romance languages with Spanish concentration from Appalachian State University.

As manager for Clemson University’s Teacher Learning Progression (CU-TLP) grant, she is responsible for day-to-day operations of the project that includes 19 S.C. school districts and nearly 300 teachers in high-needs middle schools. She also teaches a variety of undergraduate, master’s and doctoral courses.

She developed a modern language teaching program, leading to S.C. teacher certification, that is the first in the state to incorporate American Sign Language teacher training, so that ASL can be offered as a foreign language in K-12 schools.

Stephanie is co-founder of Education Ilimitada, a non-profit coalition committed to providing educational resources and humanitarian assistance to children and families seeking asylum and refuge in the United States. She is a board member of the S.C. Foreign Language Teachers’ Association and former state chapter president of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

She is a frequent guest speaker and panelist for campus and community groups, ranging from undergraduate classes to retired faculty.

Brittany Avin McKelvey of Fayetteville, N.C., directs regulatory affairs for Friends of Cancer Research, an advocacy organization that seeks to speed up life-saving research for patients with cancer.

After completing bachelor’s degrees in both genetics and biochemistry from Clemson in 2015, she earned a doctorate in molecular biology and genetics in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program in 2020.

A childhood cancer survivor, Brittany is a peer volunteer for the Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association. She formed a support group within the association to help teenagers who are diagnosed with thyroid cancer, as she was at age 13. She is active in the National Cancer Institute as a member of its Council of Research Advocates and the Technology Research Advocacy Partnership. She has spoken as a patient research advocate in settings ranging from local radio shows to Capitol Hill.

In the Fayetteville community, she volunteers at the U.S. Airborne and Special Operations Museum and with United States Organizations (the USO) in support of the military community, given her husband is an active duty service member.

While at Clemson, Brittany was named a Goldwater Scholar, considered the most prestigious national scholarship award for undergraduates in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. She received the Norris Medal as the best-all-around graduating senior in 2015.

She returns to campus often to discuss her career path in science with both undergraduates and graduate students. She also volunteers with the National Scholars program and the Honors College, both of which she participated in as a student.

Wes Watt of Charleston shares his passion for helping others wherever his career takes him.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in business administration from Clemson in 2013, Wes worked for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and then the American Legislative Exchange Council. In 2015, he joined Scientific Research Corporation, the family enterprise founded by his grandfather.

SRC is an advanced engineering company providing state-of-the-art solutions in defense, federal, global, and cyber and intelligence markets. Increasing SRC responsibilities have taken Wes to Washington, D.C., Huntsville, Ala., and now Charleston, where he is director for cloud services, spectrum innovation, and visualization systems.

He was a children’s ministry volunteer for Alexandria (Va.) Presbyterian Church and currently volunteers with Metanoia, a neighborhood nonprofit fostering youth leadership, affordable housing and economic development in North Charleston. He is a graduate of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Discovery program.

He also volunteers for Mount Paran Christian School in Kennesaw, Ga., which he attended as a child. He was founding president of its alumni association, served on the capital campaign and strategic planning committees, and mentors students in the goLEAD leadership development program. He was recognized as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2017.

For Clemson, Wes was active with the Baltimore/Washington DC and North Alabama Clemson Clubs and is on the board of the Charleston County Clemson Club and Clemson in the Lowcountry. He is a member and the founding president of the Political Science Alumni Board and serves on the Friends of the Libraries Board. He is a former president and current member of the Clemson Young Alumni Council.

Dr. Kate Gasparro ’14 Receives 2022 Roaring10 Award

Kate Gasparro of Detroit, Michigan, graduated from Clemson in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, a minor in political science and the Norris Medal, awarded annually to the University’s most outstanding graduate. She continued her studies at Stanford University, earning a master’s degree in international policy, with a concentration in energy, environment and natural resources, and a doctorate in civil engineering, with a concentration in sustainable design and construction.

After Stanford, Kate worked as a project manager for FivePoint Communities LLC, one of California’s largest mixed-use, master-plan developers. She moved to Detroit in 2020 to join Bedrock, a full-service real estate firm specializing in city-building, as director of urban strategy and innovation. In 2022 she became the founding director of Bedrock’s Department of Land Development and Sustainability.

