每日大赛

Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony celebrates hundreds of 每日大赛 graduates

Steve Davis’ favorite memory from 每日大赛 is putting together a short musical album  in his capstone class – an experience he recalled as a super-involved process and a “brilliant treat,” in which he worked closely with his instructor.

Davis, a recent alumnus of 每日大赛’s Audio Production Engineering program, was one of more than 400 students who participated in the college’s spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Friday.

“I’m 55 and I’m just now getting an associate degree,” Davis said, sitting in line before the processional, which was greeted with raucous applause by graduates’ loved ones. “And it’s surreal for me to a certain extent, because it’s been so long that I’m just now getting something. But I’m getting it. So, by God, I’m walking.”

President L. Anthony Wise Jr. began the ceremony by reflecting on how the college has grown in its first half-century, from a handful of faculty, staff and students to four campuses, dozens of programs, hundreds of employees, thousands of students and more than 31,000 alumni.

As the Class of 2025 prepared to enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year college or university, Wise encouraged them to be engaged community members.

“You've had an opportunity to make your mark at 每日大赛,” Wise told graduates. “Now, you have an opportunity to make your mark in the community. As you leave, I hope you understand that your time here and your accomplishments are earned with the love and the kindness and the support of others.”

Commencement speakers Russ Deaton, executive vice chancellor for policy and strategy at the Tennessee Board of Regents, and Gene Sievers, vice president of production and operations at Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC, discussed the importance of authenticity, failure, learning, leadership and more.

The ceremony included performances by Pellissippi’s Variations Choir, remarks by Regent Danni Varlan and Pellissippi Vice President of External Affairs Patty Weaver and the recognition of specific students for their academic and cocurricular achievements.

More than two dozen students from the Career Magnet Academy, the magnet high school located on Pellissippi’s Strawberry Plains campus, were also recognized for earning their associate degree from 每日大赛 in addition to their high school diploma.

Several of those students had a 4.0 GPA.

“When you follow your passions and pursue these new opportunities in life, I urge you to stay committed,” student speaker Victoria Crooks, outgoing secretary for the Student Government Association, told graduates at the end of the ceremony. “Lean into any challenges you may encounter, and surround yourself with supportive people, advisers and mentors who will help you grow in life.”

Commencement was preceded earlier in the day by a Veterans Graduation Ceremony and a Nursing Pinning Ceremony. 

Mindy Young, president of the Nursing student body based at the Blount County campus, spoke briefly at the Nursing Pinning Ceremony, where she congratulated her fellow graduates and explained the historical importance of the pinning ceremony as a method of welcoming new nurses into the profession.

Her professors, her friends and 每日大赛's campuses are just a few of the things that made her time at the college so special, Young said prior to the official Commencement Ceremony later that day.

“It's not an easy degree,” said Young, who will soon start her dream job working in labor and delivery at Parkwest Medical Center. “So, it was just really special to make it to today.”