2 Students From The Chattanooga Area Given UTK's Highest Student Honor Of Torchbearer

  • Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Diego Lourenco
Diego Lourenco

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville announced that Chattanooga resident Diego Lourenco and Lookout Mountain resident Daniel Dassow have been recognized as Torchbearers, the university's highest undergraduate honor.

Mr. Lourenco is a senior studying data science and analytics. He served as president of the Multicultural Greek Council, planning community and social advocacy events that resulted in the council’s receiving the Council Impact Award for Social and Cultural Awareness at the Southeastern Greek Leadership Association Awards. He is an active member of Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity, where he raised over $500 for Centro Hispano de East Tennessee and other Latin American student organizations as fundraising chair. He is a Diversity Scholar and serves as a peer coach for the UT Success Academy and an undergraduate research assistant in the School of Information Sciences.

Mr. Dassow studies English and religious studies. He has explored multiple facets of his passion for writing, serving as editor-in-chief of UT’s campus newspaper, The Daily Beacon, a staff writer for the Phoenix Literary Arts Magazine and a science writer for the highly selective Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Chemistry program. He has been honored for his writing with the Department of English Undergraduate Essay Prize and awards from Appalachia Bare’s George Washington Harris Short Story Contest and the University Libraries National Novel Writing Month Short Story Contest. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Each year, a group of students who embody the Volunteer spirit are named Torchbearers in recognition of their commitment to service, outstanding leadership and academic achievement.


Daniel Dassow
Daniel Dassow
Student Scene
Lee Students Present At Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference
  • 5/8/2025

Twenty-four students from Lee University’s Department of Natural Sciences, Department of Language and Literature, and Department of Communication Arts recently traveled to Milligan University ... more

LFO HS Class Of 2000 Reunion Events Planned For May 29-30
LFO HS Class Of 2000 Reunion Events Planned For May 29-30
  • 5/8/2025

The upcoming 25-year reunion of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School Class of 2000 will be held during the last weekend this month. A family gathering for alumni and family members is planned ... more

Baylor, McCallie, Dalton High School Students Are National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners
  • 5/7/2025

Three local students were National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners. Alisha A. Chandra, of Baylor School said her probable field of study will be law (intellectual property), Nishanth Reddy ... more