UT Knoxville Alumni

Finally, meet the winners of our Alumni Promise Award. These young alumni are already making an impact in their communities and profession.

Taylor Bauldwin (’17) is the founder of Rooted Ventures, providing support, recognition, and investment to Black and minority founders in the food and beverage industry.

Mary Cayten Brakefield (’20) is the co-founder of Brakefields, an American-made fashion label that brings joyful comfort to women of all ages, sizes, and abilities.

Dr. Clayton Culp (’10, ’13, ’18) is a clinical social worker at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where he provides counseling and support to families facing pediatric cancer.

Nathan Irwin, MHA (’14) is the Chief Operating Officer at North Knoxville Medical Center. He was named COO for two hospitals before the age of 35.

Monica (’16, ’21) & Chima (’ 17) Onwuka are president and vice president of Grind City Cares. Chima and Monica serve the greater Memphis community and have worked with a multitude of companies and organizations to provide a wide variety of community services.

Our Alumni Service Award honors alumni who embody the Volunteer commitment to servant leadership. Meet the 2024 award winners!

Stephanie Boomhower (’97, ’99) led the San Diego UT Alumni Chapter for 24 years, organizing events for Vols in Southern California and leading the creation of an alumni scholarship for local students attending UT.

Brian Lee (’92) is the director of guest relations at Blackberry Farm, one of the nation’s top luxury resorts. He serves the university as a volunteer leader in various roles across campus.

Linda S. Lee, PhD (’72) dedicated her career to the expansion of education training, directing and establishing new programs at the state level, in higher education, and at Duke University School of Medicine as a faculty member.

Barrett V. Simonis (’01) is president of Pugh CPAs and is active in leadership roles throughout his community, including membership on the board of directors for the East Tennessee Foundation, the Musuem of Appalachia, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee.

Our Alumni Professional Achievement Award recognizes Vols who are making prodigious contributions to their profession, bringing honor and credit to the university. Meet the 2024 award winners!

Bryan F. Coker, PhD (’10) is the president of Maryville College, a 205-year-old liberal arts institution of 1,200 undergraduate students, located in East Tennessee.

Philip M. Garner (’73) played professional baseball for nearly two decades, making three All-Star appearances and achieving a record batting average in the 1979 World Series. He later became a major league manager for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Houston Astros.

Michael Han (’03) ensures the security of intellectual assets at Nike, Inc. headquarters. He oversees the team responsible for managing Nike’s worldwide collaborations with third parties to invent new materials and products.

James “Sparky” Rucker (’71) is an internationally renowned musician, storyteller, and historian, who has been active in the civil rights movement since the 1950s.

Paul A. Young (’02) was sworn in as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, on January 1, 2024. He is the former Director of Housing and Community Development for the city.

Meet the extraordinary alumni receiving our 2024 Alumni Awards! Our highest alumni honor is the Distinguished Alumni Award, reserved for Vols who have achieved remarkable distinction in their profession to the benefit of fellow citizens. Congratulations from the alumni family!

Shelly Sun Berkowitz (’92) is the founder and executive chair of BrightStar Care, BrightStar Senior Living, and BrightStar Care Homes’ parent company. Driven by the difficulty of securing high-quality, dependable home care services for her grandmother, she has grown the companies from launch into a nationwide network of premium home care providers.

Paige Braddock (’85) guides the creative and editorial direction for Peanuts products worldwide as the chief creative officer at Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. (She designed the Snoopy U.S. postage stamp issued in April 2001!) She is also the creator of a syndicated comic strip and author of graphic novels for children.

Chris Schellman (’96, ’98) is the founder of Schellman & Company, one of the nation’s leading CPA firms. He is passionate about education access, alleviating poverty, and advancing cancer research, causes he supports through the Schellman Family Foundation.

Donnie Smith (’80) was the president and CEO of Tyson Foods. Under his leadership, Tyson Foods achieved four straight years of record profits and multiplied stock value six times in seven years.

