Alumni Profiles
Outstanding Young Alumni
USF College of Arts and Sciences graduates are making an impact in many organizations, industries, and the community. Below are a few alumni spotlights that show the journeys of our alumni, their talent, success, and the amazing work that they are undertaking.
We want to hear from you! Contact Lauren Taylor to share your updates and exciting news.
2022 Outstanding Young Alumni
Mark Clennon, Mass Communications ’10, is a New York-based photographer who specializes in editorial, commercial and documentary projects. His clients have included Nike, Netflix and the National Football League and his photographs have appeared in national publications from Time Magazine to The New Yorker to Essence Magazine. His work is also part of the permanent collection at Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and has been exhibited at numerous museums and galleries. Clennon began pursuing professional photography in 2016 and left his corporate job a year later. He gained world renown in 2020 with his iconic image of Black Lives Matter protesters in New York City.Today, his goal is to capture the totality of black experience in his photographs. Clennon, who earned the ADCOLOR Unsung Hero Award in 2021, is married to the former Jasmine Fowlkes, ’10, and the two have a daughter.
Garin Flowers, Mass Communications ’09, Life Member, is a national reporter and producer for Yahoo! News and on-camera host for Cinemark Theaters, for whom he conducts celebrity interviews in advance of movie premieres. He is also a journalism professor at the University of Southern California and former journalism instructor at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. From 2011 to 2018, Flowers was a TV news reporter in Florida; his assignments included covering the state Capitol for CBS affiliate WTSP in Tampa and NBC and ABC affiliates in Jacksonville. His work received an Associated Press Award and an Emmy Award nomination. In 2021, Flowers appeared as a contestant on the 16th season of ABC’s hit reality show, “The Bachelorette.” As a student at USF, he was Student Body president, and he has continued to support the university in multiple ways, including serving as emcee for fundraisers.
Dr. Karim Hanna, Biomedical Sciences ’10 and MD ’14 is a physician and assistant professor of medicine at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. He specializes in family medicine, where he is often on the front line of health care and confronts issues for patients of all ages, from preventive to acute care. He has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care. He also felt drawn to teach and joined the USF faculty in 2017. His instructional approach and focus of his research is “growth mindset,” a philosophy that anyone can excel with time, effort and perseverance. He has developed curricula for multiple courses and an app for medical students to track their progress and feedback. In 2020, ’21 and ’22, he was selected by students to give the graduation send-off address. Dr. Hanna and his wife, Demyana, have a young daughter, Noelle.
Lauren Shumate Marcil, Criminology ’10 and MA Political Science ’14 is an associate at corporate law firm Gunster, where her practice is focused on complex
civil
litigation. She interned with Judge James D. Whittemore, Judge Raymond Gross, and
the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, and has represented
clients in courts throughout the state. She is the co-author of numerous published
legal articles. Marcil, who is fluent in Serbian and Russian, was selected in 2011
as a Fulbright Scholar to teach English at the University of Nišin Serbia. While there,
she also assisted the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade with judicial reform efforts. Prior
to college, Marcil was a professional tennis player and achieved a world ranking before
accepting a tennis scholarship. She competed for the Bulls from 2008 to 2010, serving
as varsity team captain in 2009. Lauren is married to Mike Marcil.
Timothy Moore, Marketing, 2010-12, is the co-founder and CEO of Vū Studios, a virtual studio network, and co-founder and CEO of Diamond View Studios. A three-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, he is a virtual production innovator recognized as a thought leader in the industry. Vū, which has studios in Tampa, Nashville and Las Vegas, utilizes massive LED wraparound screens called volumes to film subjects against high-definition backdrops with highly realistic results. Clients include Apple, Disney and Mercedez Benz. Moore, who holds patents for numerous digital filming technologies, and co-founder Jon Davila are also philanthropists. Early on, they partnered with the neighboring elementary school in the impoverished neighborhood where Diamond View is located, and last year donated a digital production studio and funded a faculty position for USF mass communications students. Moore is the author of “Sold On Purpose: Marketing to The Conscious Consumer.” He and his wife, Ashley, have two sons.
Daniel Erazo Pinto, International Studies ’13 has served as consul general of El Salvador in New York since July, providing services for citizens of El Salvador and representing his country in the United States. He previously directed consular affairs for El Salvador in the Dominican Republic and worked for World Vision in San Salvador.
Samuel Barrington, Interdisciplinary Social Science ’12, is chief operating officer of Sky Limit Equipment, LLC, an Orlando-based mobile crane company that has done the heavy lifting on numerous Florida landmarks, including the USF Morsani College of Medicine in downtown Tampa. Barrington is also a former NFL linebacker, drafted by the Green Bay Packers after earning a degree – and a place in history as the Bulls’ 10th leading tackler – at USF. After an injury ended his nearly five-year NFL career, he pivoted to business, helping to grow Sky Limit, which was founded by his father. He also returned to USF, where he’s the Bulls color analyst for Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties and will soon graduate with his executive MBA. A dedicated philanthropist, Barrington was the Packers’ 2015 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee and is a recipient of the Pop Warner Humanitarian, Ed Block Courage, and Presidential Volunteer Service awards.
Jennie Nwokoye, Biomedical Science ’12, is a program manager at Amazon Web Services and co-founder of Clafiya, a social enterprise platform that expands patients’ access to affordable, quality primary healthcare in Nigeria. While Clafiya sprang from her own experiences seeking health care in Nigeria, her passion for social impact has multiple outlets. She has also established herself as a reference person for capacity building and youth development in Washington, D.C., where she assists young entrepreneurs addressing some of society’s thorniest issues. She is a mentor, resource and fundraiser for these youth, helping them raise more than $100,000 in two years to execute their visions. Jennie has received numerous honors for her work, including Forbes’ “30 Under 30” Fellow and The Legacy Lab's Rising Star Award. She won the Women in Global Health and AI Challenge, was a Georgetown University Bark Tank finalist, and was selected for the Rockefeller Foundation-Acumen Student Social Enterprise Accelerator program.
Danielle Weaver-Rogers, Political Science ’10, has been an assistant city attorney for St. Petersburg, Fla., for six years, with a focus on labor and employment. She handles internal investigations; provides advice and counsel to all city departments, the mayor and city council; ensures compliance with state and federal laws; and drafts employee policies and procedures. She has successfully defended Florida’s fifth largest municipality in multiple cases, including the city’s first severance of a bargaining unit before the Florida Public Relations Commission. She also drafted the city’s first policy covering employees’ service animals. Weaver-Rogers is president of the Fred G. Minnis Sr. Bar Association (“Minnis”), the only African-American bar association in Pinellas County. Its mission includes contributing to the professional growth of members; ensuring diverse representation within the legal community; educating the community; and mentoring members of the Black Law Students Association. Weaver-Rogers was Minnis Bar Association 2018 Member of the Year and 2017 Rising Star.