24S Eagle Eye

Tennessee Technological University

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SPRING 2024

CONTENTS Cover Design: Becca Pielsnik Contents Page Design: Emily Burklow Page Editor: Makayla Martin Copy Editor: Ben Wishart Faculty Consultant: Brenda Wilson Photo (06) provided by Pixabay

06 08 10

03 12

1 Month, 10 Parks, 16 States

14 03

One Shining Moment 06

Speaking of Fun...

08

Soccer, Sickness and Success

10

Art Tour 2024

12

Clownin’ Around

14

k r s , a 1 P 6 0 Sta 1 , h t t e n

s. ..

1M o

“Um, Darcy, tell the girls to stay calm, but we are driving parallel to a tornado, and it is not a small one!”

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1 Month, 10 Parks, 16 States Story by GRACE SCHRIDER Layout and Art by BECCA PIELSNIK Photo Provided by GRACE SHRIDER

O

ne month on the road . . .

10 national parks and 16 states in our future. My family and I set out for our adventure on a sunny June day. An extraordinary amount of excitement boiled in my stomach.

So much so, I thought I was going to be sick. The only thing that was not particularly exciting me was the fact I would have to be stuck in the car with my family for seven hours on our way to St. Louis for our first stop. I was 11. I was bratty back then.

We arrived at St. Louis to see the famous arch. This wasn’t a main stop, however. We were not staying in Missouri overnight; instead, we drove through the night. Our destination that day was Colorado Springs. This is where we would stay for two nights in the Rainbow Lodge hotel, which was just around the block from the Garden of the Gods. However, the ride to the hotel became a little worrisome about an hour away from our destination because all of a sudden, I saw the clouds grow dark, and a little, green tint filled the sky. I heard my dad say, “Um, Darcy, tell the girls to stay calm, but we are driving parallel to a tornado, and it is not a small one.”

As I looked out my window, I saw what used to be a house get ripped out of the ground.

We got to the hotel, turned the tv on, and the first thing that popped up was the news.

Someone videoed the funnel cloud while they were on top of Pike’s Peak. The next day, Pike’s Peak was on our itinerary.

It was a much prettier day for us, thankfully.

After our time visiting the Garden of the Gods, the next day, we ventured into Wyoming to stop

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in Yellowstone National Park. This is still to this day one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Now remember, this is taking place in June, and in Yellowstone, we camped. The first night reached 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was snow dusting on our tent. We were freezing. It was so worth it.

Headed toward the famous geyser, Old Faithful, we saw a field on a cliff with people gathered, looking through cameras and scopes. Obviously, we stopped. My mom asked a man with a very large, and probably very expensive, scope what they are looking at. He responded by telling me to look through the scope. What I saw scared, amazed, and shocked me. The biggest grizzly bear I have ever seen was eating an elk by a creek about was a mile away, right next to a creek bed.

That wouldn’t be the only grizzly we saw. As we drove to the Grand Tetons, we saw a grizzly about half that size, and of course, idiot tourists about 20 feet away from it talking to it like it’s a puppy at a shelter.

The Tetons are a lot emptier

during June than one might expect.

However, we didn’t know why a particular hike we went on would be so empty until about three miles in.

The air was so sharp, the moisture from my breath seemed to be freezing the moment it left my mouth.

Not a sound other than the quiet chatter of our family was heard as we wondered through the forest. We reached a clearing. What was once trees, moss, and rocks were now piles of wood and huge clumps of snow. Covered up by fallen trees and snow was what should have been our trail. Alone and cold, our family was lost. A family who knows their way around a difficult hiking trail found themselves in a situation they had never encountered before: wreckage from an avalanche. An avalanche that, according to a ranger we eventually talked to, was earlier that morning. We heard an echo. Luckily, not a wolf. However, it was a family who was lost… except they were coming from the way we were heading. We helped each other and

made it out.

