This spring, the Herbert College of Agriculture had 244 students apply for graduation. Once numbers are confirmed our college will potentially award 244 degrees—211 undergraduate degrees, 28 master’s graduate degrees and 5 Doctoral graduate degrees. Additionally, 1 Air Force cadet and 1 Army cadet were commissioned. Although in-person commencement ceremonies in May had to be postponed for safety, UT plans to honor 2020 graduates on campus in person as soon as it’s safe. See the commencement website for details.
The Herbert College continues to celebrate our most recent graduates by highlighting their post-graduation plans. If you are a recent graduate and you did not get to share your plan, make sure you report your next step after graduation: job, graduate school, military, entrepreneurial pursuits or whatever your plans are!
Where a few of our 2020 graduates are…
Khalee D. Branch, majored in Food Science (Pre-Pharmacy)
"Through my career journey, I desire to remain true to myself; authentic."
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
My Post-Graduation Plan: “I will attend pharmacy school at UT Health Science Center this fall in Memphis, TN.”
Why I Have Chosen This Path: “I chose the path of pharmacy so that I can close healthcare gaps among the uninsured, unemployed, and underserved people and empower people to take care of their health by building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”
Most Memorable Moment in Herbert: “I enjoyed studying with classmates in the student lounge and learning in Dr. Dia’s class.”
Profile: Community Servant, Nurturing, Outspoken, Lifelong Learner, Compassionate, Family Oriented, Authentic.
Christian Dalton, majored in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, Concentration: Community Engagement and Leadership Development
"I strive to inspire others to be the best versions of themselves."
Hometown: Sneedville, Tennessee
My Post-Graduation Plan: “I hope to study bovine reproduction in graduate school or become a 4-H agent.
Why I Have Chosen This Path: “I chose this path because I fell in love with animal science and I hope to help benefit the field by continuing my education so that I can better serve my community as an Extension agent. I hope I can help be the mentor and leader that other agents were to me.”
Most Memorable Moment in Hebert: “I think it’s almost impossible to pick one. Starting with the LLC through my senior year, I was blessed with so many fun times. I think that one that does come to mind revolves around eating lunch in Mabel’s. We always had so many interconnected circles of people that we usually had between ten to twenty people sitting together eating at a time. That day we had both corner booths on the back side of the dining room as well as half of one of the long tables all full of people and “Momma” Sharon Glover decided to come and sit with us and talk about life and how she grew up. I think that hearing her story as well as other people who were with us talking was very special and something that helped grow me as an individual.”
Profile: Passionate, Extroverted, Servant’s Heart, Relationship Oriented, Jack-of-All-Trades, Vocal, Driven, Educator.
Karalee Corbeil, majored in Environmental and Soil Science, Concentration: Environmental Science
"We have an interconnected world worth learning about and protecting"
Hometown: Waynesville, North Carolina
My Post-Graduation Plan: “I will serve a year with CAC AmeriCorps at Knox County Stormwater and then hopefully continue to graduate school.”
Why I Have Chosen This Path: “I chose this path because I knew I wanted to take a gap year before planning to attend graduate school, but I wanted my gap year to be a learning and growing experience. AmeriCorps fits the description of everything I wanted to achieve during my gap year.”
Most Memorable Moment in Hebert: “One of my favorite memories at Herbert would be living in the Living Learning Community my freshman year because we were constantly having fun and I was able to meet a lot of interesting people, including one of my best friends who I lived with throughout college. I also enjoyed working in Dr. Schaeffer’s lab because it allowed me to grow as a student and open my mind to graduate school.”
Profile: Adventurous, Environmentalist, Good Listener, Driven, “Calm, cool, and collected”, Difference Maker, National Park Enthusiast.
Aaron Chubb, majored in Animal Science, minored in Wildlife and Fisheries Science
"The most important thing you can give someone else is your time."
Hometown: Mount Juliet, Tennessee
My Post-Graduation Plan: “I will be a full-time elephant keeper at the Houston Zoo while also completing my master’s in veterinary public health online from the University of Missouri .”
Why I Have Chosen This Path: “I chose this path as I have always had a passion for animals and animal health. Elephants have always been my muse and I hope that one day my career will allow me to make immense changes in the world of elephant health, reproduction, and diseases.”
Most Memorable Moment in Herbert: “The friendships and strong bonds that I have built with fellow students, who share the same passion as myself, are by far some of my most memorable and rewarding moments in my time in the Herbert College of Agriculture.”
Profile: Positive, Determined, Volunteer Spirited, Giver, Joyful, Helpful, Considerate, Family Oriented.
Madison Oehler, majored in Biosystems Engineering, minored in Environmental Engineering
"It is never too early to connect with a faculty mentor, it makes a difference!"
Hometown: Elkridge, Maryland
My Post-Graduation Plan: “Currently on a job hunt to work in a field closely relating to environmental engineering or water resources engineering. I would like to work in a field that implements conservation practices and/or green infrastructure practices to help conserve the land and water.”
Why I Have Chosen This Path: “A lot of my plans have to do with my interests as well as the classes I got to take at UT and the opportunities I was given in the BESS department. I came to UT knowing that I wanted to do engineering and something environment-related but that still left me with many options on what career path I could take. By obtaining the environmental engineering minor, I was able to take classes and find out what I was passionate about as well as areas I would not want to work in. I also got the chance to work in the lab doing research which allowed me to apply skills from the courses I took, which is something I enjoyed.”
Most Memorable Moment in Herbert: “One reason UT was one of my top choices was because it was a big university and I wanted to go somewhere with lots of people. When I started getting into my BSE classes I didn’t realize how amazing smaller classes would be. My favorite moments were when I found myself wanting to be on the Herbert campus rather than main campus most days because of the homey feel and the close-knit people in our department.”
Profile: Aspiring Scholar, Musical, Determined, Hardworking, Values Relationships, Environmentalist.
Abigayle Pollock, majored in Animal Science
"Be in the moment, appreciate where you are right now."
Hometown: Taft, Tennessee
Post Graduation Plan: ” I will be serving as the UT Livestock Judging Coach and co-teaching Animal Science 360 while pursuing my master’s in the Department of Animal Science in the Herbert College.”
Why I have chosen this path: “This position perfectly combined my passion for livestock evaluation and the livestock industry as a whole with my desire to further my education.”
Most memorable moment at Herbert: “Being on the 2019 UT Livestock Judging Team is no doubt my fondest memory as an undergrad. Getting to travel across the country to evaluate high quality livestock and meet industry leading producers is an experience like no other.”
Profile: Hardworking, former 4-H member, Researcher, Aspiring to be proficient in animal reproduction, Drawn to the Outdoors: Hunting and Fishing, Coach, Reflective, Results Driven.
Jordan Peterson, majored in Food and Agricultural Business, minored in International Agricultural Business and Natural Resources
"Be kind to everyone and don't take life too seriously."
Hometown: Harvard, Illinois
Post Graduation Plan: “I will be a graduate assistant in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department while pursuing my Master’s in Agricultural Economics at UT starting in the Fall.”
Why I have chosen this path: “I love Herbert College so much, I was not ready to leave! Therefore, I accepted an assistantship and I am so thankful to be able to continue my journey at UT!”
Most Memorable Moment in Herbert: “Placing top five at the National Agriculture Marketing (NAMA) Team Competition for the first time in school history.”
Profile: Heart of Service, Inspired and motivated by Family, Full of Energy, Makes a Positive Change in the Atmosphere, Hardworking.
