Travelers Winter 2018

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Zack Geiger ’13 and Andy Burns ’15 took a three-day tour through the Sahara Desert near Merzouga, Morocco. The pair rode camels into the desert, snapping a picture on the sands with their Tiger Rag on the way to a nomadic campsite. “It was an exhilarating trip made all the more exciting by angry, spitting camels and our guide quitting on day two after a dispute with the driver. It truly was the trip of a lifetime,” Burns says.

William Stevens '67 and granddaughter Lucy Stevens ‘18 pose with the rest of their family at the Eiffel Tower, celebrating William’s 50th wedding anniversary with wife Linda. Clinton Smith ’03 (far right) snapped a photo with Sam Kariuki and Cathy Inabnit in Kisumu, Kenya. Greg ’84 and Carol ’87 Smith in Spain on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage path to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Toni Seals, Mike Seals ’85, Anne Weldon Zarbock ’88 and Jeff Gallaher ’78 brought their Clemson orange to the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. Whitney Sanders ’01 and company showing her Tiger pride in Switzerland. Barbara Mishoe Robertson ’74, M ’75 kept her balance visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy. Michael Rerko ’17 and Ryan Auger ’17 in front of a glittering Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Rees Porcari ’11 packed his Tiger Rag on a mission trip to Brie, France. Robert Parker ’81 and his wife Carol Wheeler in Iceland in July, 2017. James Owens ’65 and his wife Kay visited the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Neal O’Sullivan ’17 explored the Prambanan Temple in Indonesia during his travels of Southeast Asia following graduation. Sandy Erskine Morgan ’74 and Kathy Davis ’75 brought their Tiger Rag on their vacation to the Netherlands in April 2017. Ensign Daniel Minnick stood with his parents, Mike Minnick ’81, Ph.D. ’84 and Anne Minnick ’83, aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz in Bremerton, Washington, shortly before its current deployment to the Persian Gulf. Bob McGill ’90 took his Tiger Rag scuba diving in the Peacock Springs cave system in Live Oak, Florida. Steve Matonak ’83 in front of the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest, Hungary. Dennis ’12 and Emily Griffin ’14 Kiff celebrated their honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand, in January, 2017. Van HA ’09 and Ashley Champion ’94 Jones visited the Grand Canyon with their family. Amanda Hrubesh ’13, Collin Clemons ’16 and Will Middlebrooks ’14 at Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Amanda and Collin met at Clemson and plan to wed in May 2018 with Will as a groomsman in the ceremony. Peter Horn ’86 and Tammy Horn brought their Clemson flag to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Megan Hoffman ’13, Tate Fennell ’11 and Lauren McDonald ’15 in front of the giant Ferris wheel known as Cosmo Clock 21 in Yokohama, Japan. Floyd Harris ’78 traveled throughout Vietnam visiting children’s schools and orphanages in preparation for teaching English as a second language. He shared his Tiger pride with local university students in front of the Saigon Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City. Hayden Grooms ’16, Natty Long ’17, Nate Adams ’16, Eric Schelble ’16 and Andrew Caitlin ’15 visited Churchill Downs before enjoying a Clemson football win at Louisville. Jason Flanders ’01, former Clemson football player, traveled to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl with his wife Christen and Tiger cubs Madison and Robby. The family ventured up Camelback Mountain on