NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

A five-week pilot program, “Tusculum College’s Mentors for Kids” wrapped up at the College this week with a dinner celebrating the participants’ completion of the program. The nine third-grade students from Hal Henard Elementary School participating in the pilot program, sponsored by the College’s Student Alumni Association, were recognized, as were the student mentors from the College.

“The goal of the program is to motivate youth to achieve their potential by fostering inspiration to transform lives, education to change attitudes and connections to increase opportunities by pairing elementary students with Tusculum College students for weekly activities that expose the youth to the opportunities of higher education,” said Cody Greene, coordinator of development and alumni relations for the College.

As for Hal Henard Elementary School, Tusculum College’s Mentors for Kids Program is part of an overall effort on the part of the school to get their students interested in college and to have them start thinking about it now.

“What I want to see is our kids developing the idea that they can go to college,” said Ken Fay, principal at Hal Henard Elementary School. “A lot of them don’t see it as a possibility.” Fay added that in addition to the mentors program, the school has taken students on college visits, hung college flags in the hallways and begun talking about college in the classroom.

As for the program, according to Hal Henard student Alex Grant, the whole thing was a success.

“It was a really fun,” said Grant. His mother, Charlotte Grant, added that he had been excited about the program since he found out he would get the chance to participate. “He was excited about his opportunity to get to go to college,” she said. “This is a great program for Alex, and something he really needs.”

Asked during the program what they liked best about the program, the Hal Henard students’ answers varied from “learning about history” to “getting to spend time with my “big buddy.”

According to Greene, Tusculum College’s Mentors for Kids program works on two levels, allowing the college students the opportunity to work with young people, while helping the elementary students develop their ideas of what college is about and what it can mean for their futures.

As an elementary education major, Tusculum College student Candace Babb got involved in the program because she loves working with children. But in addition, she found that as a commuter student, it also gave her a link to be involved with other residential students and feel more a part of campus life.

“It was great working with the children in a different atmosphere. With the program it was more personal, like you were adopting a little brother,” said Babb. “The best part was interacting individually and building those relationships. By the end you could really see they had a sense of ‘I can go to college, or I want to go to college.’”

The Tusculum College students said they learned much from the youngsters from Hal Henard and enjoyed their time in the program. Alicja Dembna said she appreciated the enthusiasm and joy of life that she found in the Hal Henard students. “If you’ve had a bad day and then get to spend time with the kids, you will be smiling,” she said.

As part of the program, the Hal Henard students spent five Tuesday afternoons on the campus learning about the College, its students and what a college education can help them achieve in their lives.

“Each day we provided some time for our “big buddies” and “little buddies” to bond, to just interact with one another,” said Greene. “But, in addition, we had a structured program that focused on one aspect of the college each week.”

Programs included visits to the campus museums for history day, learning about careers through the campus television and radio stations and meeting with some of the College’s international students to learn about the variety of cultures and diversity you find on a college campus. Each day also concluded with a reading session in the Thomas J. Garland Library where the students were gifted with a book to take home each week from their college mentors.

According to Greene, the program wrapped up with a dinner on April 28 and each Hal Henard student who could attend was recognized for completing the program.

“Tusculum College’s Mentors for Kids program has been a great success,” said Greene.  “We are already beginning to consider plans for next year and hope the program will be able to grow from what we’ve started this year.”

The Tusculum College Student Alumni Association is coordinated by the Department of Alumni and Parent Relations in the Office of Intuitional Advancement. Students are selected to participate in the program based on their academic work, involvement in campus activities and desire to give back to the College and the community. Members of the Tusculum College Student Alumni Association for 2008-09 are: Babb of Greeneville; Rachel Barnard of Loudon, Tenn.; Megan Hart of Loudon, Tenn.; Micah Haney of Union Grove, Ala.; Nikki Taylor of Ewing, Va.; Brooke Haymaker of Kettering, Ohio, and Glenn Vicary of Oak Ridge, Tenn. In addition, several other students from the College participated as volunteers in the program including Dembna of Wielkopolska, Poland; Erin Moore of Parrottsville, Tenn., and Boazin Katina of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The purpose of the Student Alumni Association is to build a body of servant leaders who upon graduation will advance the interests and connectivity of alumni and Tusculum College; establish, foster and promote the development of beneficial relationships among and between the college’s students, alumni, staff, faculty, and the college community; and furthering the quality of Tusculum College as an institution of higher education.

