2022 graduates line up impressive post-collegiate education and career plans
May 16, 2022
Maryville College encourages students to study everything in order to prepare for anything, and the graduates of the Class of 2022 are poised to do just that as they leave the College following the May 7 Commencement ceremony.
Eager to take the knowledge and experience they’ve gained during their time as Scots, the newly minted Maryville College alumni will pursue a number of options. From internships to graduate school studies to new careers, a host of MC graduates have some impressive post-graduation plans.
Grant Agnew ’22, a management major from Lewisburg, Tennessee, has accepted a position as a graduate teaching assistant in the Sports Management Program at East Tennessee State University, where he’ll continue his education while assisting in research, working with regional professional and minor-league sports organizations and providing support to the ETSU athletic department.
It’s a natural fit for Agnew, who played football for the Maryville College Scots while remaining involved in a number of extracurricular activities, from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to academic and peer support to the Student Government Association to work-study placements in the College’s Athletics and Marketing and Communications departments.
“These last two experiences gave me a glimpse of what my potential career would look like, but overall, every activity that I was involved in taught me something about myself and prepared me to be a good leader,” he said. “I learned a lot about myself and about life from my experience as a student-athlete. The impact that sports can have on people is something that I’m very fond of, so it’s something that I want to continue to be involved in.”
His long-term goal, he added, is to serve as an athletic director at the high school or collegiate level, and he credits Dr. Jennifer Greene, professor of management, and Dr. Niklas Trzaskowski, the research and career development coordinator for the MC Career Center, with helping him decide upon that calling.
“Dr. Greene has been my advisor for the past four years, and it’s honestly been a blessing to have been with her for so long,” he said. “For the past four years, she has done nothing but support me, guide me, answer my questions and believe in me. And Dr. T, he helped me figure out why I wanted to go to graduate school. He then helped me select a few good schools from around the state. Both Dr. Greene and Dr. T have been a tremendous help to me this year, and I’m super grateful for them.”
Angela Anderton ’22, a sociology major from Knoxville, Tennessee, has her eyes on the Big Apple: As a designated Dean’s Scholar, she’s earned a number of name-based scholarships based on her work at Maryville College, she said, and she’ll attend New York University to work on a master’s in social work.
“It is a two-year program in which I will be focusing on implications of the social order on the mental health of marginalized groups,” she said. “I will acquire tools that will help me to become a psychotherapist. My long-term career goals are rooted in social justice and artistic expression.
“My work in social justice will fortify my work in therapy and advocacy. My work in therapy and advocacy will help me to design therapeutic artistic projects — film, photography and books for marginalized communities of color. My work as a theorist will fortify my knowledge. Therefore, my long-term career plan is to become a global thought leader, artist and advocate for LGBTQIA+ communities of color.”
Thanks to experiences “both rewarding and difficult,” she said — as well as the encouragement of faculty members Dr. Sharon May and Dr. Andrew Gunnoe, among others — she feels well-prepared to carry out the mission of the College’s founder, who urged others to “do good on the largest possible scale.”
“Through both rewarding and difficult experiences, I have been cultivated to understand the world in its complete beauty and terror without feeling powerless to change it,” she said. “Being at this school has made me realize that I can do anything. My next steps are my own. I am the creator of my future. The work here taught me that.”
Josh Campbell ’22, a criminal justice major from Cookeville, Tennessee, has his eye on working for the U.S. District Court and Probation Services, but he’ll start out as a family intervention specialist for Youth Villages, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally challenged children and their families. It was an internship with the Maryville-based nonprofit New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, along with the encouragement of several MC faculty members, that steered him down that path, he said.
“Through my coursework, I was introduced to professors like Dr. Karen Beale, Dr. Ariane Schratter, Dr. Rayanne Streeter, Dr. Andrew Irvine and (the late) Dr. Regina Benedict who helped guide me to where I am now,” he said. “After my internship at New Hope, I was exposed to the injustices that children face each and every day. With my experience at New Hope and the guidance of my professors and coursework, I found exactly what I was meant to do — to protect and help children.”
While working at Youth Villages, Campbell added, he’ll study for his Law School Admission Test with the intention of attending the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, although he expressed an interest in possibly going on to earn a master’s in criminal justice as well. Whatever he decides, he said, Maryville College has prepared him for his next steps.
