Several Clemson University Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management senior undergraduate students have been recognized for outstanding GPAs in the last year of their degree.
Interim Department Chair Jeffrey Hallo says that the number of award winners in this year’s senior cohort is indicative of the talent and dedication of the department’s students.
“A student needs to earn a GPA of 3.75 or higher to earn this award, which makes it a challenging goal to strive towards,” Hallo said. “I’m pleased to see so many of our students rewarded for their significant efforts during their final push towards their undergraduate degree.”
The department’s 2020 award recipients include:
Melina Alberti
Melina Alberti is a senior from Greenville, South Carolina. She is studying Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management with a concentration in Community Recreation, Sport and Camp Management. Melina has two loving parents, one of which graduated from Clemson University and an older brother who also graduated from Clemson University in 2016. Melina is an avid sports fan, her favorite sport being Clemson Football, of course. She has her own photography business called Melina Alberti Photography and she would love to pursue photography as a career in the future.
Mackenzie Bibb
Growing up just down the road from Clemson University in Anderson, South Carolina, Mackenzie has always considered herself a big Clemson Tiger fan. She loves going to any Clemson sporting event. She definitely belongs to a Clemson family, as both of her parents graduated from the university and her twin sister currently attends the school with her. She has an older half-brother and a younger half-sister in addition to her dog, Jolly, and her cat, Tripp. She really enjoys traveling and discovering new places. The coolest place that she has ever traveled to is Tanzania, Africa, where she got to hike part of Mount Kilimanjaro and enjoyed a safari on the Serengeti. She cannot wait to see where her life takes her, as she is sure she will travel to other unique locations in the future.
Julia Bragg
Julia Bragg, from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina is a PRTM major with a concentration in travel and tourism. She is currently finishing her senior year at Clemson University and scheduled to graduate in May 2020. She has loved every class and every professor throughout her Clemson experience. She is currently finishing her 400-hour internship at Greenville Country Club as the Membership Director and plans to move to Greenville and continue her career at Greenville Country Club after graduation.
Robin Bridgers
Robin Bridgers is a rising senior from Beaufort, South Carolina. During her time at Clemson she has studied travel and tourism management and minored in business. After graduating she hopes to work for a Convention and Visitors Bureau and be an advocate for sustainable tourism.
Katie Burdick
Katie is from Duluth, Georgia and loves living in metro Atlanta. Her hobbies include cooking, baking, playing with her dogs, shopping and reading mysteries. Katie has two adorable dogs, both golden retrievers. She loves to spend time with her family and friends. She has a passion for ministry, and hopes to inspire and lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus.
Kat Dieminger
Kat is a PRTM major with minors in Environmental Science and English. She was born in Munich, Germany, but attended high school in Greenville, South Carolina. A member of the Tiger Band for four years, she also played intramural soccer.
Samuel Griffith
Sammy Griffith, from Anderson, South Carolina is a PRTM student with a concentration in Parks and Conservation Area Management. His hobbies include running, hiking, kayaking and swimming. A team captain of the Clemson Running Club, he has run a marathon in the Clemson Experimental Forest and several half marathons. He enjoys hiking in the mountains and traveling and has been to Spain, Ireland and Europe with extensive travel in the US. He loves visiting national and state parks with his favorite being Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.
Laura Jarriel
Laura Jarriel is currently a junior at Clemson University, majoring in Recreational Therapy and hoping to pursue a minor in American Sign Language. Laura wants to become a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) after graduation and hopes to work with the older adult population. Laura is from Anderson, South Carolina and grew up a Clemson Tiger fan. She has two older sisters, two brothers-in-law, an 8 month-old nephew and a 5 year-old Golden Retriever. In her free time, Laura loves going on walks, listening to music, working Sudoku puzzles, playing card games and playing the harp.
Ryan King
Ryan King is a senior undergraduate student from Greenville, South Carolina who is expecting to graduate in August 2020. After graduation, he plans to work in public parks and recreation with a focus in outdoor recreation. He wants to work a few years to get an understanding of the field and see what he may want to study in graduate school. In his free time, he enjoys hiking with his chocolate Lab, Colt, and mountain biking. One interesting thing about Ryan is that he took a 14-day road trip out west and visited a variety of national parks, including Arches, Death Valley and Yosemite.
Marissa Kuula
Marissa, from Chicago, Illinois is a junior in Community Recreation, Sport and Camp Management. Some of her interests include attending workout classes, dancing, reading and exploring all of the hiking trails and waterfalls around the Clemson area. Her favorite Netflix shows are Altered Carbon and Jeopardy. In regard to athletics, her favorite sport to play is beach volleyball and her favorite sport to watch is hockey.
Logan Mclaughlin
Logan McLaughlin is a PRTM major concentrating in Travel and Tourism. She is from Greenville, South Carolina where she lives with her Mom, Dad, younger sister and their two cats. In her free time she likes to spend time with friends, go to Clemson games and work out. After graduation Logan is hoping to get a job doing something with sports.
Ethan Meetze
Ethan Meetze is a senior PRTM major from Travelers Rest, South Carolina. His concentration is in Parks and Conservation Area Management. Ethan has made the President’s List twice since being at Clemson. His goal is to be an Interpretation Ranger at a national park where he will be able to share his love for the outdoors and natural resources with people from every walk of life. He loves to spend time out in nature, whether it is hiking up to Black Balsam Knob or growing fruits and vegetables in his garden. One of his favorite experiences while in PRTM was the semester he spent abroad in England, which allowed him to travel to nine other European countries. Ethan is also the proud dad of his dog Beau, who is also always down to be outside. Ethan would like to thank his family for providing all the support he has needed to achieve his goals in college and in life.
Christina Schlosser
Christina is a senior PRTM major with a concentration in Recreational Therapy. She is from Shillington, Pennsylvania and is on the Clemson All-Girl Cheerleading team. After graduation, Christina plans on attending graduate school for Occupational Therapy.
Macie Southern
Macie Southern is a senior majoring in Recreational Therapy with a minor in Youth Development from Simpsonville, South Carolina. She has been a lifelong member of the Clemson family as her father is a Clemson University alumnus and her mother is an employee at Clemson University. Macie has enjoyed volunteering within the special needs community from a young age, so she chose to pursue a career in Recreational Therapy to continue her passion of serving others. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling and spending as much time as she can with friends and family.
Kaylin Woods
Kaylin Woods is a senior Recreational Therapy major, currently doing the 4+1 Master’s program. Her dream is to open her own equine-assisted therapy farm to work with individuals of all different diagnoses, and is so excited to be able to research and complete her thesis based off of this interest. She is the President of the Recreational Therapy club, the Senior Editor for Her Campus Clemson, an active member of Pi Beta Phi and one of the biggest Clemson fans there is!
Shaina Wynne
Shaina Wynne is a junior PRTM major with an emphasis in Recreational Therapy. An only child from Asheville, North Carolina, she loves the outdoors, is on the Clemson University all girl cheerleading team and is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. She can’t believe that she’s almost a senior and is counting the days until football season starts. Go tigers!
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The parks, recreation and tourism management department at Clemson University is one of the largest and most well-recognized programs of its type in the nation. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in community recreation, sport and camp management, park and conservation area management, PGA golf management, public administration, recreational therapy, travel and tourism, and youth development leadership.