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Tusculum College’s Candace Babb will be among the contestants in the Miss Tennessee Pageant this June when the pageant is held in Jackson, Tenn. Babb will compete after qualifying by winning this year’s Miss Knoxville title.

Babb is junior this year at the College, majoring in Elementary Education. She is from Greeneville and is the daughter of Curtis and Teresa Babb. This is her second visit to the state competition as she previously competed as Miss Bristol. The Tennessee pageant is a preliminary competition for the Miss America pageant.

According to Babb, the Miss America organization is the largest provider of scholarship for women, and she has received $4,000 in scholarship assistance to date from her participation. She has used that toward her education at Tusculum College.

“I was interested in the scholarships and it was a way to utilize my talent,” said Babb. Her talent in the competition is piano and this year she will be playing a selection of ragtime music. Her platform is MUSIQ - advocating the benefits of music on the mind, hands and heart.

“Music has always been really important to me,” she said. Babb has played the piano and performed vocally for most of her life.

In addition to her participation in the pageants, Babb is a member of the Tusculum College Student Alumni Association and participates in the Mentors for Kids Program. She is a member of the Tusculum College Community Chorus and is the pianist and director of music ministries for Greenwood United Methodist Church. She is also an advocate for Children’s Miracle Network and has raised $750 for their cause this year.

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Students in the Tusculum College Bonner Leader program and members of the Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors take to the runway to raise money for the organization on Thursday, April 30, at the 2^nd Annual Greene County Habitat for Humanity Fashion Show.

The show will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the General Morgan Inn.

Fashion show models will wear outfits pulled together from the merchandise of the Habitat ReStore, and the outfits will be auctioned off at the end of the show.

The runway show will be set to rocking ’80s music and décor to turn up the volume on this fun and upbeat way to raise money for charity. Tickets are $3 for students and children and $6 for adults.  All proceeds to Greene County Habitat for Humanity.

The Bonner Leaders at Tusculum College are part of a national organization of students who commit to completing a required number of hours of community service during each term. The Bonner Leaders work on issues such as improving educational opportunities and fighting hunger through community programs that focus on literacy issues, mentoring and nutrition/anti-hunger initiatives. These students also participate in regular training and reflection activities sponsored by their campuses, their community partners and the Bonner Foundation.

As part of their service and community projects, students in the local Bonner group at the College have worked with Greene County Habitat for Humanity, including cleaning, painting and working in the Habitat ReStore.

“The Fashion Show is a way for us to continue to help Habitat for Humanity locally by not only raising funds, but by raising awareness of the organization and what they do for those in need who live right here in Greene County,” said Amber Sharp, a Tusculum College Bonner Leader who is spearheading this year’s event.

The students organize the event from beginning to end, planning, picking out the clothes, staging the event, publicizing and serve as models.  According to Sharp, all of the more than 20 Bonner Leaders from Tusculum College are involved in the Fashion Show project in one way or another.

“It’s a big undertaking, but it’s fun and for a good cause.”

For more information about the Fashion Show or information on volunteering, contact the Center for Civic Advancement at 636-7300.

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of Tusculum College’s Graduate and Professional Studies (GPS) program, and the milestone is being marked by anniversary celebration activities and events planned for Knoxville, Morristown, Tri-Cities and Greeneville.

The first event in Tusculum College’s year-long celebration will be the Knoxville event. A cookout will be held on Thursday, April 30, from 5:25 to 8:25 p.m. at the College’s Knoxville Regional Center at 1305 Centerpoint Boulevard near the intersection of Lovell Road and Pellissippi Parkway.

The Graduate and Professional Studies portion of the Tusculum College Web site has been redesigned to provide information on the events and to allow for online registration. On the site, visitors are able to get information on each of the events, register for one or more events and see a list of those who are planning to attend each event.  An online registration for email updates on year-long celebration is also available.

