College of Charleston Announces 2025 Alumni Awards Recipients

The College of Charleston Alumni Association will honor seven distinguished alumni during Homecoming at the Alumni Awards ceremony in the Sottile Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 15, 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The ceremony will be followed by a celebratory oyster roast in Cistern Yard from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online.

The Alumni Awards recognize alumni whose achievements reflect honor upon their alma mater.

Demetria Noisette Clemons ’75
Alumni Award of Honor

The Alumni Award of Honor is the highest award presented by the College of Charleston Alumni Association. It recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions for many years to the Alumni Association and the College. The Alumni Association selects the recipient.

Demetria Noisette Clemons ’75 is an educational consultant specializing in data analysis, educational administration and situational leadership. She retired after more than 34 years in education, working as a principal specialist for the S.C. Department of Education and several school districts as principal, grant coordinator, counselor and teacher.

Clemons is a trustee emerita, having served as a member of the College of Charleston Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2024, including as vice chair from 2018 through 2023 and chair of the Student Affairs Committee. She is a past member of the College of Charleston Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Clemons grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. She completed all the required courses for early graduation from high school and enrolled at the College at age 16. Three years later, she walked across the Cistern with a bachelor of science in psychology. She earned a master of education in counseling from The Citadel. She has taken extensive coursework in educational administration from American University.

For her dedicated service as a member of the Board of Trustees and her exemplary efforts for the betterment of both the Board and the College, in May 2025, Clemons received the College of Charleston’s Doctor of Humane Letters degree – 50 years after graduating from the institution. She has also been awarded the President Theodore Stern Visionary Award and the IMPACT Award. The Excellence in Collegiate Education and Leadership (ExCel) awards program at the College acknowledged her services to the student community by establishing the Demetria N. Clemons Distinguished Mentoring Award.

Clemons’ generosity of time, spirit and wisdom contributed significantly to the past, present and future success of CofC students. She is considered a guiding light to her alma mater, her community and her state.

Arlinda Locklear ’73
Karen Burroughs Jones ’74 Distinguished Alumni Award

The Distinguished Alumni Award was established in 1983 to recognize graduates who have made significant, sustained contributions to their professions and/or their communities. In 2024, the award was renamed in honor of the Alumni Association’s executive secretary emerita, Karen Burroughs Jones ’74, who dedicated more than 30 years in service to our alma mater. The Alumni Association selects the recipient.

Arlinda Locklear ’74 has a particularly distinguished career in federal Indian law. During her nearly 50 years of experience in the field, Locklear has represented tribes throughout the country in federal and state courts on treaty claims to water and land, taxation disputes with states and local authorities, reservation boundary issues and federal recognition of tribes. In particular, she is a nationally recognized expert in federal recognition of tribes and Indian land claims. Locklear has represented tribes in all levels of federal courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court. She was among the first Native American women to appear before the Supreme Court.

Locklear began her career as an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colorado, and later transferred to the office in Washington, D.C., where she was directing attorney for seven years. In 1987, Locklear left the firm and has continued to represent only Indian tribes since as a solo practitioner. Over the course of her career, she has received multiple awards, including the 2009 Distinguished Alumna Award from the College of Charleston, the 2012 Margaret Brent Award given by the American Bar Association and the 2015 Lawrence Baca Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section.

Locklear earned her law degree from Duke University School of Law and is a member of the bars of Maryland, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. She also holds honorary doctorates from the State University of New York, Oneonta; North Carolina State University; the University of North Carolina at Pembroke; and the College of Charleston.

Locklear is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Marcus Hammond ’09
Alumnus of the Year

The Alumnus of the Year award recognizes a graduate who has achieved a significant accomplishment in the previous 18 months, thus reflecting honor upon the College of Charleston. The Alumni Association selects the recipient.

Marcus Hammond ’09 is a dynamic entrepreneur and community builder. At the College, the business administration major was captain of the men’s basketball team. His leadership on and off the court prepared the foundation for a career rooted in teamwork, vision and impact.

After building his professional acumen as a business banking relationship manager at First Horizon Bank, Hammond launched the Black Food Truck Festival in 2021 to celebrate Black culture across generations through food and music. Once recognized as the fastest-growing Black-owned festival in the nation, the three-day festival – which takes place the fourth weekend of April in Ladson, South Carolina – draws upwards of 18,000 people per year. Under his leadership, the festival has not only celebrated culture and culinary excellence, but in 2024 alone generated more than $10.2 million in economic impact for the Charleston region.

His dedication to youth development is just as strong: He coached at Burke High School from 2017–21 and continues to mentor students. Through the Black Food Truck Festival Foundation, Hammond also champions initiatives that uplift entrepreneurs in the hospitality, tourism and food and beverage industries.

In 2024, he was named to the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list, a testament to his bold leadership and community-first mindset. He remains a tireless advocate for joy, culture and sustainable economic progress.

Cynthia Marcengill Legette ’93
Howard F. Rudd Jr. Business Person of the Year

The Howard F. Rudd Jr. Business Person of the Year award recognizes graduates who have made significant contributions as business leaders and who have exhibited great integrity in their professional and personal lives. It is named for the founding dean and dean emeritus of the School of Business. The School of Business selects the recipient.

