Mandy McNeely began her UT-Knoxville Specialist in Education degree in the summer term 2024. She was recently recognized as the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department’s “Graduate Student of the Year.” Mandy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Georgetown College and her Master of Arts in Teaching – Curriculum & Instruction from Carson Newman University. Mandy currently serves as the 8th grade ELA teacher at South-Doyle Middle School in Knox County.