Dad, sadly, had to go back to Tennessee a week into the trip so he could go back to work. We dropped him off at Salt Lake City’s airport.

We were pretty happy to be in a city because we found a laundromat and finally cleaned our clothes.

After Salt Lake City, we headed to Bryce Canyon. We did a hike, and it was absolutely breathtaking as were most of the things we saw. On this hike, we saw rock formations called Hoodoos, along with many prairie dogs.

We then stopped at Zion National Park. Otherworldly- that is the only word I can use to describe that park. Sadly, we got to hike only a small portion of the Narrows, but it was still enough to remember for the rest of my life. The next place we stopped would be the place I still call the worst place on Earth: Las Vegas. As an 11-year-old, what is there to like about that hellscape?

Thankfully, we were finally on our way to California.

We stopped at Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, and Mount Whitney all in one day. If you are unaware, that means we hit the lowest point and highest point in the United States in less than 24 hours. I had a huge headache.

Yosemite National Park had some of the most ethereal views I had witnessed. We stopped at a picnic table 10 minutes into the park, and at that stop, there was an angled mountain that was calling my name. I sprinted to it after I finished my 80th PB&J sandwich of the trip and immediately started to climb. We climbed with the Yellow-Bellied Marmots for

about an hour before we decided to get back on the road and head to our ski lodge, which ended up being my favorite place we stayed.

On our way back to Tennessee, we stopped by Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and many various small stops. This will always be a trip close to my heart, and I am wildly thankful I got to experience it, scary moments and all.

FUN FAC

T

There are 63 unique National Parks wit hin the United S tates of A merica

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Story by TYLER RICH Layout and Art by BECCA PIELSNIK

G

ame on the line, 20 seconds left in our season, and we had the basketball. The crowd looked anxious as the last remaining seconds trickled down, and nobody knew what to expect. Everyone knew what was at stake, and regardless of the outcome, someone was going to go home upset.

It was my senior year at Cheatham County Central High School, and we were playing White House Heritage in the district tournament. We were the second to last seed in the district, and they were the second best. Nobody gave us a chance to win the game, including our own fans.

Before the game, I took it upon myself to deliver a speech to the players. I asked my coach if I could, and he agreed, and I proceeded to tell the

6 | Eagle Eye

team exactly how I felt. I told them if they didn’t think we would win, then the door was that way, and I pointed to the door. We were playing with house money, and I could feel the passion in our team before we exited the locker room.

We went through warmups, and I could tell the mood was tense. All of us knew our season could be over, and one mistake could cost us our season.

The fans from the other team were heckling us and telling us we weren’t going to win. It just added fuel to the fire.

The game started, we came out swinging, and they didn’t know what hit them.

We started hitting our shots, and they had to adjust to the momentum swing. The pressure got to them as we were the team nobody had thought

would win. Yet, the crowd was starting to believe; the parents and even the teachers had hope.

In the second half, it was a different story. We looked outmatched by their size and athleticism, and they scored on us in the paint. We hit a shooting slump, and unfortunately, our lead was gone. The clock wasn’t our friend, and we didn’t have much time in our season.

It was the fourth quarter, and something clicked in our team. The desperation of my teammates was magical, and the momentum of the game shifted just like that. The large lead they had went away, and the game was far from over.

Back and forth we went as both teams fought for their basketball lives. The clock hit the final minute, and we needed a stop. Our coach told

us to double the post, something we hadn’t done all game due to their size difference on us, and make them shoot the three. If they were going to beat us, they were going to shoot a three.

They got the ball, and we forced a turnover. We had the ball with 20 seconds left, giving us a chance to pull the upset in a tie game.

Our coach called a timeout and wanted us to take the last shot. No matter what, we are either going to win the game, or it’s going to overtime. The play was drawn up for our best player to receive a ball screen at the top of the key and create a switch for him on a slower defender. We anxiously exited the huddle, and I experienced one of the wildest things I have ever seen.

