In his role as an ambassador for the Tickle College of Engineering, Ryan Hulsey fields a lot of questions from prospective students and parents during tours. One of the most common questions is one Hulsey is perfectly suited to answer—how do you balance extracurricular activities with an engineering courseload?
“I tell them you’ll usually find that engineering students are never just engineering students. They participate in a lot of other things,” Hulsey said. “I tell them it’s really easy to balance the coursework with other activities, as long as you have good time management, and you take that responsibility.”
Hulsey put his advice into practice throughout his four years at the University of Tennessee. He was a trumpet player in the Pride of the Southland Marching Band, an ambassador, a mentor, an IGNITE Team Leader, performed undergraduate research, and served internships.
The Georgia native is graduating from UT this week with a bachelor’s degree in industrial systems engineering and minors in engineering management, and reliability and maintainability engineering. Hulsey plans to pursue his master’s degree at UT in industrial engineering while doing a graduate teaching assistantship.
“I arrived at UT worried that the engineering field would be cutthroat, but I found support and care all the way from staff members to faculty and professors,” Hulsey said. “They all just really care for you and want to see you succeed. It’s allowed me to not only grow in academics but also grow socially and professionally as well.”
Leader among his peers
Hulsey was recognized for all he has done to serve the university last month at the Chancellor’s Honors Banquet, where he received the Extraordinary Campus Leadership and Service Award.
“I was super emotional about it, and I don’t think I fully processed until I was there,” Hulsey said. “As they were reading off all the other names and all the incredible things that students across campus have done, it was special. To be considered amongst this group of students was one of the coolest moments.”
Lecturer Bill Hicks has served as a mentor to Hulsey during his undergraduate work in ISE and hopes to continue working with him once he enters the master’s program in the fall.
“Ryan has been instrumental in helping me add a Factory Lab experience to our IE 427 Introduction to Lean Systems course, where he served as undergraduate TA,” Hicks said. “Relying on both his experience in IE 427 in spring 2024 and his internship experience with Keurig Dr. Pepper, Ryan helped me create a realistic experience for our students so that can relate to the lecture topics even if they have not had their own intern or co-op experience.”
Pride in his music
Hulsey started playing the trumpet in the sixth grade and participated in marching band throughout high school. He didn’t want to stop once he reached college and decided to try out for the Pride of the Southland Marching Band.
“I came not really knowing what to expect. I knew that UT had a great band reputation, but then I got here, and I absolutely fell in love,” Hulsey said. “It became like a real family. For me, band has always kind of served as home base, a place where I can always count on there being friends.”
Hulsey recently received the P.R.I.D.E Award, which is the highest individual honor given to a current member of the band. The award is given to the individual that best exemplifies the “P.R.I.D.E” maxims, which are preparation, respect, integrity, discipline, and excellence. Hulsey was the first non-music major to receive the award.
Along with working at the front desk of the band office, Hulsey has held leadership positions in the band over the last two years. The positions are voted on by his peers and involve a rigorous interview process.
“This was an easy decision for us to make as Ryan has consistently shown a positive attitude, even in the most stressful of situations on gamedays in front of over 100,000 people,” said Michael Stewart, the WJ Julian Endowed Director of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band. “His passion for band and engineering serves as a great role model for all of our students. With so many engineering majors in the Pride, he has proven that you can excel in the classroom and on the field, while giving back to the university with his time and talents.”
Theme parks in his future
During his undergraduate studies, Hulsey was involved with research through the East Tennessee Initiative for Smart Energy Management (ETISE). Hulsey’s group worked with local manufacturers to help address their energy consumption rates and recommend smart manufacturing practices.
“It’s rewarding because they’re smaller businesses, so they may not have the finances to hire an industrial engineer since we are considered overhead costs,” Hulsey said. “Being able to help them out feels really good. It feels like you are doing a service to the community.”
Husley wants to work in the themed entertainment industry for his career. He will be serving an internship this summer at Universal Studios Hollywood in California. Hulsey will be working within the food and beverage operations to help the park efficiently serve as many guests as possible and reduce wait times.
“I’m super excited about that,” he said. “My end goal in the profession would be to enter the design phase side of things. I’d like to be on the ground floor when they are designing a theme park or designing a new area to figure out how you design that to optimize crowd flow.”
As an ISE graduate student, Hulsey will remain working with the band by teaching newcomers and performing at basketball and volleyball games. He will also keep advocating for how much TCE can offer prospective students. His personal experience over the last four years is the best testimony.
“The willingness of the faculty, staff, and the professors to invest in you is unbelievable,” he said. “When I talk to them, it doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Instead, they actually take it and look for opportunities that would support me. Them being willing to invest in me as an individual has made all the difference.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, [email protected])