ABOUT THE
USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The USF Alumni Association is a nonprofit organization composed of former students and friends of the University of South Florida. The association helps USF’s 360,000 alumni stay connected and provides meaningful ways for USF Bulls to support, promote and protect their university. For more information about the USF Alumni Association, including ways to get involved through volunteering, membership or giving, please visit www.usfalumni.org.
Dr. Marlene “Joannie” Bewa MPH ’18
PLEASE JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE:
John Brennan Music Studies ’12
Dr. Nicholas DeVito Microbiology ’08 and MD ’12
Rogan Donelly MBA ’18
Dr. Dakeyan C. Graham PhD Music ’15
Dr. Chinyere “ChiChi” Okpaleke Biomedical Sciences ’08 and MS Medical Sciences ’10
Past Recipients Tamsen Fadal, Broadcast News ’92
2004
Frank Dagostino, Management ’92
2005
Dr. Stephanie Todd, Chemistry ’96
2006
Michael Griffin, Marketing ’03
2007
Brian Lamb, Accounting ’98 & MBA ’17
2008
Shaun Robinson, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences ’05
2009
Alison Jimenez, MA Business Economics ’02
2010
Daniel Ravicher, Civil Engineering ’97
2011
Nikole Collins-Puri, Political Science ’01
2012
Jeffrey B. Hackman, Accounting ’00 & MAcc ’06
2013
Monique D. Hayes, Political Science ’01
2014
David Mincberg, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences ’03
2015
Eric J. Biel, Criminology ’13 & MBA ’16
2017
Daniel Wright Burgess Jr., Political Science ’08
2017
Stephenie Davis, Marketing ’15
2017
Iris A. Elijah, Africana Studies and Economics ’08
2017
Amanda Evora, General Business Administration ’12
2017
Ryan Gilliam, attended ‘05-’07
2017
Brad Kendell, Communication ’03
2017
Amy Martz, Communication ’04
2017
Jason Pierre-Paul, attended ‘09
2017
Dr. Dorothy M. Russ, Biomedical Sciences ’05
2017
Hannibal L. Baldwin, Finance ’11
2018
R. Grant Baxley, Management Information Systems ’07
2018
Vincent Terrell Jackson, Management ’16
2018
Maja Lacevic, English and International Studies ’09
2018
Reuben Pressman, Entrepreneurship ’11
2018
Joel Raney, Civil Engineering ’11
2018
Dr. Venessa Walker, Biomedical Sciences ’04
2018
Keith W. Babb III, Social Work ‘07 and MPA ’10
2019
Dr. Jacqueline Darna, Biomedical Sciences ’07
2019
Melissa “Mely” Salguero, Music Education, ‘09
2019
Florida Rep. Chris Sprowls, Political Science ‘06
2019
Ryan Swanson, Master of Architecture, ‘13
2019
(The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award was not presented in 2016.)
2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipients The USF Outstanding Young Alumni Awards were established in 2004 to annually recognize alumni age 35 or younger who have demonstrated emerging and unique innovation, creativity and success in their careers.
Dr. Marlene “Joannie” Bewa MPH ’18
John Brennan Music Studies ’12
Dr. Nicholas DeVito
Microbiology ’08 and MD ’12
Rogan Donelly MBA ’18
Dr. Dakeyan C. Graham PhD Music ’15
Dr. Chinyere “ChiChi” Okpaleke
Biomedical Sciences ’08 and MS Medical Sciences ’10
Tonight’s Program
5:15 p.m. Awards Ceremony and Panel Discussion, Traditions Hall 6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception, Club Room
Student Remarks
Gustavo Spangher USF Student Body Vice President
Welcome
Bill McCausland, MBA ’96 Vice President & Executive Director, USF Alumni Association
University Remarks Dr. Steven Currall President, USF
Presentation of Awards Dr. Steven Currall
Randy Norris, ’79 Chair, USF Alumni Association Board of Directors Keith W. Babb III, ‘07 and MPA ‘10 2019 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus Maja Lacevic, ‘09 2018 USF Outstanding Young Alumna
2020 Award Recipients
Dr. Marlene “Joannie” Bewa, MPH ’18 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumna John Brennan, ’12 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus Dr. Nicholas DeVito, ’08 and MD ’12 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus Rogan Donelly, MBA ’18 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus Dr. Dakeyan C. Graham, PhD ’15 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus Dr. Chinyere “ChiChi” Okpaleke, ’08 and MS ’10 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumna
Recipient Panel Discussion
Dr. Eric Eisenberg , Moderator Dean, USF College of Arts and Sciences
Singing of USF Alma Mater Please join us in the Club Room as we continue tonight’s celebration with a cocktail reception.
2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumna
Dr. Marlene “Joannie” Bewa MPH ’18
Dr. Marlene “Joannie” Bewa, MPH ’18, nearly died during an asthma attack in her native Benin, West Africa. Inspired by the physician who saved her life, the 9-yearold decided she, too, would become a doctor. Joannie achieved her dream. As a physician, she focused on creating a more just world, founding the Young Beninese Leaders Association in 2010, which has reached 10,000 youth on reproductive health and HIV, and served governments and the United Nations. As a Fulbright and USF Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Scholar, she conducts research in reproductive health and cancer in Florida and Africa, while pursuing a doctorate at the USF College of Public Health, graduating in 2021. She is a Merck for Mothers Board member – a $500 million investment to improve maternal health. She is recognized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and her work is featured in a documentary, ONE: “Yours in Power”.
