Marcelle Baez-Carlo, a social work major and volleyball player from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, will graduate on May 3. Photo by Angela Foster.
When University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Marcelle Baez-Carlo first stepped on campus in 2021, the most crucial question to her was: “How can I help?”
Recruited from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, to play volleyball, Baez-Carlo has spent her time at UTC committed to improving her performance on the court—but also to her new community.
Baez-Carlo grew up in an athletic family. Her father and grandfather both played professional basketball. Her older sister played basketball and volleyball, which is when she quickly fell in love with the latter.
Starting at 4 years old, she tried other sports before committing to volleyball seriously. This decision led her to UTC.
===============================================================
Click here for more UTC Commencement 2025 stories
===============================================================
“When I was a sophomore in high school, I was watching the NCAA tournament, and I thought I wanted to go to school outside of Puerto Rico,” said Baez-Carlo, who will be graduating from UTC on Saturday, May 3. “I want to do what those girls are doing.
“As a junior in high school. I started contacting schools and started this recruiting process so that I could meet my goal. I made a video of my highlights. I wrote a letter. I started sending a link to my videos and my letter to a bunch of schools. I researched the best social work schools in the United States because that’s what I wanted to do.”
Marcelle Baez-Carlo spent four years as a member of the Mocs volleyball team. Photo by Ray Soldano/gomocs.com
UTC was the destination for Baez-Carlo. After compiling a list of five schools, she was swayed by family friend Julimar Alvarado, who played for the Mocs from 2012-2015.
Due to COVID-19, she was unable to tour UTC before committing.
She recalled her first memories of Chattanooga.
“It was my first time in Tennessee,” Baez-Carlo said. “It was my first time seeing this culture. The way that people act towards others and the way that people care about other people. It’s completely different than at home. Same with the food.
“It’s completely different than at home. The seniors when I was a freshman were awesome. They helped me a lot to figure it out.”
Julie Torbett Thomas, the director of volleyball and head coach, said Baez-Carlo would be doing the same for her younger teammates four years later.
“She’s just been able to balance so many other things,” Torbett Thomas explained. “She’s involved with social work and what she wants to do for her career. Just working with people and caring for people is what she’s all about.”
Baez-Carlo said this type of mentality came from the environment where she was raised in Puerto Rico.
“I grew up seeing my mom, my grandma and friends where the culture back at home is that everyone makes sure everyone is doing OK,” she said. “Making sure everyone has what they need and they’re not missing anything. I wanted to show my teammates and translate something from home to here.”
This type of mindset was applied not only to the court but also to the Chattanooga area as a whole. While Baez-Carlo was progressing on the court, she also ensured the local community had what it needed to succeed.
In her sophomore year, Baez-Carlo began working with the homeless community, partnering with local nonprofit CHATT Foundation.
“It started with me telling my teammates, if you’re not using clothes or are throwing away food because you’re going home for the summer or Christmas, give it to me,” Baez-Carlo said. “I would drive to MLK, where all the homeless are, and I would just put the bags down and they would come and get stuff.
“CHATT Foundation provides them with food. They have showers and other resources, but there are so many people that don’t have enough donations or sometimes just need more.”
Working with the social work program at UTC, Baez-Carlo has applied her passion for helping people in other areas of the community. She worked in the victim services unit at a local domestic violence shelter called Partnership for Families, Children and Adults for her internship.
Dr. Cathy Scott, an associate professor in the UTC Department of Social Work and the Bachelor of Social Work program director, said it’s energizing when students come into the program with this enthusiasm.
“It really is gratifying to see students who know what they want,” Scott said. “Students that love people and love helping people—and are actually doing it. It’s a part of who they are. To think that Marcelle did all of that while being a student and an athlete, it’s just great. It speaks to the core essence of who she is and her passion for helping people.”
Baez-Carlo’s work with the shelter did not go unnoticed by her employers. She was the first intern to take crisis calls, worked extra hours and used being bilingual as a skill to help connect with the Spanish-speaking community.
She received the best volunteer award for her work with the shelter and was nominated for the United Way Volunteer of the Year award.
“Through the social work program, by getting placed in this internship, I’ve been able to help the Hispanic community,” Baez-Carlo said. “That was another of my goals when I got here in 2021. Every year, the Hispanic population grows here in Chattanooga.
“I feel like every time I come back from home, there are more people here trying to work, trying to make their lives better and have a better future for their families. Being in this placement, I’ve been able to help them. I take every client who is Hispanic. I make sure they have all the resources. I make sure they understand what is happening.”
Learn more
Marcelle Baez-Carlo’s gomocs.com biography
