The spider hung from a leafy tree branch. It was bright green, and it brandished a giant claw designed to attack the insects on which it fed. Staring at the creature through the glowing light of her headlamp, Rosemary Gillespie (Knoxville ’86) could hardly believe her eyes. There was only one spider in the world with a claw quite like that—the rarely encountered Doryonychus raptor, which had been scientifically collected only once, by an obscure British naturalist in 1901.
Alvin Crawford’s work is an affair of the heart. The award-winning physician says he “fell in love with kids” when he chose pediatric orthopedics as his life’s work. Adults may have complicated motivations and desires; children, Crawford says, just want to be able to go out and play.
The last 10 years of Dr. Elbert “Bud” Baker’s nearly 50-year dental practice in Nashville have been the most rewarding. The reason? More than half of his current practice is caring for mentally challenged adults. “Ten years ago, I would never have thought this was for me. “But today I don’t even think about retiring because I’d have to give up these people,” Baker (HSC ’56) says.
Dustin Cawood works on a ranch, but you won’t find him in the saddle, enjoying the scenery on a 5,000-acre spread in Marin County, California, north of San Rafael. You will find an insider at Skywalker Sound working outside the crazy Los Angeles lifestyle.
The majority of students can succeed at math and science. “They just need to be taught how,” says Dr. Saundra McGuire, a UT alumna and recent winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.
McGuire is director of the Center for Academic Success at Louisiana State University. She says the earlier students learn how to learn, the better.
Ann Draughon’s career has included many firsts, but she says the most important thing she has done is prepare women and minorities for careers in food microbiology.
Dr. Mario Ramirez is part of UT Health Science Center history. As a medical student in the 1950s, he fondly recalls Ma Hamilton’s boarding house on South Pauline, a place where you could dance to a nickelodeon and drink a beer. Ramirez is also a Texan, and, as he likes to say, “from the best of both worlds: orange and white UTHSC in Memphis and orange and white UTHSC in Austin, Texas, where the T stands for Texas.” Now 81 years old, he remembers his journey away from—and back to—his Texas home. It was a journey of inspiration and love.
America’s palate is becoming more sophisticated, and Alan Wilson is big into the business of supplying the spices to satisfy the nation’s taste buds. Wilson (Knoxville ’80) is the new CEO and president of McCormick & Company Inc., the world’s largest spice producer, headquartered in Baltimore with operations in such diverse locales as India and France.
Teresa Harman Bell appears to have it all—she’s a professional pharmacist, a wife, and the mother of four. You would never guess that a car accident 17 years ago, while she was a UT Martin student, changed her and her family forever. Bell may be haunted by the disastrous car crash, but thanks to friends at UT Martin and in the Martin community, her good memories outweigh the bad.
In a retirement center near Minneapolis, three residents—all with a UT connection—get together to cheer on the Vols every time a UT Knoxville game is televised. They might not do the wave, toss Nerf balls around the room, or belt out “Rocky Top” after a touchdown, but their spirit and enthusiasm are always in high gear.
Wade Tosh put his UT education to work before he even finished it. Tosh was chosen as the new town administrator of Dover, Tennessee, by the Dover Board of Mayor and Aldermen in September 2007, 4 months before he finished his Master of Public Administration degree at UT Knoxville. Tosh had a leg up on a local government career thanks to a distinctive new on-the-job experience: he was the first Gary H. Hensley Municipal Managers Intern during the summer of 2007.
Logan Durham is having a rough—or, maybe that’s “ruff”—year. And he’s enjoying every moment of it. Durham, a sophomore in communications from Cleveland, Tenn., is this year’s lead Smokey, the University of Tennessee’s costumed bluetick hound mascot. He’s assisted by two understudies and a junior Smokey; UT’s Spirit Office typically chooses multiple students to perform as Smokey since the performance schedule is very demanding.
A career in natural resources management conjures up thoughts of working in serene settings, protecting the environment, being a friend to wildlife, and teaching young and old to appreciate the outdoors. Jereme Odom (Martin ’98) does all that and more as a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer. He enforces hunting, fishing, and boating laws, manages state-owned land, and conducts youth programs.
Seizing opportunities is nothing new for William Mackall (Martin ’90). The UT Martin Hall of Fame football player and award-winning undercover police officer was ready to answer the call when he came upon a man who was choking. Mackall, 40, was raised in Panama City, Florida, where he played several high-school sports and eventually caught the eye of college football recruiters.
Chad Holliday Jr. is full of enthusiasm as he surveys the crowd at the grand opening of the DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products Facility on a humid day last June in Loudon, Tennessee. No doubt this is a proud professional moment for the DuPont CEO and chairman, but Holliday (Knoxville ’70) is also glad just to be back home in the Volunteer State.