2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus
John Brennan Music Studies ’12
John Brennan, Music Studies ’12, grew up on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean, where he developed a deep appreciation for art and the world’s natural beauty. When he moved to Florida in 2000, his creativity took wing. He began to study music in school and quickly became an accomplished flutist, performing at Carnegie Hall with the Patel Conservatory Youth Orchestra. His passion for painting also flourished, and in 2007, he became the youngest artist accepted into Tampa’s Gasparilla Festival of the Arts at the age of 17. At the age of 24, he became one of the youngest members of the prestigious Society of Animal Artists, representing the greatest in the world of wildlife art. John has received numerous awards for his work and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for wildlife habitat conservation through his celebrated duck stamp contest paintings. He’s the owner of John Brennan Art LLC.
2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus
Dr. Nicholas DeVito Microbiology ’08 and MD ’12
Dr. Nicholas DeVito, Microbiology ’08 and MD ’12, researches ways to advance our understanding of cancer and the immune system to develop immunotherapies for metastatic melanoma and gastrointestinal malignancies. His work at Duke University includes patient care, teaching, and research investigating how tumors manipulate the body’s immune system. His interest in oncology blossomed during his undergraduate years at USF, when he worked with oncologists and in a cancer vaccine laboratory at Moffitt Cancer Center. In 2018, he was one of five recipients of the highly competitive Physician-Scientist Training Awards presented by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. This award recognizes scientists who show exceptional promise in finding new cures for cancer. He also received the Conquer Cancer Foundation’s 2017 Young Investigator Award and the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2017 Merit Award. Even as a USF student, Nick was a trailblazer, creating the Morsani College of Medicine’s peer-taught Step 1 licensing exam course and its Undergraduate Physician Shadowing Program.
2019 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus
Rogan Donelly MBA ’18
Rogan Donelly, MBA ’18, played in the Tervis Tumbler Factory Store in Venice, Fla., as a toddler, was decorating tumblers at 9, and helped out in the Tervis warehouses as a teenager. In 2016, he was appointed president of the company, which has manufactured more than 150 million of the iconic tumblers since 2000 alone. His grandfather, John C. Winslow, purchased Tervis in the 1950s and his father, Norbert Donelly, took over in 1989. Rogan became a board member in 2008 while working in Boston and moved to Sarasota to continue working his way through the company. Since becoming president, he has introduced Tervis’ popular stainless-steel line, ramped up customer service, and positioned the company as a champion of conservation efforts. An avid angler and outdoorsman, Rogan gave away 10,000 Tervis tumblers in 2018 to people who pledged to stop using disposable cups. He has been named to Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list.
2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus
Dr. Dakeyan C. Graham PhD Music ’15
Dr. Dakeyan C. Graham, PhD Music ’15, planned to become a physician, though he excelled as a member of Tampa’s King High School Marching Lions. He did eventually become a doctor – of music, not medicine. The director of instrumental studies at his alma mater from 2009 until accepting a position with the Florida Department of Education this year, Dakeyan is the state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year. In 2013, he was a semifinalist for GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year. Known at King High as “Dr. Dre,” Dakeyan directed King’s band, orchestra and ensembles, all of which excelled. The music program consistently received superior ratings at district and state music performance assessments and in 2016, the symphony orchestra and wind ensemble performed at Carnegie Hall. But Dakeyan’s talents extend beyond the band room. He worked to turn his belief in each student into belief in themselves, resulting in scores of motivated graduates who left high school with solid goals and a firm grip on their futures.
2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumna
Dr. Chinyere “ChiChi” Okpaleke Biomedical Sciences ’08 and MS Medical Sciences ’10
Dr. Chinyere “ChiChi” Okpaleke, Biomedical Sciences ’08 and MS Medical Sciences ’10, juggled rigorous coursework with the demanding schedule of a student athlete during her years at USF. The star basketball player went on to become a family medicine hospitalist physician for BayCare Health System and a dedicated public servant. In 2014 she founded Reality Speaks, a nonprofit that began with a mission to help Tampa Bay area student athletes prepare for life beyond sports. It has since broadened its focus to assisting local families and students in need, and her Be Dope Do Yoga offers free community yoga classes. “Dr. Chi” also donates her skills as a physician to the medically underserved, participating in mission trips to Nigeria, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Her charitable work has earned her BayCare Medical Group’s Golden Compass Award for Service. A Life Member of the USF Alumni Association, Chinyere is a former member of the association’s board of directors.
The 2020 USF Outstanding Young Alumni Awards Reception and Ceremony is proudly sponsored by
GREEN & GOLD SPONSOR
O F F I C I A L U S FA A S P O N S O R S
OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
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USF ALMA MATER Hail to thee, our Alma Mater May thy name be told, Where above thy gleaming splendor, Waves the green and gold Thou our guide in quest for knowledge Where we all are free University of South Florida Alma Mater, Hail to Thee!
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