Chattanooga native and newly minted Tennessee Tech University alumnus Evyn Price is among the latest recipients of the university's prestigious W.A. Howard Award, an honor bestowed upon Tech graduates who earn all As throughout their college career.
The December 2023 Tech graduate earned a bachelor's degree in computer science a year and a half ahead of schedule, after transferring to Tech from Chattanooga State Community College with 78 college credit hours already under his belt.
Price was interested in Tech because of the resources offered by the university's Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center (CEROC). Plus, his father was a Tech alumnus, having graduated in 1998 with a degree in electrical engineering.
“It felt like the perfect school for me to learn and grow,” he said.
Price, who has begun a career as a real-time operations systems administrator at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), says it took careful discipline to maintain his 4.0 GPA throughout his time at Tech.
“I’m a firm believer in setting goals for myself with actionable steps along the way,” he said. “I tried to schedule my time wisely with tools such as my Outlook calendar and usually dedicated at least three to five hours per day for assignments, studying and reviewing with classmates. Forming study groups in my classes was a great way to connect with others in the program and keep each other accountable to review the material. Burnout is very real, so I would avoid doing homework on the weekends as much as possible to give myself a break.”
Some of Price's best memories at Tech include participating in cybersecurity competitions as a member of the CyberEagles Club and Defense Cyber Interest Group. In November, his team placed second out of 95 teams in the Department of Energy CyberForce Competition.
Price, like many of his computer science classmates, also appreciated the opportunity to attend career fairs at Tech. That’s how he learned about TVA, where he gained experience as an intern for more than two years before starting his career there.
“I work on an amazing team that maintains the infrastructure that our transmission operators rely on to keep the power grid safe, reliable and secure,” he said.
He adds that his education at Tech prepared him for the job.
“The classes I took in the computer science program taught me how to think critically and solve unique problems, which were top skills that my employer was looking for,” Price said.
Computer science is Tennessee Tech University’s number one undergraduate degree program by enrollment and the largest of eight academic departments within the College of Engineering. Concentrations include data science and artificial intelligence; information assurance and cybersecurity; and high-performance computing. For more information, visit
tntech.edu/engineering/csc.