Clemson Young Alumni Council presents ‘Roaring10’ awards to 2022 honorees

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Kate Gasparro of Detroit, Michigan, an emerging leader in sustainable development of community infrastructure.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Gasparro graduated from Clemson University 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, Gasparro 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, Gasparro 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.

Gasparro’s current community activities include serving on the Detroit 2030 District Board and the Michigan Business Sustainability Roundtable. Additionally, Gasparro 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.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Jerome Kenneth “J.K.” Jay III of Laurens, South Carolina, co-founder and president of Greenville, South Carolina-based LyonJay, a highly regarded real estate investment and development company in the Southeast.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Jay graduated from Clemson University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. He was a Clemson football player and All ACC Academic Team honoree.

His responsibilities with LyonJay range from supervising overall operations, project development and investments to creating and maintaining relationships with capital and strategic partners. The company focuses on providing attainable housing for working families. It has invested in, developed, constructed and managed hundreds of thousands of units across 11 states.

Jay was named to Greenville Business Magazine’s Best and Brightest 35 and Under list in 2021. He is a former member of the Laurens County Transportation Committee and volunteers as an assistant baseball coach for the Laurens County Recreation Department.

He sponsors YMCA teams yearly and has purchased athletic equipment, travel gear and t-shirts for Laurens High School. He also has provided meals for senior citizens, other community members and local schools.

 For Clemson, Jay regularly participates in the PAW Journey leadership initiative, which helps football student athletes prepare for future success through personal growth, life skills education and professional development. He also is on the board of directors of the Block C Club, which helps keep all former student athletes engaged with Clemson athletics.

Jay and his wife, Katie, have three sons: Jack, Hunter and John Thomas.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to former Greenville, South Carolina, resident Thomas Eric Kuckhoff.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Kuckhoff graduated from Clemson University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He earned a Clemson Master of Business Administration degree in 2021.

A licensed engineer in the State of South Carolina, Kuckhoff started his career with ABB Motors and Mechanical Inc. in Greenville. Recently, he 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.

Kuckhoff 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.

Kuckhoff has held 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 Greenvile team leader and a Loaned Executive, Kuckhoff 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 expierence 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.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Courtney Meeks of Greenville, South Carolina, human resources manager at Milliken and Company.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Meeks graduated from Clemson in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and international trade. She earned a Clemson Master of Business Administration degree in 2017. She also participated in study-abroad programs at the Universidad Blas Pascal in Argentina and Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

Meeks began her human resources career in 2016 as an intern with Milliken. She joined the company full-time in 2017 as a learning and leadership development specialist and became a continuous improvement specialist in 2021. She moved into Milliken’s textile division in 2022 as human resources manager for the division’s business units.

She is also co-owner and principal planner of Hudson Park Events, a full-service event and wedding planning company in Greenville that she helped establish in 2020.

In 2022, Meeks was named a United States Global Leadership Coalition Next Gen Leader and was selected to participate in Furman University’s Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative. She is a global board member for Upstate International, which helps people and businesses of all nations thrive in the Upstate through programs, events and initiatives that foster the exchange of international cultures and ideas.            

Meeks is president of the Clemson MBA Alumni Council. Her support for current MBA students ranges from speaking to classes and graduates to conducting interview workshops and reviewing resumes. Each year she invites students to spend an orientation day at Milliken to learn about the company, network with its senior leaders, and explore new career paths.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Clemson University administrator and educator Lori Pindar of Simpsonville, South Carolina.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Pindar 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, Pindar 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. 

She 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 Clemson’s Student-Athlete Development program, Pindar helps student-athletes understand their own brands and how to communicate their goals effectively.

Pindar 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.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to rising healthcare leader Parker Andrew Rhoden of Greer, South Carolina.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Rhoden graduated from Clemson in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After completing a master’s degree in healthcare administration at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2017, he earned a Certificate of Residency Training in acute care operations and hospital administration at Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC, and practiced as a hospital administrator thereafter. After practicing as a hospital administrator at CMC, he then returned to Charleston, where he will be awarded a doctorate of philosophy in health and rehabilitation sciences from MUSC in 2023.

As a doctoral student, Rhoden excelled in both teaching and research. He was nominated for the MUSC College of Health Professions Developing Teacher of the Year Award in 2021, only after teaching three semesters. He was lead author of a peer-reviewed article published by the “Telemedicine and e-Health” journal and delivered eight peer-reviewed conference presentations. 

