Adam Vicars never expected to follow in his older brother’s paw prints when he got to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, but he did. Adam, 22, who graduates in December with a degree in logistics, spent about 4 years—from 2003 to 2007—as UT’s costumed mascot, Smokey. Adam’s brother, Jason, ’01, was Smokey for 2 -and-a-half years and won the Universal Cheerleaders Association Mascot National Championship in 2000 and 2001. Adam and Jason Vicars are the only brothers ever to have served as Smokey, according to Joy Postell, UT mascot director.
We would all have to agree that, were it not for our UT education, our lives would be different. As Debbie Ingram, president of the UT Alumni Association, travels to alumni events throughout the country, she solicits stories about how the lives of UT alumni have been transformed by education. Tennessee Alumnus introduces you to some of the UT graduates who’ve shared their experiences.
Perhaps no name in commerce is as well known as that of Wal-Mart, and Don Frieson (Knoxville ’90) has mapped his way to the company’s top echelon. Frieson recently moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, as senior vice-president in charge of operations in Wal-Mart’s central division. Previously the UT business grad was a vice-president and regional manager in Maryland.
Ask conservation ecologist Dr. Luke Dollar to describe the moment when he felt farthest removed from the University of Tennessee campus, and he’ll likely cite Madagascar, where he’s logged nearly 6 years researching mammalian predators. Chief among them is the enigmatic fossa (pronounced “FOO-suh”), a 20-pound carnivore that blends a mountain lion’s agility and cunning with the sheer bellicosity of a mongoose.
The UT National Alumni Association gets alumni together for Homecoming, pep rallies, and chapter meetings—you knew that, right? Do you know what else we do? We do some pretty neat stuff, and we’re adding new services all the time.
The new Glocker Business Administration -Building is well on its way to a 2008 opening in Knoxville. This is one of the many items in the Summer 2007 installment of UTopics.
If you visit the Vatican in Rome and then stop for a cappuccino in the coffee bar nearby, you’re likely to run into the Reverend Bernard O’Connor (Knoxville ’94). He may not be wearing orange. And he probably won’t be humming “Rocky Top.” But if you sit a minute and chat, which you inevitably will, you’ll soon learn you’re in the presence of a fellow Vol.
Gina Brown’s career began in New York City, took a side trip to Chattanooga, and has taken her back to the Big Apple, where she has happily worked as the production coordinator for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for several years. Brown works behind the scenes, and occasionally she enjoys on-camera appearances.
He may not be able to tell you if the X-Files really exist, but Trey Halterman thinks he has been successful during his 2-1/2 years as an FBI special agent. “I’ve arrested drug dealers, protected the U.S. from people who want to cause harm to the country, assisted Hurricane Katrina victims, and managed major cases that will lead to arrests and prosecutions.”
Tracking a group of 200 illegal aliens in the remote Sonoran Desert may not sound like your typical day’s work, but U.S. Border Patrol agent Chris Frazier finds it frightening, exciting, and frustrating. “It involves a great deal of stamina and a good balance of all my senses,” says the Knoxville native and 1997 UT Knoxville public relations grad, who works in the Tucson, Arizona, sector.
T. J. Waters (Chattanooga ’90) took a proactive approach to expressing his patriotism. He was selected by the Central Intelligence Agency to join the first post–9/11 spy class. His book about the experience, Class 11, was published recently by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Blood pools on the kitchen floor. Droplets spatter the cabinets. In a small room off the cottage’s entryway, crime-scene investigators study blood spatters on the wall and bloody handprints on the floor. In the bedrooms, they photograph more bloodstains, looking for clues about the crimes that left these gruesome settings.