While in graduate school, Kate started her own company, Building Better Cities, through which she writes a bi-monthly newsletter that highlights current topics in urban sustainability and infrastructure delivery. She has served as a policy consultant to city and state municipalities in the United States and to international infrastructure organizations.

Kate’s current community activities include serving on the Detroit 2030 District Board and the Michigan Business Sustainability Roundtable. Kate also performs with the Detroit Community Concert Band. She was named a Mackinac Future Leader by the Detroit Regional Chamber and received the Notable Leaders in Sustainability recognition from Crain’s Detroit, which provides business news and information covering southeastern Michigan.

Thomas Eric Kuckhoff ’14, MBA ’21 Receives 2022 Roaring10 Award

Thomas Kuckhoff of Huntington Station, New York, graduated from Clemson in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and earned a Clemson Master of Business Administration degree in 2021.

A licensed engineer in the State of South Carolina, Thomas started his career with ABB Motors and Mechanical Inc. in Greenville. He recently joined Omron Automation and currently leads its industrial controller business for the Americas. While at ABB, he pioneered the design and performance of innovative products that resulted in 13 U.S. patents and 17 ABB engineering achievement awards.

Thomas championed ABB’s participation in Clemson’s Mechanical Engineering Capstone Program, which works with industry partners to give undergraduate students real-world design and problem-solving experience. He also significantly grew ABB’s engagement with Clemson’s Cooperative Education Program, through which undergraduates get on-the-job work experience.

Thomas has been a leader in multiple community service roles, including board member, committee chair and volunteer. He focuses on education for a wide breadth of students through non-profits such as Junior Achievement of the Upstate and the Center for Developmental Services.

Supporting United Way of Greenville County as a Hands on Greenville team leader and a Loaned Executive, Thomas furthered his community impact as an alumnus of PropelGVL and Leadership Greenville. Both are joint leadership programs between the United Way and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Driven by his non-profit experience he led the establishment of the Dodge Industrial Foundation in Greenville as a source of scholarships for local students. He was named to Greenville Business Magazine’s Best and Brightest 35 and Under list in the fall of 2022.

Lori M. Pindar ’09, PhD ’14 Receives 2022 Roaring10 Award

Lori Pindar of Simpsonville graduated from Clemson in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. After completing a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication at the University of Georgia, she returned to Clemson, where she earned a certificate in health communication in 2013 and a doctorate in educational leadership in 2014.

A Clemson staff member since 2014, she currently has a joint appointment between two colleges. She is undergraduate program coordinator and director of internships for the Department of Communication in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, and she is assistant director of the Erwin Center for Brand Communications in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business.

Lori also is a Faculty-in-Residence for Clemson’s Fraternity and Sorority Life program. She lives on campus and shares the residence hall living experience with students. A Faculty-in-Residence helps plan and implement educational, recreational, social and cultural programs while serving as a role model, mentor, adviser, teacher and leader in a specific residential community.

Additionally, as a Faculty Fellow for the Student-Athlete Development program, she helps student-athletes understand their own brands and how to communicate their goals effectively.

Lori is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She advises the student chapter at Clemson and is vice president of the local alumnae chapter, which serves Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. Through the sorority, she volunteers at soup kitchens and a children’s home. She also volunteers for organizations such as the Association of Women in Sports Media and the Lambda Pi Eta National Communication Honor Society.

Dr. Laura Elizabeth Timmons ’14 Receives 2022 Roaring10 Award

Elizabeth Timmons of Greenville graduated from Clemson in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a minor in psychology. She then earned a doctorate in physical therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2017.

She is the lead physical therapist at the Meyer Center for Special Children in Greenville, which provides critical educational and therapeutic services to children with special needs. She also works part-time as a physical therapist at both Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s main campus in Spartanburg and Prisma Health’s Patewood Medical Center in Greenville.

She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the South Carolina chapter of the APTA, and is an APTA-credentialed clinical instructor. She is also a member of the International Association of HealthCare Professionals.

Timmons is an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenville, where she has been a youth leader for 3.5 years, a facilitator of a small group of young women and an involved member of Women of Westminster. She is also a South Carolina licensed foster parent through Thornwell Children’s Home.

Elizabeth is a former member of both the Clemson Young Alumni Council and the Greenville chapter of young alumni. She serves as a mentor through the TigerLink online network, has presented to the pre-physical therapy club a couple of times and met with individual students interested in the field of physical therapy.