We inbounded the ball, and I could tell that everybody in the room was nervous. It was standing room only, and it felt like time froze. Our team inbounded the ball, and the clock went down to 10 seconds. Our number one option drove into the lane, shot the floater and it was an airball. There was still time on the clock, and they got the rebound.

My teammates thought we were down and proceeded to foul with less than a second left, leaving the crowd speechless.

All alone, the player who got fouled went to the free throw line for a one and one. All we could do was watch from the sidelines.

He went through his shooting form and shot the free throw. The ball hit back iron, and the crowd went crazy. I gave a huge sigh of relief, and we had a new life.

The game went to overtime, and students from other schools started cheering for us. Everyone who wasn’t a Heritage fan wanted us to win. Back and forth we went in overtime as the game approached the final minute. We forced a key turnover and had the ball.

With the game on the line and 20 seconds left, we got the ball, and coach called timeout. The way they were playing defense, we had no chance of shooting a layup. Our only chance was to shoot a three.

We exited the huddle one last time and inbounded the pass. The atmosphere in the gym felt like a championship game. Seconds went down as we had the ball, and we went for the final shot.

We hit the game-winning three with 10 seconds left, and the crowd went wild. All we needed to do now was get a stop. Coach was yelling from the sidelines “no threes,” and we made them shoot a two. They got the ball and took a heavily contested two. They missed the shot, giving us the win.

Our fans stormed the floor, and some players shed some tears. Both good and bad.

We got to the locker room, and I was tackled by my teammates. My speech inspired them to play harder and gave us hope, which was much needed. That’s the beauty of sports; it can just take that one shining moment to help a team win.

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o g f n i f

Story by EMILY HIGDON Photos by ELLIOT PAYNE LAYOUT by LEIGHA GREGORY

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“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, then you ought to be doing something else.”

Long-time speech and debate team coach retires after more than 60 years at Tech

T

he year 1937 was defined by events that shaped the United States, such as the Hindenburg disaster, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and the grand-opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. During the same year, Graham Kash was born in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Kash currently spends his days in his office surrounded by papers comprised of his own writings and other materi-

8 | Eagle Eye

als. He enjoys writing and singing in his free time. He first started teaching in 1963, as a composition and literature professor. Over time that has changed into teaching speech and folklore courses.

He proclaimd that he’s happy to help teach any material if he is capable of it. “I do what needs to be done and what I am asked to do,” Kash stated. He said he feels school and

teaching have always been his second home.

Kash deserves recognition for all of his accomplishments. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a doctorate from Indiana University.

He teaches forensics and folklore, performs folk music and writes his own stories. Kash is also the coach of the Tech Speech and Debate team. It was first established in 1930 by Herman Pinkerton. Pinkerton lived to be 100 years old, and Kash had the pleasure of meeting him. Speech and Debate covers two different types of public speaking, the first being debate and the other being individual events. Tournaments are held where individuals can compete in both types of public speaking. The team often travels to events in Tennessee and Kentucky; although, they have gone as far as Vermont and California.

Despite his longetivity on campus, Kash said he doesn’t feel Tech has changed a lot from his perspective. He said he believes the size of the student body is the biggest overall change, though it doesn’t affect him. “Back then we had around 4,000 students total, and now we have three times, if not more,” Kash stated. He has moved office buildings several times since he first started teaching at Tech. He added, “Another change would be some of the older buildings are no longer on campus.”

One event that lead to a drastic change in the debate team’s routine was COVID-19. The pandemic reduced how many tournaments were held during that period of time, leading to the initiation of virtual tournaments. This was a challenge for Kash because he said he feels he’s not good with technology. Thanks to the help of the other coaches,

they managed to operate effectively.

Kash said he is very passionate about all of his hobbies.

“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, then you ought to be doing something else,” he said. Outside of teaching, Kash enjoys writing his own poems and stories. He finds it satisfying to write without any rules. He also enjoys bird watching and taking care of his assortment of pets at home, including three cats, two dogs and five endangered turtles he rescued.

