Listen up, Blount County. While the rest of us were arguing about roundabouts and potholes, 47 of our own walked across the Maryville College Commencement stage on May 9 and got handed the kind of paper that costs more than a used truck. And another 95 made the Dean’s List!
The Scots have been turning out graduates since 1819, which means MC was minting diplomas before Tennessee had its act together. The Class of 2026 is the latest batch, and a good chunk of them came straight from our backyard. Some are headed to grad school, some to classrooms, some to other states, and at least one is headed off to make new drugs (the legal kind, relax).
Here’s who did the work.
The ceremony went down on Humphreys Court with the Smokies sitting pretty in the background. A few of these names come with Latin attached — cum laude (3.5–3.74 GPA), magna cum laude (3.75–3.94), and summa cum laude (3.95–4.0), which is fancy talk for “barely slept for four years.” A handful also pulled off an “Exemplary” Senior Study, and yes, we’re telling you the titles, because they earned them.
To crack the Dean’s List you needed a 3.60 term GPA and not a single grade below a C. In other words, no coasting. Here’s the roll call by town. Find your kid, your neighbor, or that one cousin you didn’t think had it in ’em.
Alcoa: Justice Breazeale, Conner Dye, Moises Garcia, Ishaan Hira, Vanessa Martinez, Josh Nunn, Rory White.
Friendsville: Eden Carnes, Isabelle Mitchell.
Greenback: Makenna Canon, Dana Patterson.
Louisville: Eva Blankenship, Jordan Crain, Caroline Kirkland, Allyson Parker, Ash Weber, Kendra Woullard.
Maryville: Sam Armour, Britton Barrett, Zella Belcher, Emma Blankenship, Georgie Michelle Bobo, Andrew Borden, Maryore Borjas Ayala, Ryan Breeden, Julie Bright, Emily Buchner, Carter Cannon, Kendall Carroll, Ian Cassida, Trey Clark, Casey Cobble, Allyson Cogdill, Jules Copeland, Madison Crabtree, Ella “Crow” Crow, Laura Diamond, Emma Ernsberger, Isaiah Everett, Lily Fortney, Kobe Franklin, Hannah Fritz, Sam Goins, Allison Hagerman, Tristan Hall, Alyza Handley, Jayden Hedrick, Ansley Hoard, Sasha Hoenie, Maddie Hope, Lauren Huffstetler, Alyssa Hummel, Rebecca Johnson, Andrew Knight, Savannah Latham, Evelyn Lopez, Gianna Mantegna, Austin McKee, Lauren Myers, Brady Odom, Miranda Parkhill, Tanvi Patel, Halle Pickens, Clara Pike, MacKenzie Pope, Maryn Pope, Mia Ratini, Cole Richards, Audrey Rivera, Dante Roddy, Max Roddy, Cielle Severinchek, Kalib Sugden, Kylee Thomas, John Tuck, Julie Vines, Braxton Whitehead, Malea Williams, Kalli Wilson, Ella Witucki, Meredith Wynn, Alex Yalove, Maddie Yalove.
Rockford: Haley Smith.
Seymour: Savannah Banks, Maria Gomez Charry, Jon Greenwell-Humberd, Victoria Lamkey, Michell Villalobos.
Townsend: Simon Garner, Aryssa Kelsey.
Vonore: Karli Hammontree.
Walland: Kacie Bohanan.
A few Blount folks also got tapped for the honor societies — the academic version of getting picked first in gym class. The short version:
The cap toss is over. The new beginning is not. We tracked down what a handful of Blount County grads are doing with that hard-won diploma — and it’s a lot more interesting than “figuring it out.”
Major: Psychology
Next stop: Master’s in social work at UT-Knoxville, plus counseling licensure.
The dream: Working as a therapist in the recovery field — eventually running a recovery program or opening his own practice.
In his words: “The main thing is networking. Being able to reach out and meet people and connect with more has led me to a lot more opportunities.”
Major: Biochemistry
Next stop: Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Auburn.
The dream: Become a medicinal chemist and develop new drugs that actually help people.
In his words: “Maryville College has prepared me… by giving me valuable research and laboratory experience while also strengthening my critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”
Major: Sociology
Next stop: Dual master’s in social work and legal studies (MSSW/MLS) at UT-Knoxville.
The dream: Work with children and families facing trauma and hardship.
In her words: “The Bonner Scholars program gave me the opportunity to serve children and families, and… my child trauma and resilience courses… prepared me.”
Major: Psychology
Next stop: Master’s in clinical mental health counseling at Tennessee Tech.
The dream: Become a licensed therapist.
In her words: “All the coursework and related assignments really prepared me… and they also really built me up as a person.”
Major: Writing Communication
Next stop: 10th-grade English teacher at Nurses Middle College in Nashville through Teach for America, while earning a master’s in education at Lipscomb (funded through AmeriCorps).
The dream: A career writing — or teaching others to write — and using her voice to help others find theirs, “especially for people whose voices are generally unheard.”
In her words: “I was consistently exposed to intensive environments for writing practice… my time on the campus newspaper, the Highland Echo” helped, too.
Source: Maryville College Office of Communications. Got a Blount County grad, athlete, or troublemaker we should be bragging on? Drop us a line.