All former and current faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.

For more information about the celebrations, to make reservations or get updates on the events, please visit this Web page http://www.tusculum.edu/adult/anniversary.html.

Alumni, faculty, staff and students from the four locations have been involved in planning the activities and events, and while all the details of the events have not been finalized, dates have been confirmed. Other event dates include: June 20 in the Tri-Cities, June 26 in Morristown at The Country Club and October 17 in Greeneville on the Tusculum College campus.

All of the scheduled GPS Silver Anniversary celebrations are set to include students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the long-established adult education program.

“We are celebrating 25 years of making dreams of a college education come true for non-traditional students,” said Dr. Lisa Johnson, director of the Graduate and Professional Studies Program and assistant professor of education at the College.

While planning is still in the early stages for the remaining three events, activities range from receptions reuniting former students with current and former faculty, to a GPS “reunion” at a fall football game, said Cody Greene, coordinator of development and alumni relations for the College’s Department of Institutional Advancement.

“This is a year-long celebration of all the successes of GPS, and there are many exciting things being discussed,” he said, adding that the group is also trying to track down as many of the original class of 1986 as possible in order to recognize them during the events. If you are a member of that original class, want more information about the GPS celebrations or would like to volunteer with one of the events, please contact Greene at 423-636-7303 or email ccgreene@tusculum.edu.

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A launch party of the 2009 edition of the Tusculum Review will be held on April 30, at 7 p.m., in the Chalmers Conference Room of the Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum College campus.

The Tusculum Review, the College’s literary magazine, features fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, prose and art.

The event is free, open to the public and will feature readings by nationally-known poets Brent House and Clay Matthews, whose work will appear in the new issue. Copies of the new issue will be available at the launch party.

House, a Tusculum Review contributing editor, grew up in Necaise, Miss., where he raised cattle and watermelons on the family farm.  His poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming in the Colorado Review, Cream City Review, Denver Quarterly and Third Coast, among other publications. Currently, he is completing his doctorate degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Matthews has recent work published in H_NGM_N, the Black Warrior Review, the Laurel Review, LIT, Court Green and Forklift, Ohio. He has two chapbooks: Muffler and Western Reruns, which are available for free online.  His first book, Superfecta, was released by Ghost Road Press.

According to Wayne Thomas, assistant professor English at the College and editor of the Tusculum Review, Tusculum College is one of only a few undergraduate colleges in the United States that offers students the opportunity to work for an international literary journal.

The Tusculum Review offers students the chance to learn and refine their skills as reviewers of literature, critics of visual art and editors of the written word. These opportunities provide students with unique qualifications for graduate studies and employment in publishing.

“It is a great experience for them as future writers, editors and publishers,” said Thomas.

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Two Tusculum College Computer Science students were recently notified of their acceptance into graduate degree programs upon their graduation from the College this May.

Bryan Thiry, of Winchester, Ky., has been accepted and will enroll in the fall in Carnegie Mellon University’s master’s degree program in computer science. Carnegie Mellon is consistently ranked as one of the top three colleges and universities in the area of computer science. According to Dennis Lingerfelt, assistant professor of computer Science at Tusculum College, Carnegie Mellon’s master’s program is considered one of the “Big 3,” along with the University of California at Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“We in the department are very proud of Bryan and all of his hard work and success,” said Lingerfelt.

Another student, a minor in computer science, Amanda Kyker of Telford, Tenn., has been accepted into East Tennessee State University’s master’s degree program in computer science.  Kyker has received a full assistantship with a tuition waiver based on her excellent scholarship and unique talents, said Lingerfelt.  And while at Tusculum College Kyker majored in English, she has chosen to pursue her master’s degree in computer science.

Both students have excelled at Tusculum College and were recognized recently with faculty awards in their majors. Thiry was honored with the Senior Key in Math with Computer Science Concentration, and Kyker received the key in English.

“Getting accepted into either of these programs represents a major accomplishment, and getting accepted into a Big 3 school is a first for Tusculum College’s computer science program,” said Lingerfelt.