Rosalia Vazquez ’13, M ’17 Receives the 2022 Roaring10 Award

Rosalia “Rosy” Vazquez of Anderson graduated from Clemson in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree and again in 2017 with a master’s degree, both in history. Since 2017 she has worked for the University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

As an admissions counselor focused on diversity recruitment, Rosy helps create and execute initiatives to increase enrollment, retention and engagement of underrepresented students based on University goals. She served on the committee that developed Clemson’s enrollment management strategic plan for diversity and inclusion.

Rosy co-chairs El Camino (The Road) to Clemson, the University’s annual bilingual open house program that she helped launch to introduce Hispanic/Latinx 9^th-12^th graders to opportunities and resources at Clemson. In the five years since the program started in 2018, the number of first-generation Hispanic students attending Clemson has increased from 3 percent to 7 percent.

In 2021, Rosy helped organize and coordinate Clemson’s inaugural Women’s Roundtable Pre-Summit to bring girls and women together to discuss issues such as education, self-care and achieving professional success. The Women’s Roundtable is a developmental and networking event that emphasizes the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Among her many other Clemson roles, Rosy is president of the Hispanic and Latinx Alumni Council, alumni representative on both the President’s Social Justice and Equity Taskforce and the Council for Diversity and Inclusion, and a member of the Clemson Alumni Association Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce.

Daniel Alexander, a member of the Barnwell County Council and director of operations for Anovotek, LLC, in Barnwell, graduated from Clemson in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in polymer and fiber chemistry. He earned his Clemson Master of Business Administration degree in 2012.

He joined Anovotek, a materials science-based company specializing in textiles and performance technologies, in 2013. He oversees the company’s revenues and expenditures, supervises production and lab personnel, leads expansion efforts into E-commerce on multiple sales platforms, and manages production to fulfill customer orders as well as lab trials for product development evaluation.

Daniel was elected to the Barnwell County Council in 2018, at the age of 29. He chairs the personnel committee and is a member of the finance committee. He is also a board member of the Lower Savannah Council of Governments and is an advocate for increasing broadband and quality of life opportunities in rural areas of South Carolina.

Along with his many community activities, Daniel works as a basketball official for the S.C. High School League and the S.C. Independent Schools Association, most recently working his third state championship game in Sumter, SC.

For Clemson, Daniel was instrumental as a graduate student in the creation of the Golf Paws program, which encourages and enables gifts and support for the men’s and women’s golf teams. He has remained active with Golf Paws as an alumnus and currently serves on its advisory board.

Daniel and his wife, Taylor, have two daughters: Mary Chilton, age 6, and Margaret, age 4.

Emily Martin Ewoldt, co-owner of Clemson Family Dentistry and membership chair of the Rotary Club of Clemson, graduated from Clemson in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in public health science. In 2018, she earned a doctorate in dental medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina and became a partner in Clemson Family Dentistry, where she had interned as an undergraduate student.

She and her business partner, John McRoberts, are planning to expand their practice by opening an office in the Patrick Square community. Also, they are the official dentists for Clemson University athletic teams.

Emily’s community service activities range from donating toothbrushes for schools and mission trips to supporting organizations, such as Ripple of One and the Dream Center, that help individuals and families become healthy and self-sufficient. She is active in Fort Hill Presbyterian Church.

Through the Rotary Club, Emily works alongside other business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service to the local Clemson community and around the world. She is helping to establish a satellite club for Clemson University employees that will focus on their specific needs and issues while being connected to the Rotary Club of Clemson.

Emily is a member of the Tri-County Dental Society, which encompasses Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties, and of the Piedmont District Dental Society, a division of the S.C. Dental Association. She presents lectures to Clemson students interested in pursuing careers in dentistry and serves as a teacher and leader for the two health science students each year who intern with Clemson Family Dentistry, just as she did.

Emily’s three younger siblings – Ben, Abby and John Martin – all graduated from Clemson’s Department of Public Health Sciences. Her husband, Nathan, also practices dentistry at Clemson Family Dentistry and is pursuing his MBA from Clemson.

Lauren Burdine Hood, York County 4-H youth development agent with the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service, graduated from Clemson in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental and natural resources and a minor in biological sciences. In 2021, she earned a Clemson master’s degree in agriculture with an emphasis in agricultural education, becoming the first graduate of that newly developed thesis-based program.

