University High senior Shi Mae Bowling, standing in the Department of Theatre’s costume shop, will be a first-year UTC student this fall. Photo by Angela Foster.
Shi Mae Bowling has known for years that she wanted to become a costume designer. What she didn’t know was that a high school initiative located on a college campus would turn that dream into a real, reachable goal—and connect her with a mentor who could help make it possible.
But thanks to her time at University High, a collaboration between the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Hamilton County Schools, Bowling—a graduating senior from the program’s first cohort—has found guidance and a sense of belonging while earning college credit.
“I love University High,” she said. “As soon as I got to UTC, I was like, ‘OK, this is where I want to be.’ University High has given me a sense of community.”
Launched in 2023, University High offers high school juniors and seniors the chance to earn college credits while completing their high school education. Students take classes at UTC, participate in experiential learning and gain access to University resources and mentors.
The program is designed to provide a rigorous college-preparatory experience—particularly for students who might otherwise face barriers to higher education.
Bowling will enroll at UTC this fall as a theatre major with a focus on costume design. She recently learned that she is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Scholarship, a $5,000-per-year renewable award given to high-achieving incoming first-year students. Students selected must have a minimum 3.75 GPA and 29 ACT super score to qualify.
A composite ACT score of 29 was exactly what Bowling earned—and her GPA hovers near 4.0.
“I’ve already lived across the world; I’m fine with staying where I am and I don’t need that experience again. And also—money. It’s a lot cheaper to live at home,” Bowling said when asked why she chose UTC.
“And then lastly, they got their claws in me. Especially Laurie.”
Laurie is Laurie Melnik Allen, Lyndhurst Chair of Excellence in Arts Education and Professor of Practice in Theatre Education at UTC. Melnik Allen has served as Bowling’s mentor during her senior year and played an instrumental role in her mentee’s decision to pursue theatre at UTC.
That mentor/mentee relationship began with a formal interview conducted by Bowling. As part of University High’s work-based learning model, students selected and vetted potential mentors.
“I had to be accepted by Shi Mae,” Melnik Allen explained. “She interviewed me and I was honored she chose me.
“You would’ve thought I won a grant or an award when she picked me,” she continued, recalling the moment Bowling selected her as a mentor. “I screamed for joy. I was so excited to be accepted. It was the best news ever.”
Shi Mae Bowling and mentor Laurie Melnik Allen, Lyndhurst Chair of Excellence in Arts Education and Professor of Practice in Theatre Education at UTC.
Bowling was born in Chattanooga but spent most of her childhood in India—where her family initially moved as missionaries. They eventually opened a café and lived abroad until Bowling was 15.
After moving back to the Chattanooga area, she spent one year at East Ridge High School before being accepted into University High’s inaugural cohort.
Her international experience, Bowling said, gave her a strong sense of independence—but it also made her crave community. That’s one of the reasons University High appealed to her.
“My school in India was pre-K through 12 and the teachers were like family. You stayed with the same group of classmates and teachers all the way through,” she said. “Coming back to a big public high school here was overwhelming.
“University High gave me that smaller, connected environment again. Everyone knows everyone and you feel like you belong. The teachers care, the other students care. You’re not just a number.”
Bowling first met Melnik Allen during a Focus Fridays event, where University High students explore academic areas across the UTC campus. Bowling, then a junior, toured the Fine Arts Center and got her first glimpse into the world of theatre design—the shoe closet, the costume shop, the behind-the-scenes work most audiences never see.
That glimpse quickly turned into something more.
Their paths later crossed again during a pilot mentorship program that paired University High students with theatre education majors. Melnik Allen noticed Bowling’s enthusiasm and curiosity immediately.
“She has such an interesting perspective,” Melnik Allen said. “She’s just one of those students who wants to see everything, learn everything and do everything—and she brings so much with her.”
For Bowling, the relationships she formed on UTC’s campus—not only with Melnik Allen but with other professors and fellow students—were foundational to her growth and confidence.
“At first, I was nervous about how college students would react to us being there,” she said. “But they didn’t even notice we were in high school. I remember one student in a class I was taking with Laurie asked if I lived on campus. When I told her I was still in high school, she was completely surprised.”
Melnik Allen described the program as “transformative”—not just for students, but for faculty who choose to engage.
“It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. These students bring so much energy and purpose,” she said. “I always say I’m an expert beginner—and Shi Mae reminded me why I love what I do. She’s gotten me excited about theater again.”
Bowling has also worked closely with Visiting Professor Taylor Busch in the costume shop, further immersing herself in the world she hopes to turn into a career.
Her dream? To become a costume designer for television.
“I love watching TV and movies,” Bowling said. “Clothes can help tell the story. I’m not one for acting, but I love to think: If I’m this character and I step in front of my closet in the morning, what would I wear?”
She cited a specific instance in one of her favorite TV shows, “Julie and the Phantoms,” describing how butterflies used in the costuming reflected a character’s emotional growth.
“The little details matter,” she said. “They add so much more than people realize.”
For Melnik Allen, Bowling’s eye for those details—and her eagerness to learn—left an impression.
“She’s taught me a lot this year,” Melnik Allen said. “She’s helped me reconnect with the creative part of myself. She even inspired a new mood board assignment I brought into my Intro to Theatre course. She’s a reminder that we never stop learning.”
Laurie Melnik Allen and Shi Mae Bowling
UTC Vice Provost Shewanee Howard-Baptiste, who helped launch University High, recalled meeting Bowling as a prospective student in spring 2023.
“She had a global perspective and this spark,” she said. “We knew early on that a program like University High would help stretch her. We had the people, the support, the infrastructure—and she saw that.”
Howard-Baptiste described Bowling as “a top student” with “lots of options” for college. That she chose UTC—and earned the Chancellor’s Scholarship—is something Howard-Baptiste sees as validation of the program’s potential.
“It shows the caliber of students that University High attracts and supports,” she said. “Shi Mae could have gone to a lot of places, but she saw that she could build something here.”
As Bowling prepares to graduate from University High on May 9 and enroll full-time at UTC this fall, she’s already looking ahead—to “Dracula: Mina’s Quest,” the opening show of the 2025-26 UTC Theatre Co. season. Directed by Melnik Allen, the production offers another opportunity for the pair to collaborate.
“It’s really exciting,” Bowling said. “A lot of times, you have a great teacher, but then the school year ends and you never get to work with them again.
“But I get to keep working with Laurie. That means a lot.”
Bowling, the second oldest of five children, hopes her younger siblings—particularly her little sister, now in fourth grade—will one day follow in her footsteps. She even jokes about trying to recruit her brothers and their friends into the University High pipeline.
“It’s a special place and being part of it helped me see that college doesn’t have to be scary,” she said. “You can find people who care. You can find your place.”
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