Ten seniors and recent graduates of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who have demonstrated academic excellence and a commitment to service and leadership have been named Torchbearers, the university’s highest undergraduate student honor.
The recipients were surprised with the award through a surprise visit from either Chancellor Donde Plowman or a member of her cabinet. UT leadership — and a balloon sculpture of the university’s iconic torch — appeared in each room to honor the new Torchbearers alongside friends, classmates, professors and mentors during seemingly normal classes and club meetings.
The award reflects the university’s Volunteer Creed: “One that beareth a torch shadoweth oneself to give light to others.” Students selected as Torchbearers embody the Volunteer spirit, displaying initiative and service in the best interests of both the university and their fellow students.
Meet the recipients
Izzy Alexander of Fishers, Indiana, is studying both English with a rhetoric and writing concentration and honors and world languages and cultures with a German concentration, minoring in interdisciplinary programs with a linguistics concentration. She will graduate in May after defending her thesis on the political, communicative and social rhetoric of separation. Alexander is president and captain of UT’s women’s rugby club team, where she mentors and supports her fellow leaders and teammates. She is also a member of the Chancellor’s Honors Program and Leadership Knoxville Scholars and has held various leadership positions with Ignite, a program that welcomes new Vols to campus. While a student, Alexander has volunteered with community organizations like Knoxville Rookie Rugby and the Knoxville Museum of Art as well as at Knoxville’s annual National Collegiate Rugby men’s regional competition.
Luke Bibee of Knoxville will graduate in May with a degree in business administration with a concentration in sales. Bibee has been a member of UT’s cheerleading team since his first year at UT, earning the highest GPA in the spirit program for the 2023-24 academic year. He is Interfraternity Council president and previously served as president of the Zeta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Bibee is also a UT ambassador with VolCorps, where he gives weekly tours to prospective students and their loved ones. Bibee has volunteered with a variety of community organizations during his time as a student, including CareCuts of Knoxville, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Restoration House and Generous House. He is a member of the Kappa Epsilon chapter of the Order of Omega, the Psi Society and the Student Conduct Board.
Dante Grayson of McMinnville, Tennessee, will graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public policy and administration through the Department of Political Science’s five-year B.A.-M.P.P.A. program. He has held membership in the university’s Student Government Association since his first year at UT and currently serves as its president, representing the student body during university leadership meetings and advocating for policies to meet their needs. Previously, Grayson represented the university as a student alumni associate and an ambassador and campus tour guide with VolCorps. Through UT’s Jones Center for Leadership and Service, Grayson has volunteered with community organizations like Ladies of Charity and the Knoxville ReAnimation Coalition and was a team leader for Ignite his sophomore year. Grayson is a member of the Delta Kappa chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, where he served as vice president of communications his junior year, and the Kappa Alpha Pi pre-law and government fraternity.
Griffin Hadley of Carmel, Indiana, will graduate this spring with a degree in journalism and electronic media and minors in advertising and public relations and in leadership studies. Hadley is a swimmer on UT’s swimming and diving team, where he is an individual dual meet event champion. He is a Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll member and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America team and the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America second team his sophomore year. In 2024, Hadley represented UT with USA Today as a student journalist at the Paralympic Games, where he led social media efforts to shine a light on the adaptive sport community. On campus, he is co-sports director for WUTK and an anchor and reporter for the Volunteer Channel. Hadley has completed service opportunities both locally and abroad as a student, working with community organizations like Tennessee Tailored and traveling to the Philippines with the VOLeaders Academy.
Kamah Karyeah of Clarksville, Tennessee, will graduate from UT in May with a degree in social work. Karyeah is a member of Air Force ROTC, where she is responsible for the training and well-being of 50 first-year cadets as a basic cadet group commander. She is also an honors student in the College of Social Work and has completed over 300 hours of student internship work through the college at Knoxville’s Austin-East Magnet High School. Karyeah is involved with Emerging Leaders, Leadership Knoxville Scholars, the Multicultural Mentoring Program and the Global Citizens Program. She is an ambassador for her college and a resident assistant in Fred D. Brown Hall, and has served as an Ignite team leader. While a student, Karyeah has volunteered with local organizations like MEDIC Regional Blood Center, Junior Achievement and Overcoming Believers Church.
