Savannah Clay, Doctorate in Nursing Practice, from Chattanooga, TN
I am a Registered Nurse in the intensive care unit and a first-year doctoral student at the University of Tennessee’s College of Nursing. I am studying to be a Family Nurse Practitioner. My passion is serving the inner-city community where I plan to take my talents upon graduation in 2021. I am currently doing my doctoral evidence-based practice project on methods to increase screening rates for colorectal cancer in African-American men. As a graduate student, I am currently involved in Stigma Theta Tau Honor Society and I serve on the Deans advisory board. In the community, I am on the East Chattanooga Wellness Board and the community service and women’s health committees of my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, cooking, and going to concerts.
Favorite Quote: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – President Barack Obama
Abena Otchere-Goateng, Senior in Nuclear Engineering and Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB), with a minor in Physics. A Knoxville transplant from Tema, Ghana, West Africa.
I am a senior double majoring in Nuclear Engineering and Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) and a minor in physics. I am a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee from Ghana. I love being challenged because it brings out the highest potential in everything I do. But most importantly, I love spending time helping children. A career in the medical imaging field is a good fit since it feeds my curiosity for science and technology while still allowing me to interact and help to meet the needs of other people. I hope to someday use this knowledge and experience to make a global impact, and also in Ghana – where my passion began.
Favorite Saying: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde
Juvi Mallari, Junior in Kinesiology; from Clarksville, TN
Juvi Therese Mallari is a junior and a kinesiology major at the University of Tennessee. She is a military brat, with multiple places to call home. But she calls Clarksville, TN home, where her family currently resides. In high school, she participated in various extracurriculars including choir, concert band, and dance team. She graduated 8th in her class.
After graduating she attended Austin Peay State University then transferred to UT in the second semester of her freshman year. Right away, she got involved in two cultural organizations, the Asian American Association, and the Filipino American Association. She held leadership positions in both clubs as president for FAA in 2018, secretary for AAA in 2017-2018, and president for AAA in 2018-2019.
Favorite motto/saying: “Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Dante Parker, Sophomore in Modern Foreign Languages, Spanish minor; from Murfreesboro, TN
I was born in Nashville and now live in Murfreesboro with my brother and mother. I have always had a penchant for the sciences, as I have participated in Science Olympiad for three years and received three gold medals and a bronze medal. I am also interested in learning foreign languages, such as Dutch, French, Japanese, etc. But my love for Latin America is what motivated me to pursue Spanish as a potential route in Anthropology, with the possibility of a concentration in Portuguese.
My motto is: “Fake It ‘Til You Make It.”
Abigail Saulsberry, Freshman in Marketing with Pre-Law Concentration; from Murfreesboro, TN
Christina “Abigail” Saulsberry was born in New York and grew up in Murfreesboro, where she graduated from Siegel High School. She is from a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic family and embraces diversity and inclusion. At UT Knoxville, she is a Multicultural Mentoring Program peer mentor, Counsel Liaison for the National Pan-Hellenic Council, ambassador for the 1794 Honors College, and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Zeta Delta Chapter.
She has served at First Baptist Church, New Vision Baptist Church, Rutherford County Food Bank, and Last Call 4 Grace locally and international mission trips to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. She plans to attend Harvard Law to obtain her Juris Doctorate after graduating from UT Knoxville.
Favorite Motto: Walk by Faith, not by Sight.
The University of Tennessee Office of Multicultural Student Life, Frieson Black Cultural Center. Visit multicultural.utk.edu/resources/carl-cowan-scholarship/carl-cowan-scholarship-2019-2020-recipients /; Phone 865-974-6861; Email multicultural@utk.edu
ABOUT CARL A. COWAN
Carl Cowan was born and raised in Knoxville’s Black Mechanicsville community on College Street, near the Knoxville College campus. His parents were Hugh and Maggie, and he had a younger brother, Clause.
Cowan attended Knoxville College and was active in student civic, social, and athletic organizations. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, played halfback on the Knoxville College football team, among other extracurricular pursuits. Cowan became a teacher and coach at Knoxville College in 1926-27, becoming the first paid coach in the Negro Division.
Cowan earned his law degree from Howard University College of Law, Washington, D.C. which led him to his life’s work: using the existing laws to advance the rights of people of color in the United States.
He practiced law in Knox County from 1934 to 1980. He was a member of Knox County Court and was appointed the first African-American Asst. District Attorney in Knox County in 1953. Cowan was the plaintiff’s attorney where he challenged segregation in Knoxville, Clinton, Sweetwater-Madisonville, Johnson City school systems, and the University of Tennessee on behalf of the NAACP. His wife, Esther, an English teacher, was part of the historic desegregation of Austin High School and East High School. Carl Cowan was a close associate of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and was instrumental in the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision that ended the legal racial segregation of the public schools in America.
After retirement, Cowan continued to be active in professional, social and civic organizations. He served in TVA, the Knoxville College board of trustees, the Knox County Draft Board, the Republican Primary Board, and the Shiloh Presbyterian Board of Trustees.
Cowan received the Meritorious Service and Outstanding Service awards from the NAACP, the Whitney Young Freedom Service Award from the Knoxville Area Urban League, and the Brotherhood Award from the Knoxville Round Table of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. In addition, Mr. Cowan was presented with numerous awards recognizing his support of the YMCA, the Girl Scouts, and other groups focusing on youth and athletics.
Carl Cowan has been inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, the Knoxville College Hall of Fame, and was honored by Knoxville College with a Recognition Day and the State of Tennessee Joint House Resolution for his commitment to improving the general welfare of minority groups in Tennessee.