Alumni Spotlight

CCI Faculty Brittany Tarwater 2025 Volunteer 40 Under 40

From the moment Brittany Tarwater (‘09, ‘13) stepped into the College of Communication and Information to where she is today in her career, there’s been a network of supportive faculty pushing her to succeed. She didn’t realize when she arrived at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus on her 18th birthday that CCI and UT would…
CCI Alum Gives $4.5 Million to Establish the Alan and Wendy Wilson Communication and Leadership Academy

Alan Wilson (’80) used communication skills he learned at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, every day of his storied business career, which culminated as Chairman and CEO of McCormick and Company. “The most important part of my job as CEO was communicating. I spent most of my time doing that, but leadership really is about…
Alumna Cecelia Prewett Sees Her Study Abroad Scholarship Impact by Joining Ireland Trip

When Cecelia Prewett (’93) was studying journalism at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she had one of the most impactful experiences of her life when she participated in a study abroad trip to the Netherlands. “It changed my life. So, when I was asked to join the Board of Visitors and they said, ‘You can…
Tennessee Speech and Debate Society Wraps up First Year at CCI with Several Wins

The Tennessee Speech and Debate Society (TSDS) had a successful year competing under the direction of their first-ever faculty coach and with the support of their new home, the School of Communication Studies. The varsity squad had qualifiers advance to the final round at every competition below the national tournament level. “I was more than…
Graduating Senior Skylar Brown Reflects on Leadership, the Volunteer Spirit, and the Future

All it took was stepping on to the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for graduating senior Skylar Brown to make it her top pick. Previously deadset on attending her mother’s alma mater, Auburn University, Brown quickly changed her mind after getting the Rocky Top tour her senior year of high school. “I feel…
TV Producer James Glover Makes an Impact with Annual Giving

When James Glover (’00) was a speech communication major at the College of Communication and Information, he had no idea that one day he’d work for legendary Judge Judy of the eponymous court television show. But that’s exactly where he landed several years after he packed up his bags and moved from Knoxville to Los…
Two CCI Schools Introduce Students First-Hand to Career Opportunities in DC

Whether it was seeing U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in the tunnels beneath the United States Capitol, touring the White House, or meeting with numerous College of Communication and Information alumni, students described a recent trip they took to Washington as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Aimed at introducing students to the careers they could pursue after graduating,…
Communication Studies Alumna and Restaurant Owner Anna Myint is a 2024 Volunteer 40 Under 40

Anna Myint (‘08) owns and manages International Market, a business her parents opened in Nashville in 1975—the first Thai restaurant and market ever in the city. It has introduced Thai cuisine to generations of Nashvillians and, after closing the old relocation and opening a new one, landed on Southern Living’s The South’s Best New Restaurants…
Comm Studies Alum John Tupps Comes Home to Knoxville and Lands on the Volunteer 40 Under 40

Caption: John Tupps, right, works as communication director for then-Florida Governor Rick Scott as they respond to storm damage in Pensacola in 2014. School of Communication Studies alumnus John Tupps (’07) always knew that he’d pursue his higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Even though he was an Army brat who spent the first 11…
Alumni Spotlight – Cassie Ray

Cassie Ray is one of two alums to complete all three degrees-B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. at the School of Communication Studies. Cassie says she is “filled with pride to say I am truly (and literally) ‘All Vol.’” “Each degree changed me, they shaped me to be a more competent, professional and better person in general.