Six UT Martin students served as legislative interns during the spring semester. Five students interviewed and accepted positions with the Tennessee Legislative Internship Program for the spring 2023 session of the Tennessee General Assembly, and one student interned with the UT System’s Office of Government Relations and Advocacy. Legislative interns are Iman Ahmed, Memphis; Ethan Bledsoe, Jamestown; Patrick Davis, Jackson; Cindy Solis, Shelbyville; and Dezarai White, Bradford. Ahmed and Solis are political science majors, Davis and White are criminal justice majors, and Bledsoe is majoring in agricultural business. Julia Law, a political science major from Memphis, interned with the UT System.
Firsts Achieved
- Emmalee Mathews, a health and human performance student from Dickson, became the first recipient of the Nunnelly Family Scholarship to graduate when she walked the commencement stage Dec. 10 at UT Martin. Rosann Nunnelly and her late husband, Bill, bequeathed $22 million to the university in 2019, then the largest gift to UT Martin, but the couple immediately began funding scholarships, and Mathews was one of four students selected to benefit from their generosity.
- Capt. Wesley Stafford, director of training for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, added a UT Martin degree to his list of credentials and degrees. He became the first graduate of UT Martin’s Master of Science in Criminal Justice program. The criminal justice program is observing its 50th anniversary in 2022-23.
23rd Civil Rights Conference Held
UT Martin’s 23rd annual Civil Rights Conference featured events and speakers throughout February.
The conference theme, “Who Will Stand in the Gap? A Clarion Call for Justice Seekers,” featured speakers including Tamika D. Mallory, social justice leader and movement strategist; Anthony Ray Hinton, justice advocate and author of “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row”; Torri Yates-Orr and Kahlil Greene, Generation Z historians and advocates; Jarrod Benjamin, Florida International University cybersecurity apprenticeship program director; and Jemele Hill, Emmy-award winning sports journalist and host.
“I am proud to be associated with a university that sees the value in expanding the classroom for our students and faculty and providing a platform to address issues on justice,” says Henri Giles, conference chair and mass media and strategic communication faculty member.
WestTeach Graduates 4th Class
Twenty-four members of the fourth WestTeach class graduated Dec. 13 at UT Martin.
WestTeach was created as a class project by the university’s 2017 WestStar Leadership Program class as a teacher-development initiative. A new class is selected annually by the program’s advisory committee following teacher nominations by school superintendents and directors.
West Tennessee teachers selected to participate learn about the region’s economic needs and opportunities.