Dr. Michele Wise Wright, PhD (’92 ) is a renowned leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion, leading national efforts to improve visibility and access for underrepresented communities. She serves as the director of business development and outreach for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

to campus hangs in 1973!

Today we pause to remember those who were lost 23 years ago, and to reflect on the bonds that unite us. 🇺🇸

Never forget.

Vols ➡️ Oklahoma🍊Join us for a tailgate before the Vols take on Oklahoma! Tickets include food, drink, and a whole lot of orange🎉

🕐 2:30PM-5:30PM
📆 September 21
📍The Hall at The Railhouse

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3XD555h

On a hallowed hill🧡

Happy birthday to us! The University of Tennessee was founded as Blount College on September 10, 1794. We've been lighting the way for 230 years!

Vols 🤝 Vols. Our alumni chapters enjoyed sending off the to Rocky Top this summer!

📍Denver, Southern Middle TN, Charlotte, Chicago

We loved connecting with our Charlotte UTK Alumni Chapter Vols this weekend!

Don't miss an event near you! Head to alumni.utk.edu/events for a list of all the fun.

Vols in the Queen City! We’re kicking off the weekend with young alumni and the Black Alumni Council at . !

Happy , Vols!

Tag a Vol in Charlotte who needs to be hanging with us this weekend!

𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒔🍊We have two events for you before the NC State VS Vols game on September 7! Tag a Vol who needs to join you🍻

𝙑𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮
📅 Friday, September 6
🕐 6:00-9:00 p.m.
📍 Suffolk Punch Brewing
🍊 First 250 Vols to arrive get a free drink!

𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙏𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚
📅 Saturday, September 7
🕐 3:30PM
📍Truist Stadium
🍊 Enjoy drinks, food and special performances!

Find out more: https://alumni.utk.edu/events/

Did you know we thank UT donors with exclusive invites to home-game tailgates? This past weekend we welcomed these groups, including first-time donors! You'll score an invite of your own when you make a gift of any size to campus.

A crisp morning hanging out with our University of Tennessee, Knoxville students! We sure love Rocky Top.

A collaboration among professors at UT and a local nonprofit is helping tackle food inequity while teaching valuable engineering skills to high school students.

Robot Arms for Urban Farms - Tickle College of Engineering Using computer science to tackle food inequity, Sai Swaminathan and two other UT professors helped bring a farming robot to a Knoxville food desert.

Know a Volunteer lighting the way? We want to recognize them! Nominate someone as a Vol Great⬇️

Vol Greats Light the Way | UT Knoxville Alumni Meet the everyday torchbearers brightening their corner of the world. They are all lighting the way through their commitment to making a difference.

In our era🍊

There's never enough orange before a game day! 🍊

to cheering on the Vols in '98!

𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒔🍊We have two events for you before the NC State VS Vols game on September 7! Tag a Vol who needs to join you🍻

𝙑𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮
📅 Friday, September 6
🕐 6:00-9:00 p.m.
📍 Suffolk Punch Brewing
🍊 First 250 Vols to arrive get a free drink!

𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙏𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚
📅 Saturday, September 7
🕐 3:30PM
📍Truist Stadium
🍊 Enjoy drinks, food and special performances!

Find out more: https://alumni.utk.edu/events/

VFL Peyton Manning was on Rocky Top today to present four new Vols with the Peyton Manning Scholarship, awarded to first-year students for extraordinary academic achievement and dedicated service!

Peyton Manning Praises 2024 Manning Scholars for Their Positive Impact Legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning gathered with Chancellor Donde Plowman and other campus leaders on Aug. 27 to honor the newest recipients of the Peyton Manning Scholarship.

Paws up for our favorite hound!🐾🧡 Happy , Smokey!

Who's ready?

finally, it's time...

𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞

🍊

Find the Vols near you this football season➡️ https://alumni.utk.edu/vol-watch-parties/

Here's to that, coach!

Think we’ll let him stick around 😉

Head coach Tony Vitello has signed a 5-year contract extension through the 2029 season.