Fatimah Musa, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in mechatronics during University of Tennessee at Chattanooga undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 16, was born with cone-rod dystrophy—a type of inherited retinal degeneration affecting the retina’s photoreceptor cells. The condition is characterized by progressive loss of function and death of the eyes’ cone and rod photoreceptor cells, leading to vision loss.
Graduate student, pregnant and nomadic: Gentry Whittaker’s unusual path to commencement
Gentry Whittaker graduates from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Friday, Dec. 15, with a master’s degree in business administration, and with UTC’s 100% online MBA program, students can complete their studies from anywhere in the world. Whittaker’s experience, though, was unlike most others. Throughout her academic journey, she lived as a nomad.
Final act: Theater graduate finds ‘a sense of fulfillment’ from acting
Isaiah Mark Owens took acting classes in high school and, when all was said and done, the thrill of acting stuck. The end result is a degree in theater he will earn in December 2023 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Shot at a goal: UTC soccer star wants to become seventh doctor in her family
UTC graduating senior Mackenzie Smith aims to become the seventh physician in her immediate family, but medical school will have to wait until after her soccer career ends. Smith has her eye on playing professional soccer overseas. Then, the two-time all-Southern Conference player and biochemistry major plans to join her five siblings and father and attend medical school.
Graduating senior Emmy Davis shares how she balances life as athlete and finance major
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 the cross country and track and field runner graduates summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in finance.
It’s a celebration: UTC to host commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday
Fall commencement at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be celebrated with three separate ceremonies taking place over two days starting Friday, Dec. 15.
UTC students win top roles in intercollegiate state legislature
Two students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga won key positions at this year’s Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature. UTC criminal justice major Susanne Cooper was elected Speaker Pro Tem of the House, and graduate student Hunter Fowler, pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree, was appointed a Supreme Court justice.
UTC connected to EPB Quantum Network℠ powered by Qubitekk
UTC has become the first academic institution to be connected to EPB Quantum Network℠ powered by Qubitekk. In late 2022, EPB and Qubitekk jointly launched the nation’s first industry-led, commercially available quantum network for running equipment and applications in an established fiber optic environment. UTC is connected to the network via a node within a quantum technology laboratory on campus.
Noted achievement: Trio of UTC music therapy graduates ‘confirm they picked the right career’
Keely Phillips and Kyndall Blum are the first students to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as music therapy majors for all four years they were enrolled. They are graduating as part of December commencement ceremonies. Joseph Taylor, who transferred from Belmont University in Nashville to UTC as a junior, also is graduating with a music therapy degree—the first transfer student to earn the degree.
Moments of wonder: Student biology projects combine research, knowledge, insights and creativity
Sixteen projects were on display on Dec. 4 as part of a collaboration between the animal physiology course taught by Professor Loren Hayes, the meiofaunal biodiversity course taught by Assistant Professor Francesca Leasi and the ant ecology course taught by UC Foundation Associate Professor DeAnna Beasley. The trio began the collaboration, called the Integrative Biology Research Symposium, in fall semester 2022.