Jennifer Kuhn

Although I was born in northern Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C., I consider myself to be a Knoxvillian. I was eleven when I moved to Knoxville with my parents and two sisters, and I graduated from Farragut High School in 1993. Following high school, I attended a private liberal arts college in Alabama-Birmingham-Southern College. In college I began working with underprivileged students. As a volunteer for Teams Achieving Growth, I worked with students from a local middle school in an economically impoverished section of Birmingham. This experience motivated me to make a difference with whatever career that I chose for myself. As a college senior, I considered law school to become a child advocate lawyer. However, a family member talked to me about her educational background in social work. The conversation pushed me to apply to the University of Alabama School of Social Work.

After graduating from Birmingham-Southern College in May 1997, I began the two-year Master of Social Work program at the University of Alabama and chose to concentrate in Children, Youth, and Families. My second year offered the chance to intern at a residential treatment facility for young boys, which turned into a full-time position upon graduation in 1999. This position taught me compassion, empathy, and above everything, the perseverance of the human spirit. The boys that I worked with will remain in my memory forever.

The call of home beckoned me back to Knoxville, and I began work in the University of Tennessee Social Work Office of Research and Public Service in January 2001. As the sole Independent Living Specialist for Knox County, I worked with teenagers living in Knox County who were in the foster care system. The University of Tennessee contracted with the State Department of Human Services to provide independent living skills to teenagers who were in foster care all across Tennessee. Among many duties, I assisted these youth as they began their transition out of the foster care system and into adulthood. This program showed me the importance of education, support, and guidance in a young person's life. Students who lacked any of those aspects often had a difficult, and sometimes painful, transition out of the system.

When I began my current position as the Associate Director of the Upward Bound Math and Science Regional Center in August of 2004, I was not sure what to expect. Through this job, I have worked with so many talented students who have a real chance of being successful in whatever career they choose. Again, the strength of the human spirit is unbelievable. My education and work experience has taught me many lessons and many skills. I am a strong advocate for children and teenagers who need extra assistance. I have learned that the support of a caring adult can take a child further than any amount of material wealth. I have also realized how many other genuine people are out there working to help students make it in this world, and that gives me hope for the future.

Contact:

MSC
Jennifer Kuhn, Associate Director
1914 Andy Holt Ave
25 HPER Building
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-4466
Fax: (865) 974-3961

 

Jennifer Kuhn, Program Director
Email: jallen9@utk.edu