ETSU students awarded at Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature
The Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) awarded many ETSU students at the 2024 convening, with several of these students moving forward to serve in executive roles in 2025.
TISL is a forum for students to exchange ideas, express their opinions and learn how Tennessee’s state government works. TISL's Senate and House of Representatives, which first convened in 1966, meet in the legislative chambers of the state Capitol each November. TISL has provided thousands of students over six decades with education about Tennessee state government and with a channel to express their opinions on state issues.
ETSU students have participated in TISL for many years, most recently holding key offices like governor, the highest role of TISL. The outgoing Gov. Aidan Graybeal graduated from ETSU in December, and incoming Gov. Kyah Powers is a current ETSU student. Other ETSU students have won awards and held additional, crucial roles at TISL, as shown below.
2024 Awards:
-Chloe Campbell - Carlisle Award (House)
-Reed Bull - Carlisle Award (House)
-Emerson Couch - Outstanding Representative (House)
-Olivia Lamb - Outstanding Lobbying Firm
2024 AMC3 (Moot Court) Team Awards:
-Overall Runner Up - ETSU
-Best Case Brief - ETSU
2024 AMC3 Individual:
-Daniella Garcia - Best Petitioner Lawyer
Honored for work on Executive Council for 2024 TISL:
-Aiden Graybeal - Governor
-Matthew Sutphin - Attorney General
-Kyah Powers - Speaker of the House
-Milind Chaturvedi - Treasurer
-Dustin Kidd - Lobbying Director
-Amelia Hart - Supreme Court Justice
ETSU students will also hold three out of 11 executive positions in 2025, a notable ratio considering all four- and two-year colleges in the state can participate in TISL.
Political science and philosophy double-major Powers will serve as the governor, finance and mathematics double-major Milind Chaturvedi will serve as treasurer, and communications major Macy Miller will serve as communications director.
Roan Scholar and ETSU Elevates grant winner Powers first served in TISL as a House of Representatives delegate and received a Carlisle Award before becoming speaker of the House.
“In my particular realm of study, I have also learned that the role of a lawmaker or policy advocate is to first be engaged with the community that you serve, recognizing the weight and reality of the needs that a community may have,” said Powers, sharing what she has learned from her experiences with in TISL.
“A political or legal career can quickly become about checking boxes and gaining titles instead of serving others with the heart of a friend and neighbor,” she said. “TISL has provided me with opportunities that have led me to understand that the law exists to increase the quality of people's lives, developing the critical skill of brotherly love in policy.”
TISL is a powerful opportunity for students, as they get to experience the state legislature face-to-face: Secretary of State Tre Hargett welcomes students to the Capitol and encourages them to use this experience to broaden their career aspirations and networking opportunities in government and law. The AMC3 (Moot Court) team receives coaching and mentoring from attorneys from the attorney general’s office and current and retired judges.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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