USC Aiken 22 Core 4 Winners Announced

Aiken, SC (02/15/2022) — On Saturday, February 12, the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken) Alumni Association awarded the annual Core 4 awards to 4 distinguished alumni who epitomize the institution's core values. This year's winners are Kristin Allen, Brandon Baskett, Tammy Davis-Ruth, and Erin Vincent. Dr. Daniel Heimmermann, chancellor, presented the awards during halftime of the men's basketball game.

"We appreciate how they continue to demonstrate a strong Pacer ethic in all they do. These alumni continue to make a difference in the lives and communities around them," said Blake Leaphart, president of the USC Aiken Alumni Association.

Allen is employed at the University of South Carolina as the assistant director of CRM Administration in the Office of Admissions. While a student at USC Aiken, she was on the dance team, served as Student Government Association vice president, and was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC. Currently, Kristin is the president of the Aiken Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, secondary advisor to the Rho Lambda chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, assistant director/choreographer/coach to the USC Aiken Spirit Squad (combined dance team and cheerleading squad), hip hop teacher at Burns Dance Studio and a board member at Rural Health Services. Originally from Waldorf, MD she currently resides in Aiken.

Baskett has worked in education for ten years and expects to graduate with his doctorate in educational leadership from Liberty University in May 2022. He has worked as a high school English teacher, basketball coach, and assistant principal. Since February 2020, he has served as the dean for higher education services and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) for Lexington County School District One. He oversees dual enrollment programming, AVID programming, and works to ease the transition to college for first-generation students through the district's early college program. He serves his community through the nonprofit organization he founded in 2017, Seeds of Wisdom. Originally from Aiken, he currently resides in Columbia, SC, and is married to Christina (Pressley) Baskett, also a USC Aiken alum. They have a three-year-old daughter, Chloe, and will be a family of four this April.

Davis-Ruth is community investment director for the United Way of Aiken County (UW). She has been working in public service for more than 17 years. Her primary role is managing and coordinating UW's community impact initiative, Project VISION. She has a master's degree in public administration, nonprofit management from Pace University in New York, NY, and is a 2004 communication graduate of USC Aiken. She credits USC Aiken for introducing her to the Aiken community, where she developed a love for nonprofits and the service they provide to those in need. Originally from Hampton, SC, she currently resides in Augusta, GA, and is married to Minister Sederick Ruth.

Vincent earned three degrees in her academic pursuits, two of them at USC Aiken. After earning her associate's degree in nursing from USC Aiken, she returned to complete her bachelor's degree in psychology. She attended Augusta State University, where she earned a master's in industrial-organizational psychology. She was then hired by the Social Security Administration under their Outstanding Scholars program in 2001. She is currently a lead content developer and has been married to her husband Kevin for 21 years. They were two of the first four original USC Aiken Peer Educators (1997-1998). They have two children, Bryce (18), a senior at Fox Creek High School, and Hailey (16), a sophomore at Fox Creek High School.

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Dr. Daniel Heimmermann, chancellor, presents awards to the 2022 Core 4 winners at USC Aiken's homecoming on Saturday, February 12. Left to right: Blake Leaphart, Dr. Daniel Heimmermann, Tammy Davis-Ruth, Brandon Baskett, and Erin Vincent. Not pictured, Kristen Allen.