Cynthia Marcengill Legette ’93 is a relationship manager and principal at Diversified Trust’s Charleston office, where she brings years of experience serving the complex financial needs and priorities of high– and ultra-high–net worth individuals and families. Clients regard Legette as their trusted advisor, as she works to identify specific goals and implement strategies that include investment management, trust, estate planning and philanthropic objectives. In addition to serving her clients, Legette serves as the chief operating officer for the Charleston office. Before joining Diversified Trust, Legette was a senior vice president and private client manager at Bank of America Private Bank (U.S. Trust). Her decades of experience allow her to advise families on multigenerational planning and address all aspects of their balance sheets. Legette’s expert background in lending strategies allowed her to advise clients on investment real estate transactions, personal residences, yacht, aircraft, farm and ranch properties as well as art and collectibles. She began her career in Charleston with Bank of South Carolina.

The business administration major earned an MBA from The Citadel after graduating from the College. She is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society and Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

Legette is actively involved within the community, serving as past president and board member for the Charleston Animal Society, as well as past vice president of the College of Charleston Alumni Board of Directors and a Community Investment Review team member for Trident United Way. She is a founding member of the College of Charleston’s Women for Women Summit Committee. She currently serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry and the board of governors for the College of Charleston School of Business.

Youlanda C. Gibbs ’98
Pre-Medical Society Outstanding Service Award in Medicine

The Pre-Medical Society Outstanding Service Award in Medicine is sponsored by the Alumni Association, the School of Health Sciences, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and the Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Honor Society (AED). The award recognizes graduates whose leadership in the medical sciences represents remarkable achievement and who demonstrate an enduring commitment to the College and their community. The members of AED select the recipient.

Youlanda Gibbs ’98 is the founder and executive director of The Palmetto Palace, a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to health care and essential resources for underserved communities across South Carolina. With more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience, she has pioneered innovative mobile health initiatives, preventive care clinics and community programs that bring hope and practical support to those most in need.

Under her leadership, The Palmetto Palace has reached thousands of individuals annually through mobile health services, chronic disease prevention and health education. Recognized as a South Carolina Immunization Champion and one of the Top 12 Black Leaders to Know by The Post and Courier, Gibbs is known for her compassionate, strategic and community-centered leadership.

With a leadership philosophy rooted in empowering communities through service, dignity and access, Gibbs believes that every person deserves hope and the opportunity to thrive. She is committed to mentoring future leaders in health and nonprofit sectors to expand equitable care and create lasting systems change.

Gibbs majored in elementary education at the College, and went on to earn her master of education in creative arts from Lesley University in 2001 and her doctor of education in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University in 2009. Before launching The Palmetto Palace in 2006, Gibbs taught as an adjunct faculty member at the College.

Lancie Affonso ’96 (M.S. ’08)
Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award

The Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes Honors College alumni for their professional achievements, contributions to society and exceptional service to the College of Charleston. The Honors College selects the recipient.

Lancie Affonso ’96 (M.S. ’08) graduated with a B.S. in business administration from what was then the College of Charleston Honors Program. Though he left for a few years to receive an international MBA from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, Affonso couldn’t stay away from Charleston. He returned to the College to teach and earn a master of science in computer and information systems – software engineering. The College of Charleston has been his home ever since.

In more than two decades of teaching at the College, Affonso has developed into a gifted faculty member. He is a senior instructor of computer science, entrepreneurship, marketing, management, data science and international business; an Honors College faculty fellow; and director of the Honors Entrepreneurship Living and Learning Community. He has contributed much to the campus community along the way, particularly as a past member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Affonso’s true passion lies in mentoring. He has received the Demetria N. Clemons Distinguished Mentoring Award and was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Undergraduate Mentor Award, and it’s clear why. No matter his obligations, he always makes himself available to students for whatever they may need. He is a fixture at university events and at Liberty Street Food Hall, where he connects current students with alumni. The lifelong mentorship and encouragement he provides the students in the Honors College and around campus is a priceless gift.

Deniz Houston ’16
Young Alumni Award

The Young Alumni recognizes an alumnus who has expressed the finest of CofC traditions through service to his or her community and/or profession within 10 years of graduating. The Alumni Association selects the recipient.

Deniz Houston ’16 is the digital policy officer for the Delegation of the European Union to the United States in Washington, D.C., where she advances European Union technology and transatlantic policy coordination. She covers digital topics including artificial intelligence, the Digital Service Act, the Digital Markets Act, cybersecurity and semiconductors.

Prior to the delegation, Houston was on the International Government Affairs Policy team at Intel Corporation, where she drafted the company’s strategy to address the geopolitics of the semiconductor industry.

Houston began her career in U.S. Defense and Diplomacy, where she helped advocate for U.S. foreign policy priorities through public diplomacy programs, international mergers and acquisitions, military technology and defense security cooperation initiatives.

After earning her degree in international studies at the College, Houston received a master of European public policy from Johns Hopkins in Bologna, Italy. As an undergraduate minoring in Russian studies and political science, she was a member of the Russian Club and was inducted into Sigma Iota Rho, the international studies honor society. She was also involved in Leadership CofC and Cougar Excursion. While at the College, she won multiple awards in regional Model United Nations competitions.

Houston speaks German, Turkish and Russian and has lived in Germany, Turkey, Italy and Russia.