the trip. Gary Faulkenberry ’65 and wife Toni enjoyed the canals of Venice, Italy, with their grandson Aiden. Jack Fallaw ’64, Ashley Dunnavant ’88, Deana Pilger ’91, Paul Dunnavant IV ’16 and C. Preston Dunnavant ’19 traveled to St. Andrews, Scotland, and piled three generations of Clemson Tigers onto the famous Swilcan Bridge. Phil Ellis ’71 and wife Ann near the Cliffs of Kilkee in County Clare, Ireland. John Ellis ’65 and his wife Margaret visited the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin before the 27th Anniversary of the German reunification. Charles Elfert ’67 and his wife Gail in front of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia. Robert Duvall '84 and wife Phyllis summited Rendezvous Mountain in Grand Teton National Park. Jeff Dunlap ’78 and his wife Beth in front of the Belfry of Bruges, Belgium. Galen DeHay ’97, M ’99, Melissa Cooper and Daniel Cooper ’84, honorary Ph.D. ’07 on the floor of the Grand Canyon. Kathy ’75 and Maynard ’70 Davis wave their Tiger Rag over the Columbia Glacier on Prince William Sound in Alaska. Nathan Creel ’19 stands with his Clemson pennant over Machu Picchu in Peru. Karen Burns ’78 shows some Tiger spirit at Drum Castle in Scotland with her husband Randy. Computer engineering professor R.R. Brooks shares his Tiger spirit in Conakry, the capitol city of the Republic of Guinea in Africa. Pressley ’13 and Meagan Best ’13 of Irmo wave their Tiger Rag while on their honeymoon in Saint Lucia. Ron Arias ’87 with his wife Liz and son Ron Jr. visited the other Death Valley in California. Zabriskie Point and Manly Beacon can be seen to the right of the family. Hannah Creech ’15 braved the cold on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Robert Bussmann ’16, Michael Dolan ’15 and Matt Koch ’15, all 2nd lieutenants, snapped a picture at Ft. Rucker, Ala., just before Dolan’s graduation from the U.S. Army’s flight school where he learned to fly the CH-47F Chinook, a heavy-lift cargo helicopter. Bussman is currently training on the UH-72 Lakota, a utility helicopter, and will complete his advanced training in the Chinook. Koch graduated flight school in October where he learned to fly the AH-64D Apache, an attack helicopter. Randy Ward, parking services, and Joyce Ward at Dead Horse Point in Moab, Utah. Jennifer Saylors ’98 at Letná Parks in Prague, Czech Republic. Andrew Sayer ’12 packed his Tiger Rag when he traveled to Alaska and explored Glacier Bay as well as the nearby areas of Skagway and Haines. Alton McLellan ’93 and Sam McLellan share their love of Clemson with a new friend in Gibraltar. Ray Massey ’92, Dave Christensen, Chad Blackston ’04 and Tom Wyatt posed on the iconic Swilcan Bridge with their Clemson golf gear at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Megan Lunn ’06, after landing at Lukla, one of the world’s most dangerous airports, hiked eight days to Mount Everest’s Base Camp, an elevation of 17,600 feet, waving her Tiger Rag to celebrate her accomplishment. Stewart Hurst ’82 and his wife Michelle at the UNESCO Heritage site in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy. Julianna Ellis ’14, Patrick Welsh ’80, M ’82 and Virginia Ellis ’17 at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Rebecca Cook ’19 and her father John Cook Jr. ’71 visited Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Carl Brown ’83, Grace Ann Brown ’88, Jim Brown ’15, Mary Hunter Brown ’17, West Brown and Clayton Stoddard ’17 wave their Tiger Rag under the waves while scuba diving in Great Guana Cay in Abaco, Bahamas. Chris Berry ’17 summited Mt Fuji in Japan during his summer internship for his master’s degree in engineering at Clemson.

