Impact Stories
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Nashville Broadcast Meteorologist, CCI Alum Lelan Statom Recognized with Alumni Professional Achievement Award
Lelan Statom (‘86) has always been a weather nerd. When he was in middle school, he never missed a forecast, and he had his own weather station in the backyard. Fast forward a few decades, and Statom was honored by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Alumni Board of Directors with an Alumni Professional Achievement Award…
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Alum Creates Endowment for the Daily Beacon Staff
Jeff Copeskey’s (‘82) first journalism class at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, changed the trajectory of his future. Copeskey had been studying business at UT before switching majors in 1979 and entering the College of Communication and Information. His basic reporting class was sent to cover the aftermath of a fire on The Strip on…
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JEM Alum Ravyn Towns Gives Back to Grow Students’ Worlds
Ravyn Towns (‘14) wanted to give back to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, from the moment she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in journalism and electronic media. Her experiences on campus and at the College of Communication and Information (CCI) provided Towns with a foundation that has held strong through numerous challenges in her life.…
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Alum Jamil Price Creates Endowment to Honor His Father
Jamil Price, right, with his parents William and Rochell Price. Jamil Price (‘10) was facing a problem many children can relate to: he was having a hard time finding a birthday gift for his father. William A. Price doesn’t ask for much. He has everything he needs, and whatever he doesn’t have, he usually buys…
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Comm Studies Alum Works To Increase Tennessee’s Higher Ed Attendance
Graham Thomas (’08) may not have his name on any yard signs during election season, but his travel itinerary is similar to most aspiring politicians. Thomas is the chief community and government relations officer for tnAchieves, a nonprofit that exists to increase higher education opportunities for Tennessee high school students by providing financial scholarships alongside…
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Moore Family Creates Student Success Endowment for CCI
As someone whose job is to fundraise, Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations alumnus Lauren Moore (‘07, ‘09) understands how impactful a monetary gift can be for academic institutions. That’s why she and her husband, Elliott Moore, recently established the Moore Family Student Success Endowment to benefit undergraduate students at the College of Communication…
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Alum Stephen Land Helps JEM Students Get Real-World Experience at Realscreen Summit
From left, the Journalism and Electronic Media students who attended the Realscreen Summit: Seth Reynolds, Sherry Ludington, Tara Down, Bryson Wright Every year, major buyers, production companies, and creators of unscripted and factual content gather at the Realscreen Summit to network, learn, and to find and elevate the next great idea. This year, four School of…
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Two CCI Alumni Establish Endowed CCI Scholarship for Appalachian Students
Hunter Quillen Gresham (’98) knows a kindred spirit right away, just by hearing how they pronounce Appalachia (she says it’s “app-uh-LATCH-uh”). As natives to the Appalachian region, both Gresham and her partner Steven White (’93) take pride in their heritage and their accents. It was one of the things they bonded over when they met—and…
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Endowed Professorship, Terrace Established in Honor of Patty Williams
Patty Williams always enjoyed sitting and reading out on the third-floor patio of the Communications Building when her husband, John Williams (‘71) would attend College of Communication and Information Board of Visitors meetings. Both of them knew their lives wouldn’t have been the same if it hadn’t been for their time at the college—John as…