Finance major Emmy Davis, a member of the Mocs cross country and track and field team, will be graduating summa cum laude from UTC. Photo by Angela Foster.
Being a well-balanced student is not an easy feat, and as a student-athlete with a 4.0 GPA, Emmy Davis knows this all too well.
Her hard work as an undergraduate student is coming to an end on Saturday, Dec. 16, when she graduates summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in finance.
As a high school student at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Davis’ athletic talent caught the eye of Andy Meyer, UTC’s cross country and track and field head coach, who recruited her onto the team.
Her life as a college student began in August 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still in full swing.
Although Davis got a taste of college campus life at Baylor, a private boarding and day school, she felt intimidated by UTC’s size.
“I thought the hardest part would be the size of UTC. It’s so much bigger than Baylor,” Davis said. “When I transferred in the middle of COVID, there really weren’t that many people.”
She said that cross country and track provided her with a community she may have otherwise lost without being involved in a sports team.
Davis never really got a break from athletics while school was in session. She participated in cross country in the fall, which consisted of 5-kilometer runs—roughly 3.1 miles–across rough or open terrain. In the spring, she participated in indoor and outdoor track events, primarily running 800-meter and 400-meter relays.
Davis said it took a lot of grit and determination to keep up with the pressures of being an athlete and a scholar.
She said managing it “looked like a lot of time management and organization, working smarter and learning to work more efficiently.”
“Being a part of a team is a really big commitment,” she said. “Adjusting class schedules around it is really how I had to adjust my whole college experience.”
Despite multiple injuries and the stress of being a full-time student, Davis persisted through school and sports while accumulating several awards along the way.
She was on the all-Southern Conference team for three years in indoor track, meaning she placed in the top eight in her events. She was also awarded the SoCon commissioner’s medal for her grades the past six semesters.
Dr. Bento Lobo, UTC department head of finance, described Davis as an outstanding student-athlete and said she is always engaged in the classroom.
“It is a pleasure to have a student like Emmy in my class. She seems destined to make a big impact in her life,” said Lobo.
Meyer said when UTC recruited Davis, he recognized that she was not only a great runner but also a great person.
He said Davis never complained, even when she had to overcome injuries.
“After one injury, let alone a couple, a lot of kids just hang it up. Not Emmy. She keeps trying,” Meyer said.
“She’s a great person, a great representative of our team, the University and the city of Chattanooga. We’re going to miss her, that’s for sure.”
Davis thanked her coaches, trainers and teachers for supporting her, especially when school was more challenging.
“They’ve been a huge support,” she said, “and my family and friends constantly supported me, encouraged me and told me it’s OK if it’s not perfect.”
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UTC Cross Country and Track and Field
Emmy Davis was on the all-Southern Conference team for three years in indoor track (photo credit: GoMocs.com).