Ring Stories: A Clemson Family

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For the Lanhams, the Clemson ring runs in the family.

Lanham Family Rings“Connection.” That’s what Janice Garrison Lanham ’88, M ’94 feels when she looks at her Clemson ring. Connection to her father, who never went to college but paid for her ring. Connection to other Clemson alumni, who have stopped her in line at the grocery store to show their own rings. Connection to her own Clemson family.

As a first-generation college student, Lanham fulfilled her parents’ dreams as well as her own when she graduated from Clemson with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1988. After her master’s degree, she started teaching nursing at Clemson, something she wouldn’t trade for the world: “I get to nurse in California and Utah and North Carolina and Georgia all in the same day because I’ve educated nurses who have gone out to work in all of those states.”

Her husband, Drew Lanham ’88, M ’90, Ph.D. ’97, whom she met while they were students, also teaches at the University, and the couple practically raised their children, Kimberly and Colby, on Clemson’s campus. Both followed in their parents’ footsteps.

When Colby, the younger one, graduated, the Lanhams gathered outside of Bon Secours Arena after the ceremony.

“He couldn’t wait to get outside and take a picture,” Lanham laughs, remembering her son’s excitement. “We all laid our hands out and kind of welcomed him into the fold. It was really special.”

Lanham Family

Drew ’88, M ’90, Ph.D. ’97, Janice ’88, M ’94, Kimberly ’12 and Colby ’16, M ’18 Lanham

Do you have a ring story to share? Email shutto@clemson.edu for more information. Visit alumni.clemson.edu/ring for more ring stories.

Roaring 10

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The 2018 Honorees

Each year, the Clemson Young Alumni Council recognizes 10 outstanding alumni for their impact in business, leadership, community, educational and/or philanthropic endeavors. These individuals must have graduated within the past 10 years and must exemplify the University’s core values of honesty, integrity and respect.

Roaring Ten 2018 Honorees

In October, the group announced its 2018 honorees: Claire Reddeck Bowman ’03, M ’08, associate for McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture; Tyrone Oliver Gayle ’10, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris; Noelle Cabato Holdsworth ’11, employer brand manager for T-Mobile; France L. Jackson ’11, M ’13, software creator and tester at Intel; Aliza Darnell McGuire ’12, prevention services coordinator at Epworth Children and Family Services; Susan Ridgeway Nunamaker ’01, Ed.S. ’09, program coordinator for Clemson’s master’s in teaching and learning; Allison Marshall Puechl ’09, gynecologic oncology fellow at Duke University Medical Center; Don Allen Sharpe Jr. M ’17, student services program coordinator at Midlands Technical College; Dan McKeithan Thomason Jr. ’13, student at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business; and John B. Wright Jr. ’10, realtor at McCoy Wright Realty.

Gayle received his award, but sadly, he passed away from cancer on Oct. 25, 2018.

For more about the Roaring 10, visit alumni.clemson.edu and click “Awards.”

Just Go For It: Permelia Luongo M '16

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Luongo

Permelia Luongo at Midlands Technical College

As the bridge program coordinator for Midlands Technical College, Luongo is helping change students’ futures.

EVERY DAY, PERMELIA LUONGO has the opportunity to encourage prospective students of all ages to attend Midlands Technical College in Columbia. Whether on the phone or in person, she’ll say, “Come on, you can do this! What’s stopping you?”

After 30 years of higher education service, Luongo began to reflect and ask herself the very same question.

“I had an undergraduate degree, and I just said, ‘I’m never going back to school,’” says Luongo. During a leadership program at the University of South Carolina, a mentor and former Midlands Technical College president encouraged her to pursue graduate studies to be more involved in policy affecting the academic outcome of students.

“I did some research and discovered Clemson had online graduate-level programs,” she says. “It was as if it were meant to be.”

Luongo began work on her master’s in human resources development, focusing on organizational change. Originally, she wasn’t keen to pursue online learning because she liked being in the classroom, but she said the experience was better than anything she imagined.

“My Clemson degree complements my work in higher education and provides me with additional skills and resources to contribute valuable information and insight into organizational change,” Luongo says. “I believe this is mission-critical as community colleges shape partnerships with secondary institutions. Through these partnerships we share professional expertise, resources and facilities and in turn promote student success.”

Luongo has reaffirmed her dedication to changing students’ lives through education, working to further develop new means to meet students’ expanding list of needs and enhance enrollment practices to make four-year universities more accessible.

“My guiding principle and ultimate desire is for all students to be successful,” she says. “Learning makes you feel alive. I want to give that experience to as many people as possible. As a result, I try to be an encourager, offering as much advice, support and guidance as I can to the students I come in contact with.”

Florida: Alex Holba ’16

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Lt. Alex Holba ’16 completed civil engineering technical school at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and Tyndall Air Force Base, FL. This photo was taken during one of their completion exercises (a part of the civil engineering technical training), which had Holba conducting a fire rescue mission and explosive ordnance disposal. Holba will return to his assignment at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Civil engineers for the Air Force are responsible for Air Force buildings, structures and bases all over the world–including combat zones.