Emeline Brown

The Smith GLS program changed the way I view myself, others and the rest of the world around me.

Supply Chain Management - Student

Emeline Brown, a recent supply chain management and human resource management graduate, will begin her full-time job in Atlanta at a PepsiCo distribution center this summer. Brown is eager to learn about both of these fields in her new role and hopes to pick up information on employment law along the way.

Brown served as the face of the Haslam College of Business’ annual giving campaign from 2016 to 2017. She was involved in several organizations during her tenure at the University of Tennessee, including the Haslam peer mentorship program for BA100, the Greg and Lisa Smith Global Leadership Scholars program (GLS), Student Alumni Associates and the Student Government Association. She also taught swim lessons at the Student Aquatic Center and served as a marketing assistant in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. She says the most impactful organization to her, however, was the Smith Global Leadership Scholars program.

“GLS fundamentally shaped my college experience,” Brown says. “GLS threw me into a cohort of 26 diverse, intelligent, driven and engaged individuals and challenged me to be better on a daily basis. By allowing me the chance to form close relationships with faculty while growing impactful friendships with my peers, the Smith GLS program changed the way I view myself, others and the rest of the world around me.”

Brown credits much of the education she developed at Haslam to the high caliber of its professors.  

“Professors from each department of the college have fundamentally altered the way in which I think critically, and they made learning tough material incredibly enjoyable, rewarding and entertaining at times,” she says. “Each semester, I walked into class thinking I knew something, and each time I discovered I was sorely mistaken. What a privilege it is to learn from such smart, encouraging faculty who truly want you to succeed.”

Brown was on the senior impact committee for Haslam, wherein she and other members helped the senior class raise more than $12,500 to benefit current and future students in the college.

Brown stressed the importance of private support to her college career and how that support prompted her involvement with the senior impact committee.

“Financial aid and scholarships fundamentally allowed me the ability to plan for the future and make the most of each opportunity I was given as student,” Brown says. “As the oldest of three, it was critical to my own financial livelihood during and after college to receive the scholarships and aid. As an honors student given the opportunity to experience new cultures, financial aid ensured my success and learning while abroad. My time as a Smith GLS student and student alumni associate has instilled in me the importance of ensuring a brighter tomorrow for those to come by giving back to the university.”

Brown stresses that UT is such a special place because of the people.

“There’s a difference between dreamers and doers; I think UT is unique because it pushes you to believe that you can do and be more than you ever thought possible while preparing you to truly put those plans into action and make it happen,” Brown says.