Maryville College: 43 Knox County Scots receive diplomas & 64 on Spring Dean's List

Azure skies and the Great Smoky Mountains on the horizon made for a postcard-perfect backdrop to May 9’s Commencement ceremony, which took place on Humphreys Court, the campus quad between Anderson and Fayerweather halls.

Forty-two students from Knox County were awarded degrees during Commencement exercises, including several with academic distinctions: cum laude, for a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 to 3.74; magna cum laude for a GPA of 3.75 to 3.94; and summa cum laude for a GPA of 3.95 to 4.0. Several Scots also created Senior Studies — an integral part of the MC experience in which students conduct faculty-guided research in their major fields of study — that were awarded the distinction of Exemplary; those studies and their titles are also noted.

Farragut
- Kaleb Bedard, Bachelor of Arts, Finance/Accounting, cum laude
Karns
- Ian Bailey, Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Studies
Knoxville
- Zoe Benedict, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (Counseling)
- Christopher Caldwell, Bachelor of Science, Exercise Science
- Whitney Carr, Bachelor of Arts, Management, cum laude
- Chloe Chase, Bachelor of Arts, Engineering, cum laude
- Collin Combs, Bachelor of Arts, Health and Wellness Promotion
- Nicholas Curry, Bachelor of Arts, Engineering, magna cum laude
- Haley Daugherty, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (Counseling),
- Hannah Eddleman, Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, magna cum laude
- Elise Elliott, Bachelor of Arts, American Sign Language-English Interpreting
- Jorge Estrada Martinez, Bachelor of Arts, Computer Science, and Bachelor of Science, Mathematics; cum laude
- Miguel Estrada Martinez, Bachelor of Arts, Computer Science
- Brayden Evans, Bachelor of Arts, Management (August 2026 graduate)
- Anthony Fraser, Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Studies (Design/Technology track), magna cum laude. Exemplary Senior Study — “The Complete Process of Lighting Design: Tony Kushner’s ‘Angels in America’”
- Gabriel Fyan, Bachelor of Arts, International Business, magna cum laude
- Milo Gabor, Bachelor of Arts, Art
- Kaylee Galyon, Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice
- Jackson Garner, Bachelor of Arts, Management
- Noah Giger, Bachelor of Arts, Management
- Marlee Giles, Bachelor of Arts, Writing Communication and Management (December 2026 graduate)
- Morgan Gilmer, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (Counseling), cum laude
- Jaylon Green, Bachelor of Arts, Health and Wellness Promotion
- Kierstyn Elena Hernandez, Bachelor of Arts, Biochemistry
- Lauren Huffstetler, Bachelor of Arts, Design, Hospitality and Regional Identity, Outdoor Studies and Tourism; magna cum laude. Exemplary Senior Study — “Gathered in the Foothills: Designing Women’s Outdoor Belonging”
- Rukhshona Isomova, Bachelor of Arts, International Studies and Finance/Accounting, summa cum laude. Exemplary Senior Study — “Marriott International, 2025 Case Study”
- Reese Johnson, Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Studies
- Montina Jones, Bachelor of Science, Exercise Science (August 2026 graduate)
- Vanessa Laguerre, Bachelor of Arts, Developmental Psychology (Relationship and Sexual Health track)
- Darius Martin, Bachelor of Arts, Design
- Tracey Miree, Bachelor of Arts, American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, Psychology
- Andrea Lanza Pagoda, Bachelor of Arts, Developmental Psychology (Child Trauma and Resilience track)
- Morgan Pribish, Bachelor of Science, Biology. Exemplary Senior Study — “Brumation Timing and Site Characteristics of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene Carolina Carolina) in the Maryville College Woods, Maryville, Tennessee”
- Jay Ramirez, Bachelor of Arts, Design (August 2026 graduate)
- Ella-Marie Reyes, Bachelor of Arts, Developmental Psychology (Child Trauma and Resilience track)
- Jaklyn Rutter, Bachelor of Arts, Biochemistry
- Samantha Sasinouski, Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience, cum laude
- Patrick Spears, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
- Brady Thompson, Bachelor of Arts, Biochemistry, magna cum laude
- Clayton Tuggle, Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience
- Courtlyn-Olivia Walsh, Bachelor of Arts, Elementary Education
- Jonathan Yost, Bachelor of Arts, Individualized major (Natural History and Human Environment)
Powell
- MacKenzie Chittum, Bachelor of Arts, Elementary Education, magna cum laude
- Megan Cooper, Bachelor of Arts, English (August 2026 graduate)

