Hello! My name is Hayes Anderson. I graduated from The University of Tennessee’s Department of Geography with a BA in Sustainability and a minor in Business Administration in 2019. The tools and connections that I was able to acquire during my time at UT have been instrumental towards getting me to where I am today.  

After graduating in 2019 I had a dream to see the world, so I immediately began planning and saving for a three-month backpacking trip throughout Europe. During this time, I had also been talking to one of my previous professors, Adam Willcox, who is the Peace Corps Liaison for the university. Thanks to his help and guidance I was accepted to serve as an Agricultural Agent for the Peace Corps in Senegal, Africa starting in September 2020. Unfortunately, we all know what happened at the beginning of 2020 and thus my travel and Peace Corps plans were both thrown out the window. I waited over a year hoping for a return to normalcy and to continue on with my dream of the Peace Corps but eventually, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer.  

From here I struggled. I was able to find guidance, once again, thanks to a previous professor, the Department of Geography’s very own Michael Camponovo. Michael met with me and helped me to create a plan. I applied for an AmeriCorps position that would be working in the Office of Sustainability for the University and was accepted! It was while I was in this position that I realized I wanted to continue my education and find a way to bring sustainability initiatives into the world of business. Just this past month I was accepted into the Haslam College of Business’ Full-Time MBA program and am extremely happy to say that I will be once again attending the University of Tennessee as a student starting next August.