Longview ISD students awarded full ride scholarships to University of Texas at Austin
Women's History Month: How Cup O' Joy spreads 'positvi-tea' while serving smiles with every sip
In front of their parents, administrators and teachers, seniors Taylen Johnson and Oika Pate, were presented with a full-ride scholarship totaling $48,000. Their parents were so overwhelmed by the moment, they were brought to tears.
Photos courtesy of Longview ISD
UT admissions counselor Alely Zavala emphasized how rare it is for students from the same school to receive this kind of scholarship from UT.
'It is incredibly rare for two students from the same high school to receive this level of scholarship from UT Austin, which speaks volumes about the talent and dedication of Taylen Johnson and Omika Patel,' Zavala said.
Once the ceremony concluded, those in attendance sang The Eyes of Texas and held up the university hand sign celebrating the beginning of this new exciting chapter for the students.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- Yahoo
Applying to University of Tennessee? Know the deadlines, tuition and acceptance rate
College applications open Aug. 1, and students applying to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for the fall semester have a little more than a month to submit their early applications directly to UT or through the Common Application. All UT System campuses use the Common App, a streamlined college application platform that allows students to apply to multiple colleges at once. Graduating high school students have the option of applying through or Whichever route students choose, there are several deadlines to keep in mind when applying. Here's what you should know about UT applications, acceptance rates, tuition and more. What is the University of Tennessee acceptance rate? It's harder to get into UT these days, partly due to a consistent rise in the number of applicants. The acceptance rate for the fall 2022 semester was 68.4% based on 36,290 applications. As the number of applicants grew, the rate dropped to 46% for fall 2023 and reached 33.2% in fall 2024 when there were 59,151 applications. UT received 60,515 applications for the fall 2025 semester, the university said in March, and admitted 23,187 students for a 38.3% acceptance rate. University of Tennessee application deadlines and important dates Students have two options when submitting applications. The first is the Early Action submission, which has November deadlines and allows students to find out before the end of the year whether they've been accepted to UT. Students who apply early are invited to apply for University Honors programs, and qualifying in-state students will be considered for guaranteed admissions. The second option is Regular Admission. Applications must be complete in January, and students receive a decision in March 2026. For each option, students have an initial deadline to submit an application and a later deadline to complete it with all the required information, including test scores and transcripts (more on that below). Early action for fall 2026 Nov. 1: Deadline to submit Early Action applications Nov. 15: Deadline to complete Early Action applications Dec. 8: UT sends admissions decisions to in-state students Dec. 15: UT sends admissions decisions to out-of-state students Regular admission for fall 2026 Dec. 15: Deadline to submit Regular Decision applications Jan. 15, 2026: Deadline to complete Regular Decision applications March 9, 2026: UT sends admission decisions Admitted students must confirm their enrollment by May 1. Anyone interested in joining UT for the spring 2026 semester has until Dec. 15 to submit a regular admission application. What GPA do you need to get into University of Tennessee? UT has holistic admissions process that considers students' experience, preparation and academic standing. UT looks at things like job experience, volunteer work, awards and talents when making admissions decisions. To be admitted to UT, students must meet several requirements in addition to filling out the Common Application or a Go Vols application. Students must complete a "Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record" to share their high school grades and transcripts. UT calculates a weighted core GPA based on a student's grades in specific English, math, science, history, foreign language and arts classes. The full list can be found at When considering standardized test scores, UT uses a super-scoring method that creates a new composite score based on the best ACT and SAT scores for applicants who have taken the tests multiple times. Each college has its own code to submit ACT or SAT scores. The ACT code is 4026 for UT, and the SAT code is 1843. Most students admitted to UT for the fall 2025 semester reported a grade point average of 4.0 or above, as well as a composite ACT score between 27 and 32 or an SAT equivalent score between 1275 and 1430. Required essays and optional letters for University of Tennessee applicants Students applying through the Common Application website need to create a Go Vols account. With their account, students can register for campus tours, update test scores and apply for programs. Students are required to write an essay when applying, choosing one of seven prompts. A recommendation letter and supporting statement aren't required, but they can help applications stand out. Certain colleges, like the College of Nursing and the Tickle College of Engineering, have additional requirements. Students can find more information at Is there an application fee for the University of Tennessee? There's a $75 nonrefundable fee for first-year applications. Students can apply to have the fee waived, and students applying from UT's designated flagship schools across the state, including Austin-East, Central and Fulton in