Spring 2026 semester Dean’s List at Maryville College features 64 from Knox

The students making the list include:

Farragut, Kaleb Bedard; from
Karns, Ian Bailey; from from
Knoxville, Suleyka Alonzo, Kathryn Bornhoeft, Morgan Browning, Grace Bumpus, Zoe Carithers, Whitney Carr, Sarah Jane Christy, Steve Cope, Ben Croley, Nick Curry, Haley Daugherty, Hannah Eddleman, JJ Ekeler, Brayden Evans, Anthony Fraser, Gabriel Fyan, Milo Gabor, Jackson Garner, Alice Gawne, Morgan Gilmer, Kevin Golec, Sydney Haun, Hannia Hernandez Lopez, Josh Hester, Eric Holtry, Lauren Huffstetler, Warren Hurst, Rukhshona Isomova, Caleb Jinks, Eleni Johnson, Anna Kauffman, Emma Knight, Memphis Kopta, Leslie Lambdin, Andrea Lanza Pagoada, Julie Leonard, Bella McCubbin, Ella Morse, Maddux Morse, Jayden Neal, Natalie Norman, Jesus Olguin De Los Santos, Logan Ozias, Shae Parham, Sharay Patrick, Emma Grace Patterson, Lillie Peterson, Celeste Ramirez, Kaitlyn Redwine, Ella Reyes, Lily Reyes Hernandez, Jenny Ribble, Sami Sasinouski, Bella Sawabini, Grace Seal, Ella Tharpe, Brady Thompson, Tinsley Walker and Emily Wilson; from
Powell, Kenzie Chittum and Megan Cooper
Strawberry Plains, Lee Hobbs.

As spring semester classes ended, the Career Center surveyed seniors to learn of post-graduation plans and ask how the College had successfully prepared them. Below is a sample of responses from Knox County graduates.

Haley Daughtery: Hometown: Knoxville

Major: Psychology (Counseling track)
Next stop: Pursuing a master’s degree in counseling (clinical mental health counseling concentration) at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Ultimate career goal: To become a counselor or therapist.
Preparation at MC: “Both of my internships have helped a lot. I had an internship with the counseling center on campus, and then one in the neuroscience lab, which gave me more experience in the research world.”

Jorge Estrada Martinez: Hometown: Knoxville

Majors: Mathematics and Computer Science
Next stop: Studying mechanical materials engineering at Queens University in Ontario, Canada.
Ultimate career goal: To make affordable prosthetic devices for people who have limited resources.
Preparation at MC: “I feel like the coding classes I’ve taken in special algorithms is going to help me program the robotic prosthetics that I want to develop. And for the Math Department, I feel like differential equations have helped me develop my math skills.”

Bonnie Lauderback: Hometown: Knoxville

Major: Health and Wellness Promotion
Next stop: Pursuing a master’s degree in clinical health psychology and well-being at Middlesex University in London, England.
Ultimate career goal: To become a sports psychologist and help athletes return to play.
Preparation at MC: “My advisor, [Jennifer] Oody, has really helped me understand the correct trajectory and role I wanted to go in. I came to Maryville for nursing and then switched to more psychology based off my thesis, which was on sports psychology and the effects of injury on athletes’ return to play and the mental status of it. The thesis really helped propel me into the correct field.”———-

Maryville College is a nationally ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges, located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville. Maryville College offers more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”