Tennessee Tech alumna, grad student take home top honors at Window on the World festival
Left photo: Kaitlin Salyer (center) accepts the 2024 Mandala Award from friend and fellow Tech
alum Justin Sweatman-Weaver (left) and Tech’s Senior Executive for Access, Belonging,
and Community Outreach Dr. Rob Owens (right). Right photo: Mark Rine (center) holds his 2024 Hector and Susie Black Award while standing alongside
friends and local NAACP leaders Johnnie Wheeler (left) and Connie Garrett (right).
A Tennessee Tech University alumna and former staff member, along with a current Tech
graduate student, took home top honors at the university’s annual Window on the World
event celebrating international cultures and diversity.
Kaitlin Salyer, a 2012 Tech graduate with a degree in sociology and a former staff
member in the university’s Service Learning Center, received the Mandala Award.
The award, named for the geometric configuration of symbols used in various cultures
and spiritual traditions, is given annually to someone who has demonstrated “exceptional
commitment to befriending people from around the world,” according to WOW organizers.
“Kaitlin Salyer is a shining example of inclusivity, passionate friendship and community
care,” said Rob Owens, Tech’s Senior Executive for Access, Belonging, and Community
Outreach, during remarks at the awards ceremony. “As both a former student and employee
of Tennessee Tech, Kaitlin has been instrumental in countless projects that benefited
Tech and the Upper Cumberland."
During her years as a Tech employee, the Lafayette, Tenn. native helped launch the
Tech Food Pantry alongside staff leaders such as the late Michelle Huddleston and
volunteered as a steering committee member, assistant coordinator and, ultimately,
coordinator for the WOW festival, serving alongside her mentor Ada Haynes, professor
of sociology at Tech. Salyer now serves as talent development director for the Rutherford
County Chamber of Commerce.
“Kaitlin is so deserving of the Mandala Award, as she has ‘learned much from other
cultures,’ and ‘actively pursues this international interest right here, benefiting
our whole community,’” said Lori Maxwell, chair of the Sociology and Political Science
Department at Tech, citing the Mandala Award criteria. “The faculty in the Department
of Sociology and Political Science are enormously proud of Ms. Salyer for her continuing
dedication to the ‘circle of humanity.’”
In a heartfelt acceptance speech, Salyer challenged audience members to “continue
to walk this path together … with an unwavering commitment to creating a world where
we all feel seen, heard, valued and safe.”
Also at the awards ceremony, Tech graduate student Mark Rine took home the Hector
and Susie Black Peace and Reconciliation Award.
Rine graduated from Tech in 2021 with a degree in wildlife and fisheries science and
now serves as a graduate assistant while completing his master’s degree in aquatic
biology and limnology. He previously served as president of Tech’s chapter of NAACP
and was a 2022 recipient of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award.
Rine has been known throughout the Upper Cumberland for his unique role as a NAACP
chapter president who is not a person of color but has modeled allyship for Black
students and community members. He now serves on Tennessee’s state NAACP chapter,
where he is a member of the Youth Works Committee.
At the awards ceremony, Owens commended Rine as a “selfless and courageous civil rights
leader in Cookeville who follows the path first cleared by Hector Black for nonviolent
witness on the Tech campus and the Cookeville community.”
“I’ve watched you do a lot of listening, and a lot of serving and, my friend, I want
to tell you, you’re doing a fantastic job,” added Owens.
Hector and Susie Black lived in the Upper Cumberland until their passing in 2020 and
2015, respectively. Hector had become a vocal pacifist after volunteering for the
U.S. Army during World War II and was arrested during the 1960s as part of civil rights
protests in Atlanta, Ga.
Later, the couple gained international attention for their unimaginable act of compassion
when, after the 2000 murder of their daughter, Patricia, they publicly forgave her
killer – even petitioning prosecutors not to prescribe the death penalty.
Rine said the award was particularly meaningful because of his connection to its namesakes.
“Hector and Susie Black were those mentors to keep me focused and calm and not creating
more problems,” said Rine. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is to stop talking and
start listening.”
Rounding out the award recipients was Linda Ragsdale, who passed away last fall and
was posthumously honored as a co-recipient of the Hector and Susie Black Award.
The Old Hickory, Tenn. native survived a 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, and
used the horrific circumstances as inspiration to launch The Peace Dragon, a nonprofit
organization and accompanying set of children’s books. Ragsdale traveled internationally
speaking about peace and kindness, including several past appearances at Tech.
The award was accepted by Ragsdale’s sister, Diane Garrison, and son, Nik Ragsdale.
Garrison said that Ragsdale’s frequent visits to Tech’s campus provided her inspiration
and courage to carry on in her life’s work.
“If she was having a tough time, she would come back from here always recharged and
ready to keep going,” Garrison said.
Learn more about Tech’s annual WOW festival at https://www.tntech.edu/centerstage/wow/.