{"id":55642,"date":"2023-12-20T07:29:46","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T12:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=55642"},"modified":"2024-01-04T09:26:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T14:26:13","slug":"searching-through-about-850-stories-finds-15-personal-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/searching-through-about-850-stories-finds-15-personal-favorites\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching through about 850 stories finds 15 personal favorites"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m retiring at the end of the year after spending about seven years with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Division of Communications and Marketing and around 40 years in journalism.<\/p>\n

\"Shawn

Shawn Ryan<\/p><\/div>\n

While at UTC, I wrote about 850 stories and, truth be told, they weren\u2019t radically different from those I wrote for the newspapers and magazines where I worked before coming to the University. I\u2019ve spent most of my career writing feature stories about interesting people doing interesting things, and most of my stories at UTC have been the same.<\/p>\n

Why did I become a journalist in the first place? I don\u2019t know. I have no recollection of what made me decide that journalism was going to be my career. My first post-high school goal was to be an orthopedic surgeon, and I spent two years as a pre-med major. That fell through when tuition money and motivation ran out at about the same time.<\/p>\n

Three years as a stock clerk at Kroger convinced me that the grocery business wasn\u2019t my future, so I went back to college, no longer interested in being an orthopedic surgeon. Forty years later, I think I made the right choice. I haven\u2019t made anywhere near as much money as a surgeon, but I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019ve had more fun. As journalists, we may interview a U.S. senator one day, a world-famous musician the next, wade through a muddy creek the following and skydive on the fourth day.<\/p>\n

I wrote the following 15 stories while at UTC and chose them as my favorites for a variety of reasons. In some, the people were simply fun to interview. In others, they had powerful stories of overcoming tragedy, battling illness or succeeding despite personal barriers. Some stories highlighted achievement due to hard work and ingenuity. And some were just a blast to report.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re listed in no particular order. You may remember reading a few of them. Others may be brand-new to you. Either way, I hope you enjoy them.<\/p>\n

See y\u2019all around.<\/p>\n

Never giving up is only part of the story: Mocs win national student rocket competition<\/h4>\n
\"Members

Members of the Rockets Mocs are, from left, Ben Shell, Jace Sullivan, Ashwyn Sam, Caleb Pace, Jordan Roberts, Austin Brewer and Dillon Grider.<\/p><\/div>\n

Being rated No. 1 in the country as a rocket-making student team means hard work, hard thinking, dealing with failure \u2026 and watching out for snakes. The team members in this story are almost frighteningly smart (at least to me), but they\u2019re a cool bunch of guys who never quit trying.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Pat and Melody Ormond earn bachelor degrees from UTC<\/h4>\n
\"\"

Pat Ormond and granddaughter Melody Ormond both walked at the Nov. 20, 2020, commencement ceremony to get their degrees. Pat earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in anthropology after pursuing it little by little for 42 years. Melody earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2017, 42 years after she took her first college class\u2014then quit after a semester to raise a family\u2014Pat Ormond enrolled at UTC. In her 70s. Her granddaughter Melody started at UTC the same year as Pat. Both graduated in the same month and received their diplomas in the same ceremony. An inspiring story of generational belief in themselves and each other.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Journey from the past: Serretta Malaikham\u2019s look back brings her forward<\/h4>\n
\"Serretta

Serretta Malaikham graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communication from UTC in May 2022.<\/p><\/div>\n

Serretta Malaikham was 3 years old and in the back seat of the car when her father shot and killed her mother and her uncle outside the car. \u201cYelling and bodies falling\u201d are what she remembers. Her father later took his own life. I can\u2019t even imagine what she has experienced, but she didn\u2019t let it stop her. \u201cThis is actually the first time I\u2019ve decided to be kind of upfront about my story just because I don\u2019t like the whole pity feeling whenever I tell people what happened in my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Down syndrome doesn\u2019t keep Parker Davis from pursuing her dream of college<\/h4>\n
\"Parker

Parker Davis participated in December 2021 UTC commencement ceremonies.<\/p><\/div>\n

A friend described Parker Davis as \u201csassy,\u201d and professors said she was one of their favorite students. Parker said she was just enjoying herself. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to learn about stuff,\u201d she said. Parker knows she has a disability and knows it may limit what she can do, but she does what she can without feeling sorry for herself.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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College at 15: Older sister takes the plunge, younger sister does the same two years later<\/h4>\n
\"Shriya

Shriya Purohit, left, gave her younger sister Prisha advice on what to expect when she arrived at UTC.<\/p><\/div>\n

Shriya Purohit and her younger sister Prisha both enrolled at UTC when they were 15. Both are Honors College students. Their birthdays are three days apart. They both like ice cream. When the stars line up like this, it\u2019s an irresistible story.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Peas in a Pod camp makes science delicious<\/h4>\n
\"\"

Peas in a Pod summer camp brought students in first through sixth grades to UTC to learn about science, engineering, arts, culture and several other topics through cooking techniques and food itself.<\/p><\/div>\n

Watching kids do stuff they\u2019ve never done and then be amazed by what they do is always a great way to spend a few hours. At the Peas in a Pod summer camp, students in first through sixth grades learned about science, engineering, arts, culture and several other topics through cooking techniques and food itself. Kind of like watching a live, junior version of the Food Network\u2019s \u201cChopped,\u201d complete with constant chatter, squeals and laughter<\/p>\n

Click here to read the story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Two Sisters, One Mom, One School: Family creating a \u2018legacy\u2019 at UTC<\/h4>\n