Jahmai Mashack of Fontana, California, graduated from UT in December 2024, earning his degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. Mashack is a guard on UT’s men’s basketball team and was named to the 2024 Baha Mar Championship All-Tournament Team, the 2024 National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, the 2024 SEC Community Service Team, the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and three times to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He is chairman of the SEC Men’s Basketball Leadership Council and holds membership in V.O.I.C.E. and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During the 2024 holiday season, Mashack worked with local nonprofit Second Harvest to organize a virtual food drive that raised over $14,000, funding more than 21,000 pounds of food. In addition to Second Harvest, he has contributed financially to St. Paul Family Ministries, Black Oak Heights Baptist Church, Goods4Greatness and fire relief efforts through the Hawaii Community Foundation.
Kate McCarville of Springfield, Missouri, is studying therapeutic recreation and psychology with a minor in leadership studies and will graduate this spring. She is a member of UT’s swimming and diving team, where she was awarded the Lady Vol Student-Athlete Academic Achiever Award in 2024, and she has been named twice to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and seven times to the Dean’s List. McCarville has competed in the SEC and NCAA swimming and diving championships, winning the SEC championship alongside her team in 2022, as well as in the U.S. Olympic Team trials in 2024. She completed therapeutic recreation field experiences with Cornerstone of Recovery, NHC HealthCare Fort Sanders and the FUTURE program, and volunteered with 1Tenn, the VOLeaders Academy and the League of Angels.
Tyler Myers of Brentwood, Tennessee, will graduate in May with degrees in biological sciences and neuroscience and minors in public health and chemistry. He is editor-in-chief of Pursuit, the university’s student-led undergraduate research journal, and a senior ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences. Myers has been honored with multiple nationally competitive awards, including the Goldwater Scholarship in 2023 and both the Churchill Scholarship and the Amgen Scholars Program in 2024. He has served as an undergraduate research assistant for the Department of Microbiology since 2021 and worked in research labs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Myers is a member of the Student Alumni Associates, the Haslam Leadership Scholars program and Leadership Knoxville Scholars. Off campus, he has volunteered with organizations including the Genesis Neuroscience Clinic, United Way of Greater Knoxville and the Pat Summitt Foundation.
Genesis Nolan of Dayton, Ohio, is studying animal science with a bioscience concentration and a minor in entomology and plant pathology and will graduate in May. She is the inaugural president of the Multicultural Mentoring Program, which provides personal support, social guidance and positive campus survival skills to first-year students of color. She is also a member of Leadership Knoxville Scholars and the Global Citizens Program, and was involved in Emerging Leaders. Nolan represents UT as a Dean of Students Fellow, a Jones Center for Leadership and Service ambassador and a Vols in Student Affairs Program ambassador. She is a member of the Alpha Phi Omega national service organization. Off campus, Nolan volunteers with the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley and the Emerald Youth Foundation, and has previously served with the Native Plant Rescue Squad.
Jada Walker of Ooltewah, Tennessee, will graduate this spring with a degree in sport management and a double minor in Spanish and business administration. Walker is president of the Zeta Delta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, captain of the VolCorps Volunteer Team and president of the Melanin Mental Health Alliance, an award-winning student organization she founded. Walker has been honored as New Member/Neophyte of the Year by the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life and as an outstanding junior by UT’s chapter of the NAACP. She is a member of the UT Success Academy and the Global Citizens Program and has previously been involved with leadership and professional development programs including the Academy for Global Scholars, the Tennessee-Rwanda Leadership Experience and Big Orange Combine. Walker has volunteered with community organizations like Thrive and the Metro Drug Coalition as well as with Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Childhood Hunger Initiative Power Pack program.
The Torchbearers, along with the Macebearer and Volunteer Spirit honorees, will be recognized for their extraordinary achievements at the Chancellor’s Honors Banquet on Tuesday, April 29.
—
MEDIA CONTACT:
Maggie Palmer (865-974-3993, mpalme19@utk.edu)