Torchbearer is the highest honor the university gives to its students. Recognition as a Torchbearer reminds all students that those who bear the Torch of Enlightenment shadow themselves to give light to others.

2009 Torchbearer Recipients

ERIN BERNSTEIN
Erin Bernstein is a College Scholars student from Knoxville. Her College Scholars program is “Reshaping Humanitarianism in Africa,” and her selfless nature expresses this value in all that she does. Bernstein has traveled twice to Africa to be involved in international service learning projects, one time leading a group of 11 other students. For two years, she has been co-president of the Jazz for Justice program, a campus and community benefit concert for war-torn northern Uganda. Her international experiences have led her to intern in the Ugandan Parliament. Bernstein also has worked with UT faculty and administration to increase support for travel-abroad opportunities combining study and service. During all her work, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board, and serves as president of the student Rotary Club. Two faculty members who wrote letters of recommendation for her described as one of the top five students they have known in their 30 or more years of teaching.

MARY BRADDOCK
Mary Braddock is a College Scholars student from Germantown, Tennessee. Her studies have prepared her for nonprofit leadership, and her dedication to serving others has proven she’s chosen the right field. Braddock has held some of the most respected student positions on campus, including president of the Mortar Board honor society, orientation leader and staff editor of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Journal of Applied Public Policy. She has served the Student Alumni Associates and Sigma Kappa sorority in several capacities. She has been a peer mentor for First-Year Studies students and program director for her residence hall association. She is described as a dedicated behind-the-scenes worker who never tries to seize the spotlight. Her nominator says that she is the quiet leader who politely, gently and firmly keeps the work moving forward: “Our campus is a better place because of Mary’s commitment to make it a better place; to touch her fellow students’ lives in a positive way.”

RACHEL EDWARDS
Rachel Edwards is a communication studies major from Vilas, North Carolina. Her leadership has led to several awards, including being named to the UT Resident Assistant Hall of Fame and more recently named as the Most Respected Orientation Leader. She is described as conscientious, dedicated, humble and hardworking. One nominator says, “Rachel epitomizes what it means to be a strong, 21st-century woman, while still holding onto the traditional values that keep her grounded and well-rounded.” Edwards has worked with the Senior Gift Committee, Student Alumni Associates and Campus Crusade for Christ, and she has been active in residence life both as an association member and a resident assistant.

TAYLOR REYNOLDS
Taylor Reynolds is a marketing major from Knoxville. He has served UT in many student organizations, but his most unique and probably most demanding contribution to campus has been in costume. For the past two years, he has portrayed Smokey for as many as 300 appearances including athletic events, pep rallies, mascot competitions and more. This year, Smokey placed fifth overall in the UCA mascot competition and was named a member of the Capital One Mascot Team. In addition to this role as Smokey, Reynolds has served the student body through several elected positions, most recently as SGA student services director. In his spare time, he also has been an orientation leader and an active member of Student Alumni Associates, the Senior Gift Committee and Mortar Board. He has represented the university in the community as a member of the Mayor’s Student Advisory Board.

Lance Taylor
Lance Taylor is a marketing and logistics major from Kingston, Tennessee and has been a student advocate for his four years at UT. Within the College of Business Administration, he has served on several committees to improve the overall student experience. He was also president of the Business Dean’s Student Advisory Council this year. His leadership in the Ambassador Scholars program as teambuilding and service chair has, in his nominator’s words, “turned the program into more than just an organization…we are now a family.” Taylor also has been an orientation leader, a First-Year Studies peer mentor, and a participant or leader of several alternative spring break service trips through TeamVOLS.

MARIA WILLIAMS
Maria Williams is a math major from Brentwood, Tennessee. She has served the university in a variety of ways, but most consistently as an Ambassador Scholar. As a member of this group, it has been her responsibility to guide tours and act as a resource for students considering UT. She often has been called on as a student spokesperson for the university in recruitment videos, at admissions events and in publications. She has spoken to as many as 3,000 students about her love for UT. Williams is a member of the Chancellor’s Honors Program, Mathematics Honors Program, Student Alumni Associates and Mortar Board, to name just a few of her involvements. She also has led a group for TeamVOLS alternative spring break project and completed a mathematics internship at SUNY-Potsdam.