Kash also enjoys folk music and even picked up a second language, French.

For many years, Graham Kash and his wife, Dr. Bettye Kash, enjoyed creating and performing folk music together at festivals. Graham Kash said, “Music was one of the reasons we got together.” The two met through their interest in folk music while they worked at Tech back in the 1960s. Dr. Bettye Kash passed away in March 2024.

Graham utilized his French language skills to teach literature on a Fullbright Fellowship in France between 1983 and 1984. He worked in an English department teaching students how to write speeches and take exams in another language. His two daughters, Heather and Holly, accompanied him on this venture, attending school there, and also learned the language.

Throughout his many years working at the university, Kash said he is thankful he’s been able to continue teaching the same material since he first arrived in 1963. Taking all of the activities he enjoys the most and teaching them to the next generation is what he loves to do. Although he is retiring soon, he will always have a home at Tech just as teaching has a home in his heart.

If he isn’t in his office grading assignments, Dr. Graham Kash can be found observing speeches and presentations to improve students’ communication skills. He leaves a legacy of dedication to Tech’s award-winning speech and debate team. Kash is also a prolific writer and musician.

Spring 2024 | 9

Story by Harlee Taylor Photos by Jaime Bilotti Design by Drake Knight

It started with a CUNY Soccer championship.

Now Bilotti’s stardom and power are being noticed on the red carpet of a very prestigious event.

Story by Harlee Taylor Photo provided by Jaime Bilotti Design by Drake Knight

Story by HARLEE TAYLOR Photos provided JAIME BILOTTI Design by DRAKE KNIGHT

Story by HARLEE TAYLOR Photos provided by JAIME BILOTTI Layout by DRAKE KNIGHT

Soccer, Sickness and Success I

magine telling a 17-year-old fangirl that in less than 10 years, she will graduate college with a degree in prelaw during the height of a global pandemic, become the founder and CEO of two companies and be on Forbes 30 Under 30 list. It sounds crazy, but for Jaime Bilotti, it’s part of her story, and she’s only 25.

Working in the music industry was always the goal, but the path to get there was frustrating and unconventional for her. When talking to Bilotti about her academic career, she expressed how her parents just wanted

10 | Eagle Eye

the best for her.

“They basically were just wanting to put me in a field that they knew a little bit more about and set me up to have stability, which you don’t have anywhere really, but ‘freshman-year me’ was super pissed. Every single opportunity I had I vocalized that frustration.”

Every day, Bilotti commuted to John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York where she also played on the varsity soccer team and was captain junior year.

“I was up and at the bus stop every

morning because I had soccer practice, then I cleaned the floors at two internships freshman year, and then I got really sick with Lyme disease.”

The diagnosis did not stop her from pursuing her goals even when she was bedridden for six months.

“I was on doxycycline, and if you look it up, basically you either get a port in your heart or you take oral antibiotics.”

During this time, Bilotti was navigating figuring out her body again as she would go between losing and gaining weight, losing her hair, battling

fatigue and dealing with other side effects of the medication.

“All I did was watch artist interviews. I didn’t even have the energy to keep my eyes open. I would sit there and listen. Once I got better, I was coming out and swinging. That’s really a lot of the mindset and feeling of wanting to work in music. It has never escaped me.”

After crying hysterically from not getting an internship at Columbia Records, Bilotti made the decision to make things happen herself.

“I thought if nobody else is gonna do it, then I’m gonna do it even though I had no idea how to do it. I did not start this journey with any prerequisites in business. I had an undergrad in pre-law, and my sister works at a bank.

I asked questions. I watched YouTube.

I listened, I absorbed, I failed, I failed, I failed and I failed. Then, it started working.”

She shared behind the scenes of what was going on while in the midst of planning her first company, Fan To Band.