Rhoden served as the health administration faculty advisor for the MUSC CARES Clinic, which provides pro-bono therapy care to uninsured patients in the Charleston area. He was also one of the inaugural members of the MUSC Health Administration Alumni Network, which began in 2017, and has led efforts to create mentorship programs that connect healthcare administration alumni and students, and is currently serving as its president.

He is a current member and former programming chair of the Clemson Young Alumni Council. He has participated in service events to refurbish bicycles for the Charleston community through a young professionals church group known as the Holy City Fellows, and has served the Greer community by participating in landscape revitalization projects sponsored by his church, Southside Baptist.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Greenville, South Carolina, physical therapist Elizabeth Timmons.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Timmons 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 is 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 meets with individual students interested in the field of physical therapy.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Jenny Tumas, an assistant public defender in Miami, Florida.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Tumas graduated from Clemson in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After completing a master’s degree in political theory at the University of Ljubljana in Solvenia in 2017, she earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 2020.

Since 2021, she has served as an assistant public defender in Miami, where she represents hundreds of people charges with crimes who cannot afford private legal counsel. In this work, she advocates for some of the most marginalized people in society, challenging frequent injustices in the criminal legal system such as over incarceration, racial discrimination and the criminalization of poverty and mental illness.

Tumas focuses on community service in the area of social justice. While at Yale, she worked with the Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic where she advocated for the early release of people serving long prison sentences. She was a board member of the Civil Rights Project at Yale, which connect law students with various civil rights organizations across the country. At Yale, she also co-authored the only comprehensive, nationl report with data on number of people held in solitary confinement in the United States.

In Slovenia, she volunteered with a non-profit — and later seured grants and led her own initiatives — to help adult asylum seekers and unaccompanied children access school, employment, housing and legal assistance.

Tumas was a member of Clemson’s National Scholars Program (NSP), the University’s top merit-based scholarship program. She gives back to the University by serving as a mentor to high-achieving students in the Honors College and the NSP.
She is an Honors College admissions application reviewer and has served as an interviewer for the NSP for several years. This includes interviewing finalists at the annual NSP Selection Weekend, a major recruiting event during which three dozen of the top high school students in the country visit Clemson for individual interviews and group activities.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Clemson University admissions counselor Rosalia Vazquez of Anderson, South Carolina.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Vazquez 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, Vazquez 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.

Vazquez co-chairs El Camino (The Road) to Clemson, the university’s annual bilingual open house program that she helped launch to introduce Hispanic/Latinex 9^th-12^th graders to opportunies 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, Vazquez 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, Vazquez 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.

The Clemson Young Alumni Council will present its Roaring10 award to Drayton Wade of Charleston, South Carolina.

The award is given annually to 10 outstanding individuals who received undergraduate or graduate degrees from Clemson University within the past 10 years and who exemplify Clemson’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect. Recipients are recognized for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and philanthropic endeavors.

Wade graduated from Clemson University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He then earned a master’s degree in the history of international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom. He currently is completing a Master of Business Administration degree at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

In June of 2022, Wade became head of product strategy and operations for tech startup Kognitos, the first Generative AI Automation platform which recently raised $10 million in venture capital funding. Kognitos clients can use plain English instructions, instead of complicated technical terminology, to automate business processes. Before joining Kognitos, Drayton worked for several other emerging tech startups from early stage through initial public offering (IPO).

Before moving into the startup world, Drayton worked in the area of international affairs. As an Asia Pacific Foundation Research Fellow, he has published numerous articles on counter-terrorism topics and wrote a portion of NATO’s Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum.

For Clemson, Wade is the founder and president of the Clemson University Balkans Foundation, which includes more than 300 active alumni. The foundation keeps study-abroad alumni informed about current activities, sponsors a speaker series and has funded a Clemson endowment to support Global Politics programs.

Wade has multiple Clemson family connections. His wife, Jessica, Class of 2015, was a Clemson National Scholar. She earned her M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina and is in residency at Wake Forest University. His mother, Carolyn Helena Wade, Class of 1978, was the featured twirler with Tiger Band. His sister, Aynsley Wade Stotler, is a member of the Class of 2006.