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Tusculum College students shovel and spread soil to prepare a garden at Rural Resources for spring planting on Saturday. About 20 Tusculum College students spent the afternoon at Rural Resources helping prepare for planting and continuing clean-up from the fire that destroyed its office/outdoor classroom building.

The students helped prepare plants for planting and salvage items from the burned building, including pallets of bags of organic potting soil as well as cleaning some of the cookware that had been saved from the kitchen. The students volunteered at Rural Resources as part of the “Service on Saturday” Bonner Leader program. On a Saturday during each month of the academic year, students do a service project involving a community agency or organization. The program is coordinated by Boazin Katina, a participant in the Bonner Leader student service program. All Tusculum students, faculty, and staff are invited to take part in the service projects.

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Chanaine Hunter, a senior, accounting and computer information systems double major and a native of from Kingston, Jamaica, has been recognized as “Student of the Block” at Tusculum College for her campus leadership.

The College’s Office of Student Affairs recognized Chanaine with its “Student of the Block” award for the seventh block of the spring semester during a ceremony on April 22. She was presented a plaque detailing her achievements and campus involvement by Dr. Michelle Freeman, assistant professor of business administration. The plaque will be displayed on the “Wall of Honor” outside of the Student Affairs Office in the Niswonger Commons.

Dr. Freeman nominated Chanaine for her dedication not only to her academic work, in which she has excelled, but also because of her commitment to community service as well.

“Chanaine is a very dedicated and promising accounting and information technology major. She is extremely involved in community service and gives 110 percent to her studies and her peers,” said Dr. Freeman.

Chanaine graduated in spring 2005 from Immaculate Conception High School with advanced high school curriculum completion. She was heavily involved during her high school years as a grade captains for grades 7- 11, a member of the Prefect Body (equivalent to student government association), the swim team and the Key Club.  A trained dancer, Chanaine studied formal ballet, modern, tap, jazz, Reggae, and African dance for 13 years and was a member of an advanced dance troupe.

Since arriving at Tusculum College, Chanaine has been an active member of the International and Multicultural Society, the Bonner Leaders Program (of which she is vice president), the Tusculum College Dance Team, the President’s Society and Alpha Chi honor society.  She was a member of the 2006 International Cultural Show sponsored by the International and Multicultural Society and participated in the unveiling of the international flag display in the Niswonger Living Room, two of her most memorable moments at Tusculum College.

“Planning for the show and preparing for the performance were truly enjoyable. I enjoyed being with other international students and hearing responses about the show,” said Chanaine, “I love the flag display because it provides a piece of home whenever I get homesick.”

Always the academic, Chanaine highly values the importance of education in her life and looks for opportunities which will enrich her educative experience. Exemplifying this trait is her experience as an intern for a prominent oil and gas company in Houston, TX for the 2007 and 2008 summer breaks and her employment with the General Morgan Inn as an accounting clerk with the Accounting Manager. She has maintained a high GPA in her coursework and always strives to truly understand the subject matter.

In her spare time, when she’s not studying or working in the community with the Bonner Leaders, Chanaine enjoys what she calls “alone time”- listening to music, watching movies, reflecting, swimming, dancing, shopping, reading or taking in an episode of the hit show “Monk.”

According to Dean of Students David McMahon, Chanaine is “focused, humble and modest, maintaining academics as her first priority, yet, understanding the importance of the co-curricular experience. The essence of the engaged student, she is a shining example of the determination Tusculum College hopes to mold into the next generation of community leaders. The campus will lose a leader as she graduates in May, but gain a powerful role model as she leaves behind a legacy of dedication to education and serving others.”

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Two Tusculum College students were recently independently recognized by national programs. Both students are participants in Tusculum College’s Bonner Leader Program.

The Bonner Leaders program engages students in service and civic work to strengthen their communities, while also building mutually beneficial relationships with community partners to achieve impact and building a broader campus culture and infrastructure for civic engagement.

