The Hardy Liston Jr. Symbol of Hope Award goes to a faculty member, staff member, or friend of the university who demonstrates a commitment to diversity, multiculturalism, and appreciation of the differences in people and cultures on our campus.
Carmanelette Johnson Rawls
Carmanelette Johnson Rawls is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and is the proud wife of Damon Rawls. She has been a member of the Office of Multicultural Student Life staff for over 15 years. In MSL Rawls is the account specialist, where she describes her job as “paying people and bills.” She also offers an open door to all and often you will find her office full of students deep in discussion, doing homework, or even just laughing and relaxing between classes. Rawls always offers a safe place for students to just be who they are without judgment. She believes that at UT every student should have a space to belong and feel safe to be themselves. Rawls has also made it her mission to ensure that students are informed of all the opportunities that the university has to offer from possible graduate school programs and assistantships, financial aid and scholarships, and free tutoring services. Even while offering all of these services to students, Rawls finds the time to be an active member of her sorority, the Knoxville alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and a graduate student in the Haslam College of Business’s Master of Science in management and human resources, where she is a program ambassador and recently received her Society for Human Resource Management certified professional certification.