This spring’s graduates include 73 students who have completed more than 225 hours each of community service, earning the gold service medallion awarded by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Jones Center for Leadership and Service.
To celebrate the university’s 225th anniversary, the Jones Center designed a three-tiered medallion system to recognize students who log over 100 hours of community service during their time at UT. There are three different service levels: the bronze medallion for 100–174 hours, the silver medallion for 175–224 hours, and the gold medallion for 225 hours or more.
“Being a Volunteer is being proud to be a part of something bigger than myself. Service consistently reminded me of that,” said Tippany Patrick, a UT College of Law graduate and gold medallion recipient from Knoxville. “Broadening your perspectives through service makes you a better student, enhances your ability to empathize, and makes you a more successful individual as a whole.”
This spring, a total of 309 students received a medallion. Of the gold medallion recipients, 31 logged between 300 and 950 hours each. Additionally, 19 of the gold medallion recipients are graduating law students who provided pro bono work during their time with the College of Law.
“Service is one of the main components of what it means to be a Volunteer. Through the service medallion request process, we are able to recognize those that have logged their service hours during their time at UT,” said Brooke Squires, coordinator at JCLS. “It is incredible to see that so many students truly embody the Volunteer spirit, and we hope that they continue to carry that with them after they graduate.”
Spring 2020 graduates still have until June 1 to request their medallion. They will be distributed at a later date.
The following 73 graduates earned the gold service medallion:
- Sarah Adkisson of Cane Ridge, Tennessee
- Delaney Allison of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Abdulmohsen Almuhawas of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Derek Anderson of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Abigail Anderson of Nashville, Tennessee
- Kristen Anderson of Columbia, Tennessee
- Samuel Ball of Waynesville, North Carolina
- Emma Barnhart of Franklin, Tennessee
- Alva Bethurum of Franklin, Tennessee
- Taylor Booth of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Jeffrey Brink of Decatur, Alabama
- Mikaela Brock of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Keirsten Brown of Collierville, Tennessee
- John Calvin Bryant of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee
- Rachel Clifft of Dyersburg, Tennessee
- Mariel Cooper of Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Colby Cox of Powell, Tennessee
- Katherine Cunningham of Clarksville, Tennessee
- Kelsey Davies of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Ellie Decker of Elizabethton, Tennessee
- Eint Ei of Franklin, Tennessee
- James Elliott of College Grove, Tennessee
- Kyle Ensor of Charlotte, North Carolina
- Wylan Feick of Spring Hill, Tennessee
- Chandler Fielding of McDonough, Georgia
- Taylor Flake of Memphis, Tennessee
- Colleen Foley of Germantown, Tennessee
- Isabelle Gelfand of Cumming, Georgia
- Julia Goncalves of Cleveland, Tennessee
- Madison Graham of Atlanta, Georgia
- Abby Hale of Knoxville, Tennessee
- David Hall of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- Alexandra Harris of Athens, Tennessee
- Erika Ivey of Seymour, Tennessee
- Skylar Kelley of Cleveland, Tennessee
- Trent Kinkaid of Plainview, Texas
- Caroline Lukens of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Sarah Martin of Franklin, Tennessee
- Taylor Martin of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Nicole Matis of Huntsville, Alabama
- Rebecca McNabb of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Julia Midyette of Greenville, South Carolina
- Nicholas Millington of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Olivia Ming of Rock Island, Tennessee
- Claire Napier of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Jasmine Nguyen of Cordova, Tennessee
- Ashley Njalle of Humboldt, Tennessee
- Sharon Okseniuk of Nolensville, Tennessee
- Gulsah Onar of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Tippany Patrick of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Rheanna Patterson of Mount Juliet, Tennessee
- Shannon Perrone of San Diego, California
- Laura Phelps of Germantown, Tennessee
- Kimberly Poole of Madison, Mississippi
- Bayleigh Powers of Union City, Tennessee
- Andrea Ramirez of Cookeville, Tennessee
- Desirae Ring of Columbia, Tennessee
- Sean Roberts of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Elana Samuels of Tallahassee, Florida
- Kalye Sanders of Eagleville, Tennessee
- Katelyn Sanders of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Kayla Sewell of Calhoun, Tennessee
- Madison Sherrod of Carrollton, Texas
- Sydney Smith of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Jamie Smith of Cane Ridge, Tennessee
- Alexandria Tasket of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Rachel Tierney of Highland, Michigan
- Sydney Toler of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Dinesh Velu of Memphis, Tennessee
- Richard Vuong of Hixson, Tennessee
- Kathleen Webb of Murfreesburo, Tennessee
- Emily Wise of Knoxville, Tennessee
- Henna Zaver of Clarksville, Tennessee
This spring, the university will award 4,625 degrees—3,415 undergraduate degrees, 1,014 graduate degrees and certificates, 117 law degrees, and 79 veterinary medicine degrees. Additionally, 14 Air Force cadets and 17 Army cadets will be commissioned. Although in-person commencement ceremonies in May had to be postponed for safety, UT plans to honor 2020 graduates on campus in person as soon as it’s safe. See the commencement website for details.
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CONTACT
Maddie Stephens (865-974-3993, msteph44@utk.edu)
This story is part of the University of Tennessee’s 225th anniversary year. Volunteers light the way for others across Tennessee and throughout the world.