“I would go to school and intern.

I learned a lot, and I slept in soccer vans, on the bus, and in corners of hallways at school. Then, I found out that I would never be in a college class again physically on the news. It got announced on TV. My mom picked me up from my apartment, and I didn’t go back for three months. I lived at home for a bit. I graduated. I worked at Warner Music Group, and then I launched [Fan To Band].”

Fan To Band was founded in 2019 and launched in 2021, one year after Bilotti was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

The company was built to provide fans and aspiring music industry professionals with educational resources, industry opportunities and a community of like-minded individuals.

“When I started Fan To Band, I just wanted to create something I wish I had. I would have killed for a Fan To Band back in the day… to point to something and show my parents and be like, ‘This is what I’m talking about!

Let me study music’.”

Fan To Band blew up, and people across the industry wanted in on it, some for their own benefit.

“Everyone and their mother reached out to me and wanted to partner. Here I am 21 years old, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed, you know… When a huge celebrity’s team wants to partner with you, what would you do? I started building that company then I realized I wasn’t getting credit for it, and that was the hardest thing to walk away from.”

After stepping away from that opportunity Bilotti found her newest venture, Mutuals Agency, an entertainment company focused on the audience. They provide strategy, market research and management to their clients.

“I knew I was going to start something, and that was in 2020 with Fanmade, and then I left in 2021. I launched it [Mutuals] in 2022. I raised a round of money in three days. That is unheard of, and it was all from three women.”

Similar to how she founded Fan to Band, she didn’t exactly know what she was doing, but she took the initiative to figure it out, whether it was from watching YouTube videos or calling on family and friends for their help and guidance.

“I learned how to raise money. I learned how to raise capital, and people were like, ‘How do you know how to do that?’ I didn’t; I literally still need to refresh every time I talk about it.

I asked my sister’s friend Jesse who studied a lot of science and math if she would do math with me because I don’t know how to do math like this.”

Despite everyone thinking Bilotti has it all figured out and knows what she’s doing, her biggest kryptonite is feeling misunderstood.

“I think people forget I’m a human being. I’m human, and this shit is hard!

People are like, ‘Oh you’re so inspiring.’

No, this shit is hard, and I’m tired, but that’s why we do this [work in the music industry]. It’s so important, and I think the consistent thing from when I was a student to now, and even 10 years from now, is that my ‘why’ is still

the same. People are like professional Jamie and then personal Jaime. No, I’m just Jaime. Whether I’m working, at a concert or I’m with my niece and nephew, I’m just me.”

Living with health issues that impact her daily life and career has influenced the way she goes about things, work-related or not, and her mindset.

“My mindset of YOLO, in the most non-cringy way, is from my health issues. I’ve had some scary conversations health-wise, not like my life was on the line or anything but my quality of life was on the line. What do I have to really lose, you know? This past year, I was diagnosed with Chronic Osteomyelitis, which is a bone disease, and I got part of my sternum taken out. I’m absolutely unwavering, whether I hit rock bottom once or twice or 10 times, shit works out for me.”

To wrap up our conversation, Bilotti shared that she hopes her story inspires others to just do it, whatever it is for them.

“Make your own magic! Don’t ever compare yourself to anyone. There is no road map or blueprint, and there is no way you can follow anything I’ve done. I couldn’t have called the bingo card that this is this year and my life.

If I can’t even call it, how the hell is somebody gonna replicate what I’ve done if I don’t even know what the hell is going on.”

“I would go to school and intern. I learned a lot, and I slept in soccer vans, on the bus and in corners of hallways at school...”

Spring 2024 | 11

Members of ART 4100-001: Students:

Holly Anderson, Charity Armao, Jade Berry, Jenna Cameron, Paul Carter, Parker Driggs, Abi Hixson, Natalie Ingle, Olivia King, Becca Lilly, Tyler Malone, Shay Morgan, Alayna Motz, Mattie Phillips, Becca Pielsnik, Anti Pryor, Daveed Rios, Henry Sekeres, Lila Windsor.

