Funding Their Futures: UTAA Awards Scholarships, Impacts Dreams

UT students from all campuses

By Jackie Wise Parreco

Justin Hickman
Justin Hickman

“Thank you for all that you have done, not just for me but for others as well who have been impacted by your generous donations. Your donations make more things possible for students like myself, and I can promise you that they are not being wasted,” says Justin Hickman, a UT Chattanooga sophomore and recipient of a student leader scholarship through Fund for the Future. This award helps Hickman continue his studies in engineering technology in construction to reach his goal of building homes.

The UT Alumni Association’s Fund for the Future provided $398,000 in scholarships, faculty support and legislative internships for the 2018-19 academic year. The investment that alumni and friends have made in the students and faculty through the fund impacts the award recipients, campuses and communities.

LaTonya Ivy, a UT Health Science Center doctoral nursing student, thinks nurses are an invaluable source for addressing health issues holistically in the community.

LaTonya Ivy
LaTonya Ivy

“Since my attainment of a bachelor’s and master’s in nursing, I have focused my passion in the area of diabetes prevention and management in underserved communities for approximately 10 years,” says the Andrew D. Holt Scholarship recipient. “I have seen how health education and linking families to appropriate resources have positively changed health beliefs and average blood sugar levels.”

Gifts to the Fund for the Future inspire scholarship recipients, who are recognized and rewarded for their hard work and commitment. They remind students that persistence and dedication matter and that, upon graduation, they are still part of the University of Tennessee.

 

Fund for the Future

2018-19 Academic Year


139 Academic Scholarships: $305,000

 


7 Legislative Internships: $49,000

 


20 Distinguished Service Professorships: $30,000

 


9 Outstanding Teacher Awards: $10,000

 


4 Public Service Awards: $4,000

 

 

Tanner Stinnett
Tanner Stinnett

“I would first like to express a deep and sincere word of thanks to all donors involved with the alumni scholarship. Receiving the scholarship really helped close a financial gap I was facing at the beginning of the semester, and through generous UT alumni, I now have had a worry-free semester, with hopefully many more to come,” says Tanner Stinnett, a UT Knoxville freshman physics major and UT Alumni Excellence scholarship recipient. Stinnett hopes to turn his childhood dream of being an astronaut into his career.

The Fund for the Future also underwrites the Outstanding Teacher and Distinguished Professorship awards, and legislative relations internships while continuing to enhance alumni programs.

Alumni gifts contribute to the success of students like Daniel Jones, a UT Martin senior studying business management and marketing.

Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones

“Thank you so very much for your contribution to UTM, which provided me with a wonderful scholarship,” he says. “I would not be able to go to such a great school like UTM and pursue my dreams if it weren’t for generous gifts like yours.”

To learn more about the Fund for the Future and to make a gift, visit alumni.tennessee.edu/future.