{"id":67880,"date":"2025-05-06T08:34:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=67880"},"modified":"2025-05-19T07:50:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:50:44","slug":"university-high-to-utc-how-an-incoming-freshman-stitched-together-passion-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/university-high-to-utc-how-an-incoming-freshman-stitched-together-passion-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"University High to UTC: How an incoming freshman stitched together passion and purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"University

University High senior Shi Mae Bowling, standing in the Department of Theatre’s costume shop, will be a first-year UTC student this fall. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Shi Mae Bowling has known for years that she wanted to become a costume designer. What she didn\u2019t know was that a high school initiative located on a college campus would turn that dream into a real, reachable goal\u2014and connect her with a mentor who could help make it possible.<\/p>\n

But thanks to her time at University High, a collaboration between the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Hamilton County Schools, Bowling\u2014a graduating senior from the program\u2019s first cohort\u2014has found guidance and a sense of belonging while earning college credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love University High,\u201d she said. \u201cAs soon as I got to UTC, I was like, \u2018OK, this is where I want to be.\u2019 University High has given me a sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2023, University High offers high school juniors and seniors the chance to earn college credits while completing their high school education. Students take classes at UTC, participate in experiential learning and gain access to University resources and mentors.<\/p>\n

The program is designed to provide a rigorous college-preparatory experience\u2014particularly for students who might otherwise face barriers to higher education.<\/p>\n

Bowling will enroll at UTC this fall as a theatre major with a focus on costume design. She recently learned that she is a recipient of the Chancellor\u2019s Scholarship<\/strong><\/a>, a $5,000-per-year renewable award given to high-achieving incoming first-year students. Students selected must have a minimum 3.75 GPA and 29 ACT super score to qualify.<\/p>\n

A composite ACT score of 29 was exactly what Bowling earned\u2014and her GPA hovers near 4.0.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already lived across the world; I\u2019m fine with staying where I am and I don\u2019t need that experience again. And also\u2014money. It\u2019s a lot cheaper to live at home,\u201d Bowling said when asked why she chose UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then lastly, they got their claws in me. Especially Laurie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laurie is Laurie Melnik Allen, Lyndhurst Chair of Excellence in Arts Education and Professor of Practice in Theatre Education at UTC. Melnik Allen has served as Bowling\u2019s mentor during her senior year and played an instrumental role in her mentee\u2019s decision to pursue theatre at UTC.<\/p>\n

That mentor\/mentee relationship began with a formal interview conducted by Bowling. As part of University High\u2019s work-based learning model, students selected and vetted potential mentors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to be accepted by Shi Mae,\u201d Melnik Allen explained. \u201cShe interviewed me and I was honored she chose me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would\u2019ve thought I won a grant or an award when she picked me,\u201d she continued, recalling the moment Bowling selected her as a mentor. \u201cI screamed for joy. I was so excited to be accepted. It was the best news ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Shi

Shi Mae Bowling and mentor Laurie Melnik Allen, Lyndhurst Chair of Excellence in Arts Education and Professor of Practice in Theatre Education at UTC.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bowling was born in Chattanooga but spent most of her childhood in India\u2014where her family initially moved as missionaries. They eventually opened a caf\u00e9 and lived abroad until Bowling was 15.<\/p>\n

After moving back to the Chattanooga area, she spent one year at East Ridge High School before being accepted into University High\u2019s inaugural cohort.<\/p>\n

Her international experience, Bowling said, gave her a strong sense of independence\u2014but it also made her crave community. That\u2019s one of the reasons University High appealed to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy school in India was pre-K through 12 and the teachers were like family. You stayed with the same group of classmates and teachers all the way through,\u201d she said. \u201cComing back to a big public high school here was overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversity High gave me that smaller, connected environment again. Everyone knows everyone and you feel like you belong. The teachers care, the other students care. You\u2019re not just a number.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowling first met Melnik Allen during a Focus Fridays event, where University High students explore academic areas across the UTC campus. Bowling, then a junior, toured the Fine Arts Center and got her first glimpse into the world of theatre design\u2014the shoe closet, the costume shop, the behind-the-scenes work most audiences never see.<\/p>\n

