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Meet Our Scholars – Jasmine Blue

By: Anita Voorhees

Jasmine Blue is a member of the Chancellor’s Honors Program 2019 Cohort.  She is a sophomore English major with a minor in Political Science.  Jasmine is currently considering a Master’s in Public Administration and/or Education Policy after she graduates.  She is passionate about education, nonprofits, service, students, and racial reconciliation.

Jasmine is a very active student on campus and keeps busy with involvement in a variety of different organizations.  She is Public Relations Chair of Student Alumni Associates, an organization that connects current students, alumni, and prospective students.  Additionally, she is a member of Minority Enhancement for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville or Me4UT.  Me4UT is a student recruitment organization that focuses on recruiting minority students and helping them feel welcome and accepted on campus.  Jasmine is also a peer mentor in the Multicultural Mentoring Program and heavily involved in Student Government Association’s Government Affairs Committee.  This committee advocates for students by meeting with state legislators and staying updated on legislation pertaining to UT.

Jasmine is also involved in undergraduate research working with Dr. Susan Groenke, Associate Professor of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, Dr. Chonika Coleman-King, Associate Professor of Urban Multicultural Education, and three other students. They are researching white pre-service teachers’ responses to violence against black bodies.  By looking at the reactions of pre-service teachers to violence against black bodies, Dr. Coleman-King and Dr. Groenke believe they can help teacher educators better prepare their students, who are mostly white middle-class females, to work and empathize with their multicultural students.

Jasmine also volunteers with Angelic Ministries International, a homeless outreach in Knoxville.  She welcomes all new volunteers.  If interested in volunteering there, email Jasmine at jblue6@vols.utk.edu.

Jasmine chose to be a part of the CHP because she believed it would provide her with the opportunity to take advantage of UTK’s academics in a meaningful way. She loves the community the CHP creates.  She was in the Honors Living and Learning Community (LLC) her freshman year and enjoyed living with like-minded, analytical, kind and passionate students.  She has also taken two UNHO courses, Service Learning with Dr. Kronick, and Nazi Medicine with Dr. Monica Black from the History Department.  Her peers in those courses, the professors, and the course content have made a positive impact on her UTK experience.

One of Jasmine’s favorite experiences in college was going on Alternative Fall Break as a freshman.  During AFB, she cleaned a slave cemetery with Keep Knoxville Beautiful.  As a young African American woman, Jasmine considered it a special honor to remember those who have gone before her in such a way.

If you would like to know more about Jasmine, she keeps a blog where she writes about her faith, her culture, racial reconciliation, and current events! It can be found at jasmineisntblue.wordpress.com.