Students recognized were Amber Sharp, a sophomore, athletic training major from Tazewell; and Boazin Katina, a senior education major and an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sharp applied for a grant through the Bonner Foundation and was notified recently that it had been awarded by the Foundation. The funds from the grant will go towards the creation of videos about Bonner activities on the Tusculum College campus and in the community, a project that Sharp developed for the College.

“We have already started filming,” said Sharp, adding that many of the students who participate in the Bonner Leader program are assisting with the project. “The grant money will be used for video program editing software for the College computers and for additional flip cameras.”

The finished product, submitted by Sharp and the others will be used by the Bonner Foundation to promote its program. Filming will include students working in Bonner service activities, as well as skits written and filmed by the students about what it means to be a Bonner Leader.

Katina has been named a grant winner from the College of the Hobbie Center Civic Arts Project Award that will enable him to travel to Belize this summer to “explore how the school systems work there,” he said. As an education major, Katina will be learning about Belize schools and then connecting them to what he learns on campus at Tusculum College.

“I applied for the grant in order to be able to learn and explore the challenges that the country of Belize faces in the area of education,” Katina said. “I will come back and make a presentation to other students about how Tusculum College could help kids there and hopefully start an exchange.”

The grant will cover his travel and accommodations, and although he has worked in the Spanish community before, this will be his first time to South America.

Katina was also selected to present a workshop at the 2009 IMPACT Conference in Washington, D.C., a National Student Conference on Service, Advocacy and Social Action. Katina’s presentation focused on the Tusculum College Service on Saturday (SOS) program, which he has coordinated for the past two years. The SOS program brings students from the campus together on Saturday a month to focus on a community service project. Projects have ranged from student mentoring days to clean up projects for organizations such as Rural Resources.

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Student excellence in academics and service were recognized during Tusculum College’s annual Honors Convocation Thursday, April 23.

The two top honors for students presented by the College are the President’s Award and the Bruce G. Batts Award. Nicole Ferris was presented the President’s Award and Jeremiah Peterson was presented the Bruce G. Batts Award.

Nicole Ferris of Lebanon, Ohio, was presented the President’s Award, one of the two top honors given to students by Tusculum College. The award is given to a graduating senior who has contributed the most to the College and who been the most outstanding achiever in the combined areas of academic work, athletics, campus leadership and personality. The selection is made on the basis of the student’s total four-year record at the College.

Ferris, who was unable to attend the ceremony, has excelled academically, athletically and has shown tremendous dedication to service and community.  In her four years at Tusculum College she has been named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, a South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete, named to the Daktronics All-Southeast Region Second Team, the All South Atlantic Conference Second Team and is a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District player.  She has been named Most Valuable Player and has served as team captain.

The graduating senior is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society, has been four years named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, was Tennessee Association of Health, Physical Recreation and Dance Student of the Year, has been named numerous times to the Tusculum College Dean’s List and President’s list, was the National Association for Sport and Physical Education Major of the Year for Tusculum College and was named to the Charles Oliver Grey Honors List.

Active on campus, Ferris was president of the Physical Education and Sport Studies Club, a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is a volunteer coach for the local YMCA Youth Rotary Soccer League.  She is a student tutor and has participated each year in service projects for Nettie Day at Tusculum College.  She has been a student-teaching assistant for Physical Education and a volunteer at local elementary schools. In addition, she has served as an intern in the Tusculum College Sports Information Office.

Jeremiah Peterson of Unicoi, Tenn., was presented the Bruce G. Batts Award. The award is presented to a graduating student who has demonstrated a high degree of the qualities of the late Bruce Batts, who helped mold the current Civic Arts program at Tusculum College. Those qualities include consistent civility in dealing with others, a high level of scholarship and careful thinking and a strong pattern of service to others.

In presenting the award, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Kim Estep noted that Peterson, a business administration major with dual concentrations in accounting and economics, “is known for his intellectual capabilities in the classroom, boasting a 4.0 GPA, and giving heart within the community.”

A highly regarded student leader, Peterson’s campus involvements have included the
Bonner Leaders Program, Student Tutor for Business and Writing, Arts, and Academia Selection Committee, Alpha Chi, and the Business Club.

