Loren Greer (’19) had always been passionate about learning a second language and knew she wanted to go into business. In addition to her LWB degree with a Spanish and business focus, she added a minor in food and agricultural business. Today she’s an executive zone business manager for the Greater Nashville zone at Frito Lay.

Greer first met Parker as a senior in high school and discovered a department at the university where she felt supported, encouraged, and energized to learn. “The program encourages students to be self-motivated, perspective seeking, innovative, intuitive, and experienced,” the alumna said. 

During her sophomore year, Greer interned with HoLa Hora Latina, and she continued to work for the nonprofit Hispanic organization throughout her college years. Her internship responsibilities ranged from administrative duties such as responding to email to helping plan several events, including the HoLa festival in Knoxville’s Market Square. “I coordinated with food vendors, musicians, and performing groups,” said Greer, who organized more than 150 volunteers.

She worked with featured artists from the Hispanic community on gallery plans to display their artwork too. “It was a wonderful opportunity for me to practice my Spanish language,” Greer said. 

“I would not be the person I am today without the knowledge gained at HoLa,” she said. 

Greer spent the spring semester of her junior year in Mendoza, Argentina, for study abroad. “I targeted a city where I knew little English would be spoken so I would not be able to fall back on my native tongue,” she said. “Studying abroad in any capacity is life altering, but to spend a semester living in the home of locals brings a whole new appreciation of the world.” 

“As a student in LWB, you get the best of both worlds, combining cultural appreciation with real-world application directly focusing on how to create a lasting impact on the work world,” Greer said. “You are supported along the way with world-class professors that challenge you to stretch beyond what you thought possible. These lessons stay with you, and carry you to be a major contributor in your work post-graduation.”

For Jaime Ragos (’19) LWB was part of her triple major and quadruple minor, which not only allowed her to stand out in medical school applications but prepared her to work with diverse patients. She chose Spanish and Hispanic studies with an international business emphasis.

Her practical experience was service learning at a children’s hospital in Costa Rica. “I really saw how much my Spanish grew and enhanced while I was spending my summer there,” said Ragos, who interacted with young children at the hospital and lived with a host family while learning about the country’s health care system.

Her undergraduate experience at UT across multiple programs included research and developing a curriculum in English and Spanish for elementary school students to learn about food safety during an after-school program. 

After graduation she earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan, with encouragement from Parker and Professor Emeritus Michael Handelsman. “I thought it was something that was outside of my scope of achievements,” Ragos said. 

As she prepares to graduate this December from the UT College of Medicine, she’s still using her Spanish skills. “I volunteer at a clinic in Memphis that primarily focuses on Spanish-speaking patients,” she said. “When I was working on my OB-GYN rotation, even if you’re just saying a few words in Spanish, it helps these women in some of the most vulnerable states.”

Although Ragos has changed her mind about potentially opening her own practice one day, she said, “having some business knowledge is really, really helpful within the medical field, especially how it has transformed in our industry.” 

Liposky knew that when it came time to apply to law school, he wanted to stand out from applicants who had majored in subjects such as political science, history, and philosophy. He chose LWB with the French and Francophone studies concentration, coupled with an international agriculture economics emphasis. This spring he’ll be the first to graduate from the LWB program’s five-year option with a master’s degree, and he has been accepted into UT’s Winston College of Law for the fall semester.

As an undergraduate he traveled to Bordeaux, France, to further his language learning and teach English to middle-school students. 

Within days of collecting his bachelor’s degree, he began a paid internship with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) in an office focused on connecting the state’s small and mid-sized agriculture businesses with international markets. Through site visits he learned about dairies and distilleries, and how the state exports hardwood to Asian countries and imports soft wood from Canada. 

Liposky wrote cultural interaction guides to help state agents working with people from other countries, and he worked with Christina Slater, an international business consultant for TDA’s Business Development Division, on her report about Kenya’s distilled spirits market.

The agency also made sure Liposky could learn more about future career opportunities from the staff. “I met with the entire legal counsel of the Department of Agriculture, and I got to talk to them for two hours,” he said. A career in international trade is one option he is considering.

Griffis was an LWB major with the French and Francophone studies concentration and international business emphasis. She is completing a two-year Tennessee Governor’s Management Fellowship, serving the state while learning more about all Tennessee does for its citizens.

She calls the first few months of the fellowship an intensive crash course in state operations, particularly in the executive branch. “We spent a full day touring each department, which meant everything from riding in firefighting dozers and police cruisers to exploring a water treatment plant and viewing state archaeological artifacts,” she said. 

Fellows gain a deeper understanding through department placements, and hers is in the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, working with the Business Development Division and the Pick Tennessee Products team. “The initiative promotes local farmers and producers, encouraging Tennesseans and tourists to buy local, and has given me a meaningful look into how state efforts directly support local communities,” she said. 

As an undergraduate, her practical experience was studying abroad in Lyon, France, for a month in the summer of 2023. “It remains one of the best experiences of my life,” she said. “Even small victories, like successfully ordering a cappuccino in French, built my confidence day by day. By the end of the trip, I was having real conversations with random people throughout the city.” 

French and Francophone studies Professor Florence Abad-Turner played a major role in helping Griffis develop confidence in her French abilities and supported her from freshman year through graduation. “I truly don’t know if I would have felt confident enough to study abroad without her consistent belief in me, she said. “I’m endlessly grateful to her.”

“Studying abroad opened my eyes to the world beyond the familiar bubble of home and how connected we all really are,’ Griffis said. “The experience gave me a deeper appreciation for both the world around me and the comforts of home.” 

Griffis is still considering her next step, whether that’s pursuing a master’s degree or entering the private sector or state government. “Regardless of where I end up, I am confident that both my LWB and fellowship experience will continue to guide and support my next steps,” she said.

“With a supportive faculty, a strong sense of community, and an expanding network of successful alumni, you can build a foundation for a future beyond anything you imagined,” Griffis said. “Being an LWB major doesn’t end at graduation; it becomes a part of who you are.”