Future educators shine: Five Maryville College seniors named Smoky Mountain Teachers of Promise
April 29, 2026
Several Maryville College teacher candidates have been recognized as Smoky Mountain Teachers of Promise, an honor that highlights outstanding pre-service educators across the region and affirms their readiness to enter the profession with skill, purpose and a passion for molding young minds.
This year’s Maryville College honorees — all seniors, including Meredith Wynn ’26 of Maryville, Stan Pennington ’26 of Sevierville, Malea Williams ’26 of Maryville, Allyson Crowley Cogdill ’26 of Maryville and Laura Diamond ’26 of Maryville — participated in the annual Smoky Mountain Teachers of Promise Summit, a multi-day professional development experience that brings together emerging educators and award-winning mentors from across the country.
Candidates recognized as Teachers of Promise are nominated by their institutions for their “all around excellence,” said Dr. Alesia Orren, professor of education who accompanied the students to the summit, which took place April 10 and 11 in Kodak, Tennessee. “This recognition indicates the respect, trust, and optimism placed in these future teachers to impact posterity through their work in education.”
For Maryville College students, the experience is both affirming and transformative. Wynn, a Theatre Studies (with licensure) major, said the summit reinforced the deeper purpose behind her work in the classroom. One of the most meaningful parts of the summit, she said, was a series of letters from a group of fifth-graders who wrote about the qualities they believed made a good teacher. It was touching to say the least, Wynn added.
“They were all so kindhearted and really reflected the real effect that teachers have on their students,” she said. “Teaching is not always highly regarded despite its mass importance. The Smoky Mountain Teachers of Promise Summit seeks to find those outstanding educators and ensure that their efforts are rewarded, and that is absolutely how I felt at the summit.”
Wynn, who completed her student teaching at Maryville High School, said the experience of working directly with students confirmed her calling.
“Getting to work with these kids and see them blossom as not only actors and technicians but as people has really solidified my decision to be an educator,” she said.
For Pennington, a History major with Secondary Education licensure from Seymour, Tennessee, the recognition served as both a milestone and a reminder of his growth … in more ways than one. The summit’s keynote speaker was Eugene Naughton, president of the Dollywood Foundation and treasurer for the organization’s Imagination Library, which sends free books to children whose families sign up.
“I went to shake his hand, and I told him that I used to receive books from the Imagination Library,” Pennington said. “He seemed so overjoyed at that fact, and I ended up getting a small recognition as the speaker overheard me and told the entire event that I had received said books. It was an amazing moment that I will never forget.”
Pennington completed his student teaching at Heritage Middle School, where he taught eighth-grade U.S. history (under alumnus educator Justin Bush ’16). Like many of his peers, he pointed to hands-on experience as the most valuable part of his preparation.
“I think the most valuable thing I got out of my student teaching was the real-world experience,” he said. “It prepared me for my future career and also gave me some extra confidence that I can really be a good teacher in the future.”
Malea Williams, an Elementary Education major from Carlsbad, California, who now lives in Maryville, Tennessee, is already stepping into the role full-time. Serving as an interim kindergarten teacher during her student teaching practicum, she said the experience underscored both the responsibility and the reward of the profession.
“I think there is such value in providing students with a good education,” she said. “Some students come to school relying on their school to feed them and provide them with a sense of hope for their future. To get to be a part of that is such a powerful yet humbling experience.”
Williams has since accepted a first-grade teaching position with Blount County Schools, and on the cusp of stepping into the role for which she’s prepared since first coming to Maryville College, she credits that accomplishment to the intense preparation provided by the MC Division of Education.
“We have been immersed in local classrooms since our sophomore year and have gotten the opportunity to teach multiple lessons in a variety of grades,” she said. “Our professors show evidence that they were once successful educators and that they are passionate about learning. I am very grateful for my time in the Maryville College Education Preparation Program and could not speak more highly about it!”
The summit itself provided more than recognition — it offered meaningful professional development and connection. Students collaborated with Milken Educator Award recipients, participated in targeted training sessions and were honored during a formal ceremony recognizing their achievements with certificates, pins and medallions.
“It is meaningful for candidates to be recognized as a Teacher of Promise because it validates the time, energy and effort they so tirelessly devote to their profession,” Orren said. “It also builds confidence and inspires them to trust that their decision to enter the field is a worthwhile and consequential vocational choice.”
Orren noted that this year’s cohort of Maryville College students shares a deep commitment to the field.
“This year’s group, in particular, demonstrates an unwavering commitment to and passion for the field of education,” she said. “They understand the gravity of their charge and accept it with enthusiasm.”
Participation in the Smoky Mountain Teachers of Promise Summit and related professional development opportunities is made possible through the Charles and Ruth Huff Ray ’42 Professional Development in Education Endowment, which supports Maryville College education majors as they pursue advanced learning experiences, attend conferences and engage with innovative teaching practices.
The endowment honors the legacy of Ruth Huff Ray ’42, a graduate of Maryville College who devoted her career to teaching science in local schools, and her husband, Charles Ray. Together, they were known for their commitment to education and their lasting impact on students and their community.
Through opportunities like the Teachers of Promise Summit, Maryville College continues to prepare future educators to enter the classroom ready to lead, serve and make a difference. For Orren, the recognition of Scots at the summit provides both reassurance and inspiration that a field of study to which she’s devoted her entire professional career is still an honorable one, and that graduates of the institution where she’s taught for almost three decades will be champions of education, wherever they go.
“I firmly believe our teacher candidates at Maryville College, including those recognized as Teachers of Promise, are motivated by compassion, caring, and doing good and are destined to impact their future students and communities,” Orren said. “I am inspired by the accolades the candidates received, because I sense a groundswell of support for education within many circles, which I hope translates into public opinion. I am reassured that the next generation of public school students is in good hands and may have a chance to someday be sitting in the classroom of one of these excellent teachers.”
