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Living East Tennessee Host, Mental Health Advocate Embodies Volunteer Spirit
Growing up, Amber Lynn Carroll (‘13) knew she wanted to do something that honored her inner performer. She also loved to write. So, when the School of Journalism and Media alumna discovered there was a career path combining both passions, she wanted in. She joined her high school TV station and started covering sports. It…
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Graduating Senior Griffin Hadley Proud To ‘Carry The Torch’
Griffin Hadley and Kate McCarville the Tennessee men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams receiving the Torchbearer award at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, TN. (Photo By Kyndall Williams/Tennessee Athletics) School of Journalism and Media Professor Erin Whiteside met graduating senior Griffin Hadley for the first time during an informational session for students…
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Land Grant Films Team Produces Award-Winning Short Documentary on Blind Woodworker
Senior Carter Moore interviewing Greenville, Tennessee native and woodworker George Wurtzel for the Land Grant Films short documentary “Carving The Creative Vision”. In small-town America, there always seems to be that person everyone knows who perfectly reflects what that community is all about. This phenomenon is what prompted Nick Geidner, School of Journalism and Media…
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Communication Studies Major Meredith Schmerda Selected for Jupiter Entertainment’s First Launch Program
Senior Meredith Schmerda likes keeping her career choices open—so long as she gets to use her hyper-creative mind—and that was a significant contributor as to why she chose communication studies as her major. “As a little freshman, I wanted to do something very broad because I didn’t know what I wanted to do and that…
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Malik Allen’s Path from UT, Knoxville’s Tombras School to the Tombras Agency in the Big Apple
Malik Allen’s (‘21) dreams have come true since he started working at the Tombras Agency in New York City just this past year. Allen graduated from the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations with a degree in advertising in 2021 and credits his classes and internships for helping him get to where he is…
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Jonathan Knight Supports WUOT to Keep Invaluable News & Music Available
Jonathan Knight is a Knoxville native, and his interest in classical music was first sparked by hearing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in the movie Shine. He was then introduced to another Rachmaninoff piece, Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, and he was hooked. “And so, once I heard that, it was like, ‘Oh, this is what it could be!’,” he…
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Jon Dempersmier Recounts the Impact of WUOT on His Life
Jon Dempersmier knew about public radio long before moving to East Tennessee—there were a couple of syndicated shows such as Car Talk that had occasionally grabbed his attention—but it wasn’t until one day when he was driving his toddler son to daycare that he got hooked on WUOT 91.9 FM. “One morning I was just flipping through…
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Jessi Hudgins is Soaring High in Information Sciences and Skydiving at UT
Jessi Hudgins is reaching new heights as she launches a student organization on campus. A senior at the School of Information Sciences, Hudgins is double-majoring in data science and information sciences, concentrating on data, information management, and analytics. She is currently the president of the ParaVOLS skydiving club and aims to attract adrenaline enthusiasts and…
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Tombras School Well Represented at AAA where Assistant Professor Sitan (Stan) Li Wins Best Conference Paper Award
The Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations had a strong presence at the 2025 American Academy of Advertising (AAA) conference, from faculty winning the Best Conference Paper Award to ensuring the event ran smoothly. AAA supports research that is important to the advertising field and creates opportunities for academic and professional members to share…
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Young Alum Gina Abitante Growing Career at NYC Agency
Gina Abitante spoke to a group of students from the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations during their January 2025 visit to New York City. In Gina Abitante’s (‘23) line of work, one social media influencer posting a video praising a shampoo can put her workday into overdrive. As an account executive at Marina…