Knoxville, can apply for free. Do students declare a major when applying to University of Tennessee? Students unsure of what degree to pursue don't have to make a snap decision. UT and the Common Application have exploratory track options for undecided students, who can start college and then figure out their major. Students in the "University Exploratory Program" will explore different majors while making progress toward graduation. Students will work with an academic and career coach to guide them toward deciding their major. Once students hit 45 attempted college credit hours, they must declare a major. Even within some colleges, including the College of Music and Tickle College of Engineering, exploratory tracks are available for students who are interested in a college broadly but still haven't decided which degree to pursue. How do students qualify for guaranteed admission at UT? UT's guaranteed admissions policy for the state's top-performing high school students applies to every campus in the UT System. The Knoxville campus has specific criteria: Students must have a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average or finish in the top 10% of their graduating class. Students need a 24 ACT composite score. Alternatively, they can have an SAT score of 1160-1190 or higher. Students need to apply by the Early Action deadlines and meet this criteria to be offered guaranteed admission. How much does it cost to attend UT? UT has kept its tuition cost roughly the same since 2020, with just one increase in 2024. UT didn't increase tuition for the upcoming school year but did increase several mandatory fees. In-state students should expect to pay $35,502 for the full academic year, which includes tuition, fees, housing and food. Out-of-state students should expect to pay $54,946. See a full breakdown of tuition costs at University of Tennessee at Knoxville is growing at record rates More and more students want to become a Volunteer, with UT breaking its enrollment record by first surpassing 30,000 students in 2020 and enrolling 38,728 students for fall 2024. Also in 2024, UT had a 91.9% first-year student retention rate, a measure for how many students return for a second year. UT projects to break its own enrollment record again, planning to surpass 40,000 students enrolled for the fall semester on campus and through the university's growing online programs. How is University of Tennessee growing? As the university grows, UT continues to build up its Division of Student Success to help students adjust to UT, reach their academic goals and feel prepared for life after graduation. UT is building a new facility for the division, scheduled to open in 2027. UT tied for 52nd among the top public universities in the country in 2025, according to U.S. News & World rankings, and was 109th overall. Its nuclear engineering and supply chain management programs rank in the Top 10 nationwide. Chancellor Donde Plowman is pushing the university to keep rising, with a heavy focus on research. High rankings make the university attractive, along with the guaranteed admissions policy. UT's growth in online programs opens new doors for students to attend the state's flagship campus from afar. Keenan Thomas reports on higher education for the Knox News business growth and development team. You can reach him by email at Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks at This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee common app deadline, acceptance rate, tuition Solve the daily Crossword


Chicago Tribune
31-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Social justice advocate Sister Pat left legacy of defiant compassion: ‘She lived for others'
Sister Patricia Murphy took risks for love. That's how the Rev. Larry Dowling described her Thursday morning to hundreds of people who gathered at a church in Mercy Circle Senior Living Center in Mount Greenwood to honor her life and commitment to social justice and immigration advocacy. The 96-year-old nun — known as Sister Pat — was diminutive but bold. She was rarely seen without her closest collaborator, Sister JoAnn Persch, with whom she was inseparable in action and purpose. They worked in sync until the day Sister Pat died, July 21, in her home in south suburban Alsip, surrounded by loved ones. Together, the activist nuns were arrested four times at different demonstrations over the years. They pushed to pass state legislation allowing religious workers to visit people in detention processing centers in Illinois. Their impact was recognized at the highest levels, from being entered into the Congressional Record for Women's History Month in 2018 to receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award — a prestigious honor recognizing dedication to community leadership and issues like immigration —from Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich in 2023. 'We've done the stuff that other people didn't feel OK with, and that's fine, because not everybody's called to the same thing,' Sister Pat told the Tribune in January. Thursday's tributes to Sister Pat also served as a call to action. Yogi Wess, who did social work in Chicago with her at Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly for nearly 50 years, said that if Sister Pat had been in the building that day, she would have likely told people in the audience to stand up for 'the forgotten, the unnoticed, the undocumented and unseen.' 'She was a modern-day saint. She lived for others,' said Wess, 68, who noted that Sister Pat went to great lengths to help her plan her wedding, for which she remains grateful to this day. Sister Pat was born in Chicago, one of five children, to Frank J. and Thelma Murphy. She graduated from high school in 1947 and joined the Sisters of Mercy. She admitted that she'd always wanted to be a nurse, but became a teacher instead. She met Sister JoAnn at an elementary school in Wisconsin. Then, in 1960, the Sisters of Mercy community put out a call for a volunteer to go on a mission in Sicuani, Peru. 