Estep shared that when Peterson was asked about his point of inspiration for working hard, he quickly credited relationships and having people to count on as well as being held accountable by those individuals. “Tusculum has been richly rewarded by the giving and benevolence of this talented young man,” she said. “Jeremiah will stake his claim in the world as a dedicated and hard working individual with the capacity to give more than he ever wants to receive. For this alone, his destiny will be one of rich reward.”

Also presented were faculty, staff and community awards whose recipients were selected by a student vote. Receiving the Outstanding Service to Students Award, a faculty honor, was Leslie Hanneken, an assistant professor of physical education.

In presenting the award, Randy Harrell, president of the Greene County Partnership, said that Hanneken has been described as a “gift to students. A nurturing and supportive educator, counselor and mentor, she has worked diligently to raise the quality of work from her students across all levels. She is admired and respected by her students for her genuine interest in their success, but is a firm believer in accountability in all students. In her two years with the College, she has worked for and with her students in numerous ways, including service projects with the local schools and other community activities that give back, while giving her students an opportunity to practice their classroom-learned skills. She is dedicated, caring, supportive and loved and admired by her students.”

The Staff Award was presented to Elizabeth Davison a counselor in the Student Support Services program, who also teaches in both the traditional and working adult programs. “She is known for always greeting students with a warm smile and also goes the extra mile to help students reach their potential,” said Peterson, who presented the award. “Elizabeth is 100 percent committed and her students.”

The Community Award for exemplary service to students was presented to prominent Greeneville businessman and philanthropist Scott M. Niswonger.  In presenting the award student Zach Smith, who is from Niswonger’s native Ohio, noted that Niswonger, a 1987 graduate of Tusculum College, is a leader in philanthropy across the region and the country and has faithfully supported Tusculum College both financially and with the investment of his time in providing leadership and guidance at the highest levels as a respected member of the Board of Trustees.

“His investment into education is unparalleled, and students at Tusculum College, past, present and future are impacted by his choice to support the College, its mission, and in particular its students,” Smith said. “With his support, students have access to some of the best academic, residential and athletic facilities in the nation. He led the efforts to revitalize both the student center and the library, to push forward the construction of the student apartments, and his generosity led to the construction of the finest sports facilities in the South Atlantic Conference and beyond.”

Academic Honors
Senior Honor Key Awards were presented to students who have earned a 3.25 grade point average or higher in their major, shown achievement and aptitude in the major, and possess strong character.  The following are the award recipients and their degree programs:
Art – Caitlin Castainca of Greeneville, Tenn.
Athletic Training – Ryan Guillot of Laplace, La.
Biology  – Tonya Justice of Lake City, Tenn.
Business Administration — Chase Carroll of Knoxville, Tenn., and Chanaine
Hunter of Kingston, Jamaica
Education (Human Growth and Learning) – Heather Craft of Batavia, Ohio
English – Amanda Kyker of Telford, Tenn.
Environmental Science – Lacey Coile of Greeneville, Tenn.
Film and Broadcasting  – Cody Jennings of Greeneville, Tenn.
Mathematics Education – Susanne Sisco of Fairfield, Ohio
Mathematics/Computer Science – Bryan Thiry of Winchester, Ky.
Museum Studies – A. Burke Greear of Kingsport, Tenn.
Physical Education K-12 – Kevin Hammons of Jonesborough, Tenn.
Psychology – Kimberly Coapstick of Merritt Island, Fla.
Sport Management – John Gregory of Ooltewah, Tenn.
Sport Science – Anne Brady and Norris, Tenn.

Recognized as Honor Students for having the highest grade point average of their class (all have a 4.0 grade point average) were:
senior – Jeremiah John Peterson of Unicoi, Tenn.
junior –  Simon Holzapfel of Nuernberg, Germany
sophomores – Danielle Armstrong of Blountville, Tenn., Faith Bases of Greeneville, Tenn. and Nicole Vance of Elizabethton, Tenn.
freshmen – Brian Cory Cox of Radford, Va.; Jennifer Lawson of Knoxville, Tenn.; Derek Murrell of Bulls Gap, Tenn.; and Benjamin Sneyd of Erwin, Tenn.

