During the next few weeks before commencement, Transylvania University is highlighting members of its graduating class on social media with #TransyGrad senior spotlights. Here are the ones so far. Stay tuned for more up to the May 24 ceremony on Old Morrison Lawn. Also, check out this year’s Senior Week events — and follow the university on Instagram.
Cali Bradley exemplifies how our students can be great academic resources for each other. The chemistry major from Lexington has tutored fellow Pioneers in that subject as well as biology and calculus. After spending two summers researching organic chemistry with professor Bob Rosenberg, she’s been sharing her knowledge of that difficult field as an embedded learning fellow. “I wanted to be a tutor because I loved the collaborative nature of helping my peers while also gaining even more knowledge about the subjects I’ve grown to love,” she said. Bradley added that it’s sometimes less stressful to ask another student a question than a professor. She’s also been a member of the American Chemistry Society and Pre-Health Club and played viola all four years. Plus, she’s served as a leader in PhiDE and the Transy Dance Marathon. Bradley hopes to attend the UK College of Medicine.
Nate Brother has taken full advantage of opportunities to engage in campus life and research during his time at Transylvania. The history major with a double minor in classics and political science sang in the choir all four years and has served a resident assistant, area coordinator and copy editor for The Rambler. He also studied Civil War battlefield memory in Virginia, supported by one of our summer research grants. Balancing leadership, collaboration and academic excellence, Brother has inspired his fellow Pioneers. He sees getting involved as a way to give back: “I think the biggest strength of Transy is the people here, and I have received so much support from that community.” Brother, who’s from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, plans to pursue a master’s in history at Virginia Tech after graduation.
Thanks to a double major in the STEM and art fields, Caroline Cockrell is headed to medical school with a well-rounded liberal arts education. Pictured in Paris during a summer studying visual art, Cockrell focused on sculpture along with molecular and cellular biology at Transylvania. She’s also been active in campus life, serving as president of the Student Art League, vice president of the Pre-Health Club and a member of Chi Omega and our PhiDE chapter. Plus, she was an admissions ambassador, First Engagements scholar and a chemistry and physics tutor for the Academic Center for Excellence. From Mount Sterling, Kentucky, this Pioneer plans to attend the UofL School of Medicine in the fall.
Transylvania senior Shelby Hamm is headed to law school after helping pave the way for future Pioneers along the same path. She served as president for both the Transylvania Pre-Law Society and our Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity chapter. Double majoring in philosophy, politics and economics along with Spanish, Hamm received the 2024 J. Richard Thompson Leadership Award and worked at a local law firm for the past two years. On campus, she also served as president of Phi Mu sorority, area coordinator for Dalton-Voigt and Poole residence halls, secretary of the Lampas Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa and as a Writing Center staffer. “I was really lucky to have amazing mentors in my time at Transy who helped me find organizations that I felt passionate about,” said Hamm, who minored in sociology as well. The William T. Young Scholar from Louisville plans to attend the Brandeis School of Law.
Jack Thomas has not only been a student leader at Transylvania, but he’s also gained real-world experience through internships that will benefit his future career in journalism. Off campus, he learned valuable skills working in news production for WLKY, digital marketing for Log Still Distillery and as a writer for UnderMain. On campus, he served as co-editor-in-chief for The Rambler and president of Delta Sigma Phi, and he’s been a Campus Center building manager, First Engagements scholar and coordinator, and a commentator for our esports competitions. What’s motivated him to be so engaged? The WRC major from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, credits Pioneers who graduated before him. “I saw the impact that older student leaders had on campus, and I wanted to make a similar investment into the organizations I cared about,” he said. (Photo: WLKY)