University of Tennessee Athletics
Twenty UT Student-Athletes Graduate Friday
Dec. 13, 2002
Twenty (20) University of Tennessee student-athletes graduated in ceremonies this morning at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The twenty student-athletes were part of the 1,360 students who received their degrees today in the university's Fall Commencement. The student-athletes and their families were honored at a breakfast before the Commencement at the Varsity Inn in Gibbs Hall.
Former UT Arts and Sciences Dean Lorayne W. Lester gave the commencement address to more than 1,360 students receiving bachelors and post-graduate degrees at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Lester quoted Tennyson's poem "Ulysses," which describes all experience as an arch. The same lesson applies today, she said.
"Your time at UT, for better or worse, will forever be a part of who you are and who you will become in the years ahead. Your experiences are not behind you, they are an arch, a tunnel in front of you, and through which you will necessarily view the future," Lester said.
Lester congratulated the students for completing their degrees in the midst of funding problems from the Tennessee state government, and the uncertainty of life following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The following are the December 2002 graduates from the men's and women's programs:
Brandon Hopkins, Baseball, Knoxville (Finance)
Ryan Moffett, Baseball, Knoxville (Sport Management)
Michelle Snow, Women's Basketball, Pensacola, Fla. (Psychology)
Matt Gurdak, Football, Buckhannon, W. Va. (Sport Management)
Rashad Moore, Football, Huntsville, Ala. (Psychology)
Diron Robinson, Football, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Urban Studies)
Leonard Scott, Football, Zachary, La. (Sociology)
Charles Small, Football, Newton, Kan. (Sociology)
Keyon Whiteside, Football, Forest City, N.C. (Sociology)
Brian Word, Football, Cleveland, Tenn., (Speech Communication)
Young-A Yang, Women's Golf, Tae-Gu, South Korea (Psychology)
Tara Minnax, Soccer, Tampa, Fla. (Sport Management)
Cori Stevens, Soccer, Greensboro, N.C. (Sport Management)
Maria Torres, Softball, Parana, Argentina (Finance)
Adrianna Wilson, Softball, La Palma, Calif. (Sociology)
Amanda Bergey, Women's Track, Hillsboro, Ore. (Family Studies)
Dwayne Bell, Track, Nashville (Economics)
Karl Jennings, Track, Scotch Plains, N. J. (Psychology)
Rondell Mershon, Track, Apple Valley, Minn. (Economics)
Erica Lear, Women's Tennis, Columbus, Ind. (English-Creative Writing)
