UT hosted the 7th Annual Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP) Awards Banquet on April 3, 2017, at the Hollingsworth Auditorium on the Ag Campus. This year’s guest speaker was Tommy Stevenson from Mississippi State University’s Office of the Provost and founder of the Stevenson & Associates Consulting Group LLC.

John Hoffschneider, diversity coordinator for the TLSAMP Junior Development program, served as the event host for a very successful event.

Students and faculty were recognized for their involvement with TLSAMP, student organizations, undergraduate research, and academic achievement. Jasmine Morrissette, then-president of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS), presented Dmarkus McKenzie Simpson the Freshman of the Year award and Deja Floyd the Isaac E. Bennett Member of the Year award for the UT chapter of MANNRS. Morrissette was also given an award for Outstanding Leadership and Mentoring.

Lauren Cuevas, then-president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers UT chapter, honored Daniel L. Caballero, Justin Nguyen, and Miles Gepner for Outstanding Leadership, Edgardo Jimenez for the Unsung Hero Award, and Christine J. Garcia as New Member of the Year award. Cuevas was also presented an award for Outstanding Leadership and Mentoring.

Imani Jackson, then-president of the National Society of Black Engineers UT chapter, presented Frenando Blevins the Freshman of the Year award and Olufunke “Tina” Anjonrin-Ohu the Golden Torch award for best overall academic, community service, and professional development. Jackson was also presented an award for Outstanding Leadership and Mentoring.

This year’s TLSAMP Research Scholars awards were awarded to Evalynn Borrego, Daniel Encisco, Breanna Ellis, Kendra Jackson, Chima McGruder, and Samantha Medina. Research scholars are undergraduate students that presented at a STEM conference and were awarded a TLSAMP stipend.

This year, the TLSAMP Awards Banquet recognized Gabriel Goenaga, senior research associate from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chem-E-Car team faculty advisor as the inaugural TLSAMP Champion of the year. This award recognizes a faculty/staff member who serves as a champion for TLSAMP students as they pursue their education at the graduate/PhD level.

The goal of TLSAMP is to increase the enrollment of underrepresented students (African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders) in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to prepare them for graduate school.

Left to Right: Michael Boyd, Lauren Cuevas-Melendez, Christine J. Garcia, Daniel Caballero, Miles Gepner, Justin Ngyuen, Edgardo Jimenez-Paraiso, and Elvis Offer posing with their awards at the 7th Annual TLSAMP Awards Banquet

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Left to Right: Sierra Ellis, Olufunke “Tina” Anjonrin-Ohu, Frenando Blevins, Imani Jackson, and Travis Bass pose for pictures at the 7th Annual TLSAMP Awards Banquet