Professors:

Perry Johnson, Bevin Butler, Rena Wood, Nicole Henniger

ART TOUR 2024 Story and Layout by BECCA PIELSNIK Photos Provided by BECCA PIELSNIK, BEVIN BUTLER, DAVEED RIOS Art Tour 2024 was led by Professors Perry Johnson and Rena Wood. This year’s trip took 19 Fine Arts students to the Netherlands, March 8-March 17, 2024. The students left on March 8 flying from Nashville to Philadelphia.

While In Philadelphia students got to explore the city.

Some students had time to see previous Tennessee Tech Artist-in-Residence Tate Newfield. The travelers went to multiple historical art museums like Lakenhal, Royal Delft Museum, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. During the trip, students learned about many different Dutch artists and unique things about the country. While on this trip students got to learn and explore their way through the Netherlands.

Spring 2024 13

“I like to make people happy, and I can do that through clowning.”

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D

CL O

UN

W

’ A N I RO N

Story by KAYLA ANDERSON | Layout by EMILY BURKLOW | Photos Provided by RONALD METZ

Y

ou’re a what?

People want to stand out. Be noticed. Be heard.

But not questioned.

Some take the route of walking down a tile-floor hallway with distant chatter and the smell of sickness, until a door appears and is entered to see a hurting soul.

Some choose the loud, screeching and grinding of machines to help a small town flourish. Then, some decide on a more unusual path, a path people are afraid of, that turns heads or some may say is sad, a path that makes people say: “You’re a what?”

Ronald Metz is one of those people. With his cane, white hair, red “Mooseburger Clown Camp” polo and smiling face, everyone lights up when they see him. His stories leave you thinking, his presence makes you feel welcomed and his advice will leave you speechless.

So, when asked, “What do you do?” Metz will simply reply, “I’ve done it all, but to make things short, I’m a clown.”

How did this retired U.S. Army Reservist, city letter carrier, author, graduate with two bachelor’s degrees, currently working on his third, become Pastyr Clarence T. Funny Bone?

His mother loved clowns. Metz

grew up with clown decorations in every room of the house and developed a large interest in clowning. “Some people like to show off. Some people like to make people happy. There are combinations and intersections with all of that. I am more in the line of ‘I like to make people happy and I can do that through clowning,’” Metz said. With his excitement and goodwill, he began Mooseburger Clown Camp.

People are always shocked to hear clowns are regular people, too.

Metz, sometimes, gets funny looks when explaining his profession.

However, that reaction can be a motive. His family learned to look past these reactions and see the happiness he brings, not to mention the money.

“I never really asked my family if they liked me being a clown, but I’m sure they would’ve told me. I just took all of their laughs and jokes as support,” Metz said. His wife even does some clowning alongside him now, too.

Also alongside him is a bird puppet standing 6-feet tall, making his acts even more entertaining.

One of Metz’s many talents, aside from acting and puppeting, is balloon twisting.

He can make any shape you can

imagine, but likes to keep it separate from clowning because “long lines make people unhappy.” He has decorated many events, but said the most memorable was the balloon release in Joplin, Missouri, in remembrance of the Joplin tornado devastation.

Many people look at clowns as the saddest people on the planet, but Metz will prove this stereotype wrong. Look at all the good he has done. Anytime his name is said, someone is always smiling.

Clowning has brought him a type of joy nothing else has. As he would say, “It is my calling.”

Not only has clowning brought him a new perspective of himself, but a new perspective on people, morals and life as a whole. “People need to look beyond themselves and recognize that life is a continuous learning process. We never stop learning; whether it’s in a formal setting or informal setting,” Metz said.

Take that advice and run with it.

The world would be a boring place without Pastyr Clarence T. Funny Bone.

Spring 2024 |15

Eagle Eye magazine

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