That glimpse quickly turned into something more.<\/p>\n

Their paths later crossed again during a pilot mentorship program that paired University High students with theatre education majors. Melnik Allen noticed Bowling\u2019s enthusiasm and curiosity immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has such an interesting perspective,\u201d Melnik Allen said. \u201cShe\u2019s just one of those students who wants to see everything, learn everything and do everything\u2014and she brings so much with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Bowling, the relationships she formed on UTC\u2019s campus\u2014not only with Melnik Allen but with other professors and fellow students\u2014were foundational to her growth and confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, I was nervous about how college students would react to us being there,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they didn\u2019t even notice we were in high school. I remember one student in a class I was taking with Laurie asked if I lived on campus. When I told her I was still in high school, she was completely surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melnik Allen described the program as \u201ctransformative\u201d\u2014not just for students, but for faculty who choose to engage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. These students bring so much energy and purpose,\u201d she said. \u201cI always say I\u2019m an expert beginner\u2014and Shi Mae reminded me why I love what I do. She\u2019s gotten me excited about theater again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowling has also worked closely with Visiting Professor Taylor Busch in the costume shop, further immersing herself in the world she hopes to turn into a career.<\/p>\n

Her dream? To become a costume designer for television.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love watching TV and movies,\u201d Bowling said. \u201cClothes can help tell the story. I\u2019m not one for acting, but I love to think: If I\u2019m this character and I step in front of my closet in the morning, what would I wear?\u201d<\/p>\n

She cited a specific instance in one of her favorite TV shows, \u201cJulie and the Phantoms,\u201d describing how butterflies used in the costuming reflected a character\u2019s emotional growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe little details matter,\u201d she said. \u201cThey add so much more than people realize.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Melnik Allen, Bowling\u2019s eye for those details\u2014and her eagerness to learn\u2014left an impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s taught me a lot this year,\u201d Melnik Allen said. \u201cShe\u2019s helped me reconnect with the creative part of myself. She even inspired a new mood board assignment I brought into my Intro to Theatre course. She\u2019s a reminder that we never stop learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Laurie

Laurie Melnik Allen and Shi Mae Bowling<\/p><\/div>\n

UTC Vice Provost Shewanee Howard-Baptiste, who helped launch University High, recalled meeting Bowling as a prospective student in spring 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had a global perspective and this spark,\u201d she said. \u201cWe knew early on that a program like University High would help stretch her. We had the people, the support, the infrastructure\u2014and she saw that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard-Baptiste described Bowling as \u201ca top student\u201d with \u201clots of options\u201d for college. That she chose UTC\u2014and earned the Chancellor\u2019s Scholarship\u2014is something Howard-Baptiste sees as validation of the program\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows the caliber of students that University High attracts and supports,\u201d she said. \u201cShi Mae could have gone to a lot of places, but she saw that she could build something here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Bowling prepares to graduate from University High on May 9 and enroll full-time at UTC this fall, she\u2019s already looking ahead\u2014to \u201cDracula: Mina\u2019s Quest,\u201d the opening show of the 2025-26 UTC Theatre Co. season. Directed by Melnik Allen, the production offers another opportunity for the pair to collaborate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting,\u201d Bowling said. \u201cA lot of times, you have a great teacher, but then the school year ends and you never get to work with them again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I get to keep working with Laurie. That means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowling, the second oldest of five children, hopes her younger siblings\u2014particularly her little sister, now in fourth grade\u2014will one day follow in her footsteps. She even jokes about trying to recruit her brothers and their friends into the University High pipeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a special place and being part of it helped me see that college doesn\u2019t have to be scary,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can find people who care. You can find your place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Chancellor\u2019s Scholarship<\/a><\/p>\n

University High archives<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThese students are the future of our city and the future of our country, and we are proud to have them represent University High\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shi Mae Bowling has known for years that she wanted to become a costume designer. What she didn\u2019t know was that a high school initiative located on a college campus would turn that dream into a real, reachable goal\u2014and connect her with a mentor who could help make it possible. But thanks to her time at University High, a collaboration between UTC and Hamilton County Schools, Bowling\u2014a graduating senior from the program\u2019s first cohort\u2014has found guidance and a sense of belonging while earning college credit.<\/p>\n

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