“With the internship, thesis, coursework and the relationships I’ve developed with my professors and the connections they’ve helped me build, I feel beyond prepared to enter the workforce and start graduate school,” he said. “Maryville College offers a unique experience that allows students to have strong relationships with their professors and mentors.”
Davis Clothier ’22, an exercise science major from Knoxville, is another member of the Class of 2022 headed to ETSU from Maryville College. Clothier plans to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy, he said, based on the strength of the program and its reputation for rigorous expectations that push students to be their best.
“The future is always uncertain, but it would be fantastic if I could finish school, work in the field for a while, and then maybe start my own PT practice so I can make it exactly how I want it to be,” he said.
If that goal is achieved, he added, it will be built upon a solid foundation laid at MC.
“My professors gave me exactly what I hope to get from my future professors, and they set the standards very high,” he said. “All of my professors pushed me, and the class material was not easy. However, they taught effectively and really made sure you understood it.
“All you had to do was go ask for help, and they would be more than willing to sit down and discuss something until it made sense. They were fantastic, and it has made me feel so prepared for graduate school.”
D.J. Cooper ’22, a business analytics major from Maryville, Tennessee, found his calling during his junior year, when he accepted a finance internship at the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee-based attraction Dollywood. Last fall, he was named a junior financial analyst, taking a break during the spring semester to focus on baseball.
“I will be returning this summer to work full-time,” he said. “My position will be in their Financial Planning and Analysis Department as a financial analyst. My long-term plan is to continue working in data analysis positions, as well as getting a master’s degree to further my career.”
His time at MC, he added, sharpened his appreciation for and love of data and data analytics.
“Maryville College prepared me in a multitude of ways, from improving my communication skills such as writing and speaking to understanding data analysis and financial reporting,” Cooper said.
Javon Crane ’22, a finance/accounting major from Memphis, Tennessee, hit the ground running during his senior year and hasn’t slowed down yet. With an eye on eventually establishing his own financial practice, he juggled both basketball and an internship with Northwestern Mutual, a company for which he’s now a full-time employee after graduation.
“My career plan after graduation is to stay here in the Knoxville area and be a part of the Maryville and Knoxville communities, helping out the wonderful people here with their finances,” he said. “My long-time career goal is to be the best financial planner in the area. I want everyone to know my name and what I do!”
Crane credits several MC faculty and staff members — including Dr. Sarah Clinton, associate professor of finance; Rebecca Treadway, associate professor of accounting; and Stephanie Collins, internship and equity coordinator with the MC Career Center — for sharpening his penchant for numbers and financial planning, as well as the Northwestern team that brought him on board last fall, he added.
“Without all of them together as a unit, I don’t know where I would be,” he said. “They’ve all been an important part of my journey in becoming an entrepreneur, and Maryville College in general has helped me out in a lot of different ways: trying out new things, learning about different things and getting involved with more people.”
Erika Donovan ’22, an English major with teacher licensure from Maryville, will be returning to the institution where she served as a student-teacher: Maryville Junior High School, where she’ll be teaching English to eighth- and ninth-graders.
“When I student taught at Maryville Junior High School, I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere and the people,” she said. “When I found out there was a job available, I could not wait to apply. Once I found out I had the job, accepting it was the easiest decision I’ve had to make.”
Donovan credits the MC faculty with preparing her both in the classroom and helping her navigate the steps necessary to gain practical experience in the field while continuing her education. She began student teaching as a junior, she said, and the opportunity only cemented her love for the profession.
“My long-term career plan is to teach for as long as possible,” she said. “Teaching is truly my dream job, and I want to do it for as long as I can. I do plan to get my master’s in literacy and become an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher.”
Kelly Hernandez ’22, a Spanish major from Nashville, Tennessee, plans to apply for court certification in translation and interpretation, which will give her the ability to work within the state legislative court system as an official translator and interpreter.
“My long-term goals are to eventually work in most industry sectors as an official translator and interpreter and have enough experience to aid local communities near me with translation aid,” she said.