Senior members of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society were also recognized. Upperclassmen who are ranked in the top 10 academically of their classmates are invited to join the honor society. Recognized were:
Hunter Beal of Heiskell, Tenn.
Kimberly Coapstick of Merritt Island, Fla.
Heather Craft of Batavia, Ohio
Nicole Ferris of Lebanon, Ohio
Brian Hayes of Afton, Tenn.
Joni Hite of Chuckey, Tenn.
Darren Hobbs of Dublin, Ohio
Chanaine Hunter of Kingston, Jamaica
Andrea Joyner of Fall Branch, Tenn.
Amanda Kyker of Telford, Tenn.
Heather MacArthur of Salt Lake City, Utah
Sharad P. Mani of Manchester, Tenn.
Jarrell Dupree Nesmith of Russellville, Ala.
Jeremiah John Peterson of Unicoi, Tenn.
Christina Denise Sane of Parrottsville, Tenn.
Bryan Adam Thiry of Winchester, Ky.

The Alpha Chi Academic Excellence Award presented to the highest academically ranked member of the junior class was given to Nikita Stephens of Chuckey.

Students who were chosen for the Curtis and Billie Owens Literary Prizes were honored. Students submit original, creative works in the annual writing competition, which were judged this year by award-winning author Kellie Wells. The winners were poetry – David Roncskevitz of Franklin,Tenn.; fiction – Amanda Harmon of Greenville, Ala.; and creative non-fiction – Amanda Clampitt of Jefferson City, Tenn.

The Dr. Shirley Beck Award for an outstanding Master of Arts in Education major was presented to Karen Holweg of Morristown, Tenn.

The Outstanding Education Student Award was presented to Shelley Howell of Sevierville, Tenn.

The E.H. Sargent Award in Science was presented to Jarrell Nesmith of Russellville, Ala. In choosing the recipient, science faculty members consider overall grade point average, total hours in science and variety of areas covered in the sciences.

The Doug Ratledge Environmental Science Scholarship, which is presented to an outstanding Environmental Science or Field Guide/Naturalist major, was given to Rachel Burchnell of Greeneville, Tenn.

The Warren Lynn Drain Award was presented to Jeremiah Peterson of Unicoi, Tenn. A graduating senior determined most outstanding in Business and Economics is presented the award and GPA and achievement are the criteria for the choice of recipient.

The Theatre Award was given to Jabari Bunch of Stone Mountain, Ga., for his participation and dedication to the theater program at Tusculum College. Bunch has worked behind the scenes as part of the stage crew for productions this year and has one of the leads in Theatre-at-Tusculum’s current production, “Dogg’s Hamlet.”

Anna Johnson of Jonesborough, Tenn. received the TAHPERD (Tennessee Association Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) Outstanding Major Award. The award winner is also recognized at the association’s annual convention.

Hunter Beal of Heiskell was presented the NASPE (National Association for Sport and Physical Education) Award. The award winner is also recognized at the national convention.

The Pinnacle Award for highest scores on annual comprehensive examinations taken by athletic training education majors was presented to Erica Pomona of Spartanburg, S.C.

Service Awards
The Service-Learning Award was awarded to Randi Williams of Jonesborough, Tenn.. As part of a service-learning class in the fall, Williams developed a self-esteem building curriculum for girls at the Greeneville YMCA. She also traveled to a suburb of Atlanta to work in an educational project in a Hispanic Church. Her experiences inspired to her to take another service-learning class in the spring.

The Bonner Leaders Program Award was presented to Boazin Katina of Charlottesville, Va., for his high level of commitment to the Bonners program, of personal integrity and character and of dedication to serving others whether on the Tusculum campus or in the community.

Katina, a native of the Congo, has been named a grant winner from the Bonner Foundation that will allow him to travel to Belize this summer to work in schools there. He will be co-president next year of the Bonners Leaders and has coordinated its “Service on Saturday” program for the past two years. Katina was selected this spring to present a workshop about the Service on Saturday program at the IMPACT Conference in Washington, D.C., a National Student Conference on Service, Advocacy and Social Action.

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