Before joining the South Carolina 4-H team in York County in 2017, Lauren worked in Extension-related roles in Georgia for four years. She began master’s degree work in agricultural and environmental education at the University of Georgia, then transferred to Clemson.

Under Lauren’s leadership, the York County 4-H Club has won numerous state honors, including 2020 awards for excellence in teamwork, agricultural literacy programming and animal science programming. She is president of the S.C. chapter of the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals.  She and her regional team received the National Association of County Agricultural Agents’ 2020 Learning Module Communication National Award.

Her many community activities include serving on the York County Fall Livestock Show Committee and the York County Agribusiness Council. She also is a member of the York County Cattlemen’s Association and the S.C. Cattlemen’s Association.

For Clemson, Lauren is the Upstate District representative on the Clemson Extensive Senate and a board member of the Women’s Alumni Council. Her work with council includes helping to plan and produce its annual Bring Your Daughter to Clemson event, which has a focus on agriculture and the STEM areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Lauren is a first-generation Clemson graduate, who was greatly supported by her parents Jimmy and Andrea Burdine. She and her husband, Tyler, began their relationship while students at Clemson, even getting engaged in the Carillon Bells of Tillman Hall.

Colleen J. Thomas of Easley, author of “Beautiful Skin: A Children’s Book about Overcoming Racism,” graduated from Clemson in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.

In 2014 she joined the non-profit Silicon Valley Education Foundation, which provides education in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for teachers and underserved students in Northern California. Now SVEF’s director of strategic impact, she has used her engineering skills to design systems and improve processes that have enabled the foundation to increase the number of students it serves annually from 900 in 2014 to more than 5,000 in 2021.

She published “Beautiful Skin,” an Amazon #1 New Release in 2020, to help parents and children of all races talk about and understand race, racism and diversity. She donates 20 percent of the proceeds from book sales to benefit local schools and programs that assist children.

Colleen’s husband, Brandon, is a former Clemson football player. Everywhere his career in the National Football League took them, she became involved in community service activities. Examples include helping to build a playground in San Francisco to volunteering at food pantries in Detroit and at a women’s shelter in Jacksonville. She also started her own initiative, #MomCoffeeMonday, to recognize deserving moms across the country with  coffee gift cards every Monday.

Colleen shares her Clemson experience with students who participate in SVEF college readiness events in Northern California and when she is invited to speak at her high school alma mater in Rhode Island. She also shares Clemson through the illustrations in her children’s book. A Tiger Paw is hidden on every page.

Her three children were inspirations for the book. Mary Kate (5), Leila (2) and RJ (1) resemble characters in the story.

Kathleen “Katie” Mourning Turner of Greenville graduated from Clemson in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic communications. She owns Invited Grace Co., an interior design firm that designs beautifully curated and functional residential spaces for clients in the Upstate and Charlotte and along the Carolina coast.

Before returning to Greenville in 2019 and opening her own company, she worked in Charleston as a corporate coordinator for the LS3P architectural firm, in which she rose to an associate level. She then became an interior designer and business developer with the JLV Creative team.

In Charleston, her community service activities included chairing the 2016 Trident United Way Day of Giving, which raised more than $30,000 in intraoffice gifts. With the help of Thompson Turner Construction and other volunteers, she organized, managed and executed an entire playground renovation and landscaping overhaul for St. Stephen Elementary School in rural Berkeley County. She also collected and donated Christmas gifts for each child at that school and ensured that a new student and his family, who lacked housing and other essentials, had the support, supplies and gifts they needed to enjoy the holiday.

Katie is an active member of First Presbyterian Church and its Radiance Greenville ministry, which conducts Christmas fundraising and gift donations to benefit Hollis Academy students. She also has volunteered with Spirit of Greenville, which helps build a better Greenville by supporting public projects that incorporate local artists and enhance the quality of life in the community. She has organized markets and music events to raise funds to further the non-profit’s work.

She is a member and past president of the Clemson Young Alumni Council and since 2017 has helped to organize CYAC’s annual Fall Band Party in Greenville. The 2018 event raised more than $6,000 for Hurricane Florence victims. In other years the proceeds have been used to endow scholarships at Clemson.

Katie and her husband, Harold (Clemson Class of 2011), are the parents of two future Tigers: Sutton and Scout.