In her newly released book, College of Communication and Information alumna Sharon Price John (’86) weaves stories from her childhood, alongside insights from her career journey, as a way to encourage others to set and achieve personal goals. The Build-a-Bear, Inc. president and CEO didn’t want to write a tell-all or girl boss story, but […]
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 […]
All throughout law school and even after Judge Kyle Hixson (’05, ‘08) earned his law license and began working at the Knox County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor, his love for sports broadcasting persevered. He was a lawyer by day, but on some nights and weekends, he was a broadcaster working to cover various […]
Rachel Rui never expected a small city in East Tennessee to become her home sweet home, but that’s exactly what happened. As she put it, “we bloom where we are planted” and that’s exactly what she did at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville—and now she is being recognized for all she has done for the […]
Every year, the University of Tennessee’s Alumni Foundation honors 40 alumni under the age of 40 who have excelled in their professions and communities in exemplifying the Volunteer spirit. This year, the College of Communication and Information boasts nine alumni on the distinguished 40 under 40 Volunteer list for 2023. “We are incredibly proud to […]
For the last 20 years, Beth Haynes (’98) has elevated the people, stories, and community of Knoxville through her platform as a news anchor at WBIR-TV. Haynes has an aptitude for looking at a topic or issue and seeing the people first, and handling even the most difficult stories with deep compassion and respect. Recently, […]
Just before Thanksgiving, Todd Lamar (’85) headed from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to his parents’ house in Memphis to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. There was much to celebrate with family, but Lamar wanted to make Tommy and Nicki Lamar’s six decades together extra-special with an unusual gift: the establishment of the Lamar […]
Throughout her career in academia, María De Moya has sought opportunities to contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as an advocate for those under-represented in higher education. As she served in those roles, it became clear to De Moya that she wanted DEI to be the center of her career, so she began […]
Throughout her time as an undergraduate and graduate student at the College of Communication and Information, Kylie Julius has pulled much of her strength and inspiration from the faculty she says “took a chance” on her. But their investment in her paid off when Julius not only graduated with her master’s from CCI this past […]
Megan Fields demonstrates how some meditate in the Message Effects room, where a group meets weekly for mindfulness and meditation. Every Wednesday on the second floor of the Communication and Information building, the lights are dimmed and the voices of a handful of students, staff, and faculty go quiet for 25 minutes. The noises outside […]