Maryville College, she added, not only provided her with the education to pursue such a calling; it also helped her secure an internship with Catholic Charities of East Tennessee’s Office of Immigration Services, which allowed her to aid those in need of her skills and make connections that will compliment her post-graduation journey.
“Maryville College has aided me in multiple ways, from potential jobs at my internship to those I have connected with from the College and outside of work,” she said. “This has prepared me well to finish the translation and interpretation certification.”
Tiara Kemp ’22, a health and wellness promotion major from Maryville, is a first-generation college graduate who found herself overwhelmed at the outset of her MC journey, she said.
“Maryville College really became my home and a place where I knew that I would be supported and challenged,” she said. “My professors — Dr. Jeremy Steeves, Dr. Jennifer Oody, Dr. Traci Haydu and Dr. Kirsten Riggsbee – as well as Dr. Sylvia Turner, (former campus minister) Anne McKee and Erin Johnson (director of financial aid), made my Maryville College experience something I will never forget. They continuously saw my potential and pushed me to be a better person, both in the classroom and out of it.”
Kemp has been accepted into Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where she’ll be a part of the school’s Behavioral Science Health Education Program. With a minor in developmental psychology, she plans to build on the groundwork laid at MC to work to address community health and wellness needs — both physical and emotional, she said.
“My long-term career goals include working as a public health official within the Tennessee Department of Health or the Centers for Disease Control,” she said. “I aspire to be a trauma-informed health educator in which I work with different communities.”
She credits Public Health 101, taught by Steeves, with altering the trajectory of her career path, she added: When she first came to MC, her plan was to complete three years before transferring to another school to complete a registered nursing degree and licensure.
“After interning and working in health care, I realized that I love to teach and build programs,” she said. “Dr. Steeves and Dr. Oody were extremely helpful in helping me re-navigate my new career plan.”
Brooke Pratcher’22, a psychology major from Memphis, Tennessee, was undecided about a career path until taking her first psychology class at Maryville College. When she did, she said, a whole new world opened: She changed her major, and now she’s headed to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, in August to attend the school’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program.
“Throughout my time at Maryville College, I have had the privilege of taking many different classes that all talked about diverse issues,” she said. “These issues are a large reason why my focus, as a counselor, will be on underrepresented populations. My long-term career plans right now are to begin working in a hospital in an area with a high population of people of color and/or other minority groups.”
With its emphasis on smaller classes and diversity and inclusion efforts, Xavier University is, in some ways, similar to Maryville College, she added, and because of her involvement in the Maryville College Works program, she feels well prepared for the next steps in her journey.
“My four years at Maryville College have been some of the best years of my life,” she added. “There is not one person I have met or one class I have attended that didn’t leave some sort of lasting impression on me. I’m also happy to know I won’t lose this community, even as I continue along my own path as an alumna.”
Ben Walker ’22, a chemistry major from Maryville, headed to Texas over spring break at the recommendation of his advisor, Dr. Nathan Duncan, to check out Duncan’s alma mater, Baylor University. What he found was a kindred campus, in a sense, and a path toward a Ph.D. with an organic chemistry focus.
“The campus itself almost felt like a larger version of Maryville’s campus, but it was the science building that stole the show,” he said. “The labs were large and neatly kept, with some labs being completely dedicated to the best laboratory instruments I’ve seen in person. Attending Baylor would offer me the opportunity to learn and use the instruments as much as I’d like, which is an experience not offered at every school.
“However, the most important factor in attending Baylor was the students and professors. The students seemed genuinely happy being there, and all the professors I spoke to were kind and willing to help with anything. One of the most important factors in choosing a program was options in research groups, and Baylor offered the most interesting and multiple research groups I could find myself working in and enjoying being there.”
He’s still deciding what he’d like to do after graduate school — teaching at the university level is a possibility, but working as a synthetic organic chemist in private employment is a tantalizing one as well — but regardless of where that path leads, he said, the initial stepping stones were well laid at Maryville College. “My professors definitely influenced and encouraged me to attend graduate school, and Dr. Duncan helped me fall in love with organic chemistry and to pursue a career in it,” he said. “The natural science professors pushed me to always seek further information and challenged me to learn the material. Additionally, the labs I took exposed me to many lab techniques and instruments that have prepared me for graduate school and beyond.”