Students share their thank you’s with donors at annual Scholarship Luncheon

Bart Ray and his family turned a personal tragedy into an opportunity to give back.

Ray, who spoke at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s 2024 Scholarship Luncheon, hosted by the Division of Advancement, established the Denice Ray Scholarship in Nursing to honor the memory of his late wife—who died in 2021.

Following Denice’s nearly three-decade career as a nurse, her family decided to continue her legacy by providing financial assistance to future nurses at UTC.

Bart Ray was one of many donors in the University Center’s Tennessee Room on Friday, April 5, for the annual luncheon, which connects students with donors and honors the generosity of scholarship benefactors.

Denice Ray

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the recipients of our family’s scholarship,” Ray said. “While one can conceptualize how scholarships can impact the lives of students, it is certainly gratifying to have a direct contact when they express their excitement toward their future careers and their gratitude in the help they’ve received along the way.”

Kim White, vice chancellor of advancement and executive director of the UC Foundation, spoke about the importance of introducing scholarship recipients to the donors.

“It’s a special opportunity that we have for donors and students to connect,” she said, “and additionally, it speaks to me and my personal experience at UTC. As a student, I was a recipient of a scholarship my junior year and it was life-changing for me.”

White said the work done in advancement is made possible because of the support of the UC Foundation, which was created in 1969 with an endowment of $6 million. It has now grown to over $200 million.

“The donors that are here today are helping give the UTC campus and the students in this audience a margin of excellence that wouldn’t be possible,” she said.

Chancellor Steven R. Angle discussed the impact scholarship funds have on students and their educational journeys.

“I know it helps our donors to connect the impact of their gift to an individual, to a life, and they have changed a life,” he said.

“Helping others to be successful … there’s nothing more that gives you a sense of accomplishment as to help somebody achieve their dream. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this team at UTC that gets to touch the future every day with our students.”

As part of the luncheon, guests were treated to a video showcasing five student scholarship recipients.

Junior baritone Owen Langford, a vocal performance major from Murfreesboro, Tennessee—and one of four Guthrie Quartet members who performed at the event—said he chose UTC because of the scholarships he received.

“I applied and auditioned at multiple different schools,” he said, “but UTC had the most performance grant money and really good academic scholarships.”

Emma Roy, a secondary education: political science major and Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College, had a similar story. She said that her scholarships allowed her to get the education she wanted.

“I chose UTC because of the scholarships I received,” said Roy, a junior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “I basically had a full ride covered with stacked scholarships.”

Through the Office of National Scholarships, Roy applied for the Critical Language Scholarship during her sophomore year. She received the scholarship, allowing her to study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan for two months.

Roy wants to one day be a foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State, something she said wouldn’t be possible without the scholarships.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” she said, “I wouldn’t have done the Critical Language Scholarship; I wouldn’t be at UTC. Just having that has opened my path and opportunities in an insane amount.”

Junior Emaan Aziz is a Rollins Scholar and marketing major in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. Aziz, who grew up in Acworth, Georgia, is the youngest of three whose parents immigrated from Pakistan.

Aziz said the Rollins scholarship meant everything to her and her parents.

“They are very hardworking and they did everything to make sure my siblings and I could have the education experience that we could,” she said. “Coming with that, of course, being immigrants and their children being first generations, there’s not always funds to pay for everyone’s education. I had to take it into my own hands to fund my own education just to take the burden off my parents.”

Honor Huff, a sophomore communication major from Brooklyn, New York, and guard on the men’s basketball team, strives on and off the court.

Huff’s name was on the Dean’s List every semester as a UTC student. He also made the All-Southern Conference Second Team.

His scholarship allows him to work towards his goals without the extra stress that tuition and student loans may bring.

“Since I was a kid it was all I wanted to do,” Huff said. “To just get a free education, a full ride to be able to play the game I love but also garner information for my mind and grow.”

David Brown, a senior mechanical engineering student from Chattanooga and Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College, shared the same sentiment.

As a student, Brown has participated in the Design, Build, Fly club and various research projects.

Without the scholarship, he could not focus his energy on the activities that have made his college experience fulfilling.

“I would’ve probably not been able to focus on school as much. My grades would’ve suffered. I wouldn’t be a part of these cool research projects,” Brown said.

“Those research projects have kind of changed my trajectory of where I want to be. I want to go to grad school now and I really think if I didn’t have any scholarships and I was focused on paying for school, I would not be where I am at all right now.”

The message that each recipient had to their financial benefactors was: “Thank you.”

“Beyond the monetary aspects,” Brown said, “having the support behind you from people that haven’t really had a conversation with you really means a lot and kind of motivates you to focus purely on school, purely on research or your activities through college.”