Alumni Updates 2023
“My name is Caroline Christian, and I am a senior here at the University of Tennessee. My major is journalism and electronic media, with a minor in Africana studies. I began taking AFST classes my sophomore year because my dad has worked in 19 African countries supporting the US Department of State and United Nations, and I wanted to gain a better understanding of what he was doing and learn more about the diverse continent that is Africa. I have nothing but good things to say about my professors and classes that I have taken in the Africana studies department. I have learned everything from the politics that surround Sub-Saharan Africa to a women’s role in African society. I am pursuing various career paths between now and graduation, but regardless of my career, I am truly blessed to have been able to connect with my dad through my AFST classes and professors.”
Savannah Brown (’22) received a minor in Africana studies. She feels that being a part of AFST significantly shaped her experience at the university to make it an overall positive one. As an out-of-state student, coming to UT was a daunting task, but finding a place within diversity and being with peers like her made her three and a half years here ones to remember. Outside of the Africana studies department, Savannah is also involved in the Diversity Educators organization as well as the sorority Sigma Gamma Rho. All of her involvement on campus and finding groups, organizations, and departments that fostered a feeling of diversity and inclusion helped Savannah make the University of Tennessee home to her. Her post-graduation plans include taking a gap semester for the spring before attending graduate school to pursue her MBA. While doing so, Savannah will also be studying for the LSAT to attend law school after graduate school. She plans on practicing juvenile law.