'I filled out the form, ran across campus, and put it into the mail slot,' she recounted to the Tribune in January. She lived there for eight years, in what she called a 'house for the houseless' with no running water. In remembering her life there, she focused on the beautiful aspects — the lady who owned the house, named Isabel, who would cook soups and traditional Peruvian dishes, and how the smell would drift through the rafters. Pat picked up Spanish and the local dialect of the region. Photos of her from that time were pinned onto a poster board at Mercy Circle. She is smiling and wearing a habit. James Connelly, 67, said his great-aunt went and visited her while she was in South America and brought him back a llama fur vest. 'Now, I can't really fit in it,' he joked. Connelly admitted that he was a little afraid of the traditional nun garb as a kid, but said he always admired her compassion and dedication. 'She set an example as a strong, female leader,' he said. 'And she passed that on to all the children she taught.' Indeed, when she returned from her time abroad, she reunited with Sister JoAnn and the two trailblazers took advantage of a burgeoning movement in American Catholicism, where many nuns moved from traditional roles to activism. Sister Pat did stints at Mercy Hospital, Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly and Austin Career Education Center, helping teen dropouts and adults prepare for the GED. But in her later life, shaped by her experiences in Peru, Sister Pat prioritized helping immigrants. She and Sister JoAnn in the 1980s and '90s opened Su Casa Catholic Worker House, a home for survivors of torture from Central America, on the South Side of Chicago. Several years later, they started praying outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview. And they collaborated with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to successfully pass a bill allowing religious workers to enter immigrant detention centers. They spent long hours with immigrants in detention. Pat warmed up the guards with homemade cookies and wrapped candy canes. Because she could speak Spanish, she was able to help detainees connect with family members. 'They just loved her,' Sister JoAnn said in January. 'Imagine how much of a help she was to them, speaking Spanish like she did.' The sisters stopped visiting immigrants in detention during the pandemic. And under the current Donald Trump administration, ICE has been unwilling to let anyone — even elected officials — inside, said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at ICIRR, who attended the funeral. 'Sister Pat always used a particular word to describe the immigration detention system: demonic,' said Tsao. The sisters meant to retire after the pandemic, they said, but felt called to step in and help the tens of thousands of migrants who were bused to Chicago from the southern border by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. They founded a nonprofit called Catherine's Caring Cause to help asylum-seekers settle, opening 17 apartments to house 100 people. They shifted to provide 'Know Your Rights' information to their tenants when Trump was elected. In a final essay that Sister Pat co-authored with Sister JoAnn, they wrote about one Venezuelan family assisted by their nonprofit, who they said was recently deported to Costa Rica. 'The parents and their five children were seized at a local ICE office when they reported for a routine check-in as required by law,' the essay reads. 'ICE officials accused the husband of having a criminal background, which he denied. He never had a chance to present his case in court.' On Thursday morning, a migrant family lingered a little longer in the hallway outside the church sanctuary after her casket was brought out. They said they were blessed to be connected to Sister Pat through a nonprofit in El Paso, Texas. Their family of four was staying in one of the apartments the sisters rented. 'Pat was our angel,' said Jose Ramos, 37, whose daughter is disabled and needs extra support. 'She called us all the time to check in.' His wife, Victoria Naranjo, 34, said Sister Pat often encouraged her to write a book about her migrant journey. 'It's not easy being a migrant,' Naranjo said. 'She thought more people should know that.' Ramos said he thinks he might have been one of the last to speak to her before she could no longer use her voice.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Tyler City Council approves resolution to add new path connecting parts of the city
TYLER, Texas (KETK) — The Tyler City Council approved a resolution on Wednesday in support of a grant used to build a share use path that will connect Downtown Tyler, hospitals and Tyler Junior College. Anderson County flooding calls for water rescues and closed roads The Midtown to Downtown Shared Use Path is aimed to be a two and a half mile, 10 foot-wide path that would connect popular Tyler destinations such as Downtown Tyler, the new Smith County Courthouse and UT Tyler School of Medicine. This path would be an accessible way for Tylerites to travel on foot from East Fifth Street to South Broadway Avenue. Safety standards for the path include access ramps, lighting, wide concreate trails, signalized intersections and more. Though the path has an estimated $4.8 million price tag, the city expects to qualify for Transportation Development Credits which would completely fund the project through grants instead of a local match. If funding is awarded, the Texas Department of Transportation will help design and develop the project. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.