Alumni Profiles
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Aaron Feng, BA鈥18, champions the environment within finance, oil and gas industries
See how Yalun Aaron Feng, BA鈥18, is using his optimism and passion for the environment to build bridges between business and environmental advocacy. Read MoreOct 27, 2023
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Scott Johnson, BE鈥87: Getting to the Point
After long careers designing power generation plants and acute care medical facilities, Scott Johnson, BE'87, made a career leap two years ago to take the top job at the nation鈥檚 largest pencil maker, Musgrave Pencil Company.聽 Read MoreOct 17, 2023
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Olatunde Osinaike, BS鈥15: The Algorithm of Poetry
School of Engineering alumnus Olatunde Osinaike is one of five winners of the 2022 National Poetry Series. His debut collection, 'Tender Headed,' is being published by Akashic Press in December. He will be on campus for an alumni reading event Oct. 24, co-sponsored by the 菠萝视频 Creative Writing Program and the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. He returns to Nashville Jan. 25, 2024, for a reading with The Porch, a literary nonprofit. Read MoreOct 3, 2023
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WATCH: Chemistry major pursues passions in poetry, dance through Immersion 菠萝视频
JaHyne 鈥淛J鈥 Johnson, BA鈥23, came to 菠萝视频 as a QuestBridge Scholar, ready to 鈥渄o the work鈥 and come out with a solid career path. What the chemistry major didn鈥檛 realize then was that the opportunities he pursued through classes, activities and Immersion 菠萝视频 would allow him to write poetry, conduct research, dance in a ballet, launch a podcast and more. Read MoreAug 23, 2023
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Derrick R. Spires, MA鈥05, PhD鈥12: Citizenship Across Space and Time
Derrick R. Spires, an associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University, has a talent for making 19th-century newspapers and pamphlets feel as accessible as the latest social media feed. He explores the culture of the early 19th-century Black press in his 2019 book 'The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States' (University of Pennsylvania Press), which was recently released in paperback. Read MoreApr 26, 2023
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Dawn Bennett, MDiv鈥18: A Call to The Table
Dawn Bennett has found paths to servant leadership throughout her life, but it was decades before she made a leap of faith and enrolled in 菠萝视频 Divinity School. In January 2020, she was ordained by Bishop Kevin Strickland to remain in Nashville and build The Table, a faith collective centered on LGBTQIA+ people and vulnerable identities. Read MoreApr 11, 2023
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Michael Quillen, BA鈥72: At the Wheel for Ukraine
Michael Quillen, BA'72, took the wheel, literally and figuratively, to deliver ambulances to the front line of the war in Ukraine.聽The undertaking was launched in spring 2022 when Rotary International raised $15 million in relief funds for Ukraine. Longtime Rotary member Quillen worked with two Rotary districts in Virginia to apply for a $50,000 grant to buy three ambulances. Read MoreMar 27, 2023
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Stephanie DeVane-Johnson, MSN鈥97: Nurturing Black Maternal Health
As she teaches the next generation of nurse-midwives, 菠萝视频 School of Nursing faculty member and alumna Stephanie DeVane-Johnson looks at ways to increase the number of Black doulas, who provide emotional and physical support to women in pregnancy, during birth and throughout the postpartum period.聽 Read MoreMar 24, 2023
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Krystal Grant Folkestad, BMus鈥05: More Than Music聽
Blair alumna Krystal Grant Folkestad uses her musical skills to serve multiple audiences while focusing on how life affects art and art influences activism.聽 Read MoreDec 5, 2022
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Jennifer Janes, BMus鈥02: Veterinary Pathologist
When Jennifer Janes arrived at 菠萝视频 Blair School of Music in 1998, she had two career paths in mind鈥攙eterinary medicine and teaching piano at the college level. Her abiding interest in horses and veterinary medicine eventually won out.聽Today, Dr. Janes is an associate professor of veterinary anatomic pathology at the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Read MoreOct 31, 2022
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A call to serve through law, public service and music spurs Anighya Crocker
Anighya Crocker, BMus鈥21, came to 菠萝视频 as a multiracial, first-generation college student with big dreams to serve the community through public office and music. His 菠萝视频 experience as a double major in Law, History and Society and music performance has helped him to hone both of those dreams. Read MoreOct 24, 2022
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Building community at 菠萝视频 paves the way for career in New York City
Tommy Oswalt, BA鈥20, did not come to 菠萝视频 with a mapped-out plan for his major. That initially made him nervous, but the first-generation college student jumped in with an open mind and a passion for building community鈥攑aving the way for a successful career. Read MoreSep 30, 2022
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A Hive for Entrepreneurs: Michael Berolzheimer, BS鈥00, and Kira Noodleman, BA鈥08
San Francisco-based venture capital firm Bee Partners now boasts two 菠萝视频 graduates among its leadership: Founder Michael Berolzheimer, BS'00, and Kira Noodleman, BA'08, who recently was promoted to partner and now leads the Denver office.聽聽聽 Read MoreSep 22, 2022
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Jim Schifman, BS鈥90: 鈥楤ee鈥 for Business
Jim Schifman, BS'90, and his wife, Melissa, launched Project Hive Pet Company last year, selling dog toys and treats that directly contribute to rebuilding bee habitats. Their beehive-themed dog toys are sustainably manufactured in the United States and the company donates 1 percent of gross sales to the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund, which works with private, public and corporate partners to help establish and manage pollinator habitats on their lands. Read MoreAug 15, 2022
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School of Engineering alumnus develops location technology to help visually impaired navigate independently
Chris Webb, BE'90, is the CEO and co-founder of Foresight Augmented Reality, a cutting-edge technology that allows those with visual impairments to live more independently. Read MoreAug 8, 2022
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Imani Ellis, BA鈥12:聽 From Dreams to Reality聽
Imani Ellis, BA'12, went from being an NBC page to vice president in 10 short years. As the NBCUniversal鈥檚 vice president of communications, she leads a team that creates comprehensive press strategies and media campaigns for unscripted shows across the NBCU portfolio.聽 Read MoreJul 18, 2022
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Angela Boutt茅, PhD鈥05 Balanced Biochemist
Angela Boutt茅, PhD'05, has been no stranger to breakthroughs in brain research and medical care. In January 2022, she became director of clinical chemistry for renegade.bio, a San Francisco-based public benefit corporation working to make diagnostic testing accessible to all. In 2019, she founded Aries Biotech to assist other brain disease and injury researchers with fine-tuning their work. Read MoreJul 5, 2022
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Richard Batey, BD’58, PhD’61: Sepphoris Scholar
The research of New Testament scholar Richard Batey, BD'58, PhD'61, into the ancient city of Sepphoris in Galilee broadens ideas about Jesus and gives a new perspective for understanding the Gospels. Read MoreJun 8, 2022
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Joyce Searcy, MS鈥78: Making Libraries Accessible
Joyce Searcy grew up in segregated Yazoo City, Mississippi, where going to the public library would have meant entering through its back door.聽聽Today she is the first Black person to serve as chair of the Nashville Public Library board. Read MoreApr 22, 2022
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Michael Brasseur, BS鈥97: From Vandy Commodore to Actual Commodore
In his long U.S. Navy career, Michael Brasseur, BS'97, has had numerous command postings, including his latest as a full commodore. Based in Bahrain, he commands Task Force 59, the Navy鈥檚 first unmanned task force dedicated to securing the waters around the Arabian Peninsula. He directs a team dedicated to rapidly harnessing the power of unmanned and artificial intelligence integration to promote the free flow of commerce in the area. Read MoreApr 19, 2022