40 Under 40
Brittany Faith, An Example of Exceptional Work Highlighted on UT’s 40 Under 40 List Written by Ella Kelley Designed by Kayleigh McGee | Photography by Maddingly Cotton
“Whatever you do, do it deliberately.”
In 2021, The University of Tennessee Alumni Association named the first Volunteer 40 Under 40. This new award is an annual recognition of 40 UTK alumni under the age of 40 who have done exceptionally well in their careers following their graduation. In 2022, 23 of these recipients were women. All of the women recognized on this list have worked hard to achieve success in their fields, and they all serve as an inspiration to young women at UT.
Faith realized what direction she wanted to go in her career after working at a pro bono clinic during her first semester of law school. At this clinic, Faith saw a couple that she had gone to high school with who had gotten engaged. They were at the clinic because the woman was a DREAMer, and the couple was concerned about her status.
One of these women, Brittany Faith, a lawyer and head of Grant, Konvalinka and Harrison’s Immigration Group in Chattanooga shared her experience at UT and in her career.
A DREAMer is someone who was born outside of the United States of America and was brought here as a child. The DREAM Act, which stands for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, is a piece of legislation that provides protection for people who have grown up in the U.S. but are still undocumented.
Faith is originally from Oak Ridge, Tennesseee. She moved to attend college at Pennsylvania State University and thought she would never return to the state. However, a scholarship from the UT School of Law brought her back and changed the trajectory of her life.
The couple wanted to apply for a marriage license but was worried about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) being notified due to the woman’s status. The couple spoke to an immigration attorney at the clinic and explained their situation, including that the woman was in nursing school.
“I was a political science major. I’d worked on some local campaigns, and I thought that the JD ( Juris Doctor) would be an added value to help me get further on campaigns. Then I ended up in a completely different place,” Faith said.
The attorney informed them that the woman would not be able to get a nursing license in the state of Tennessee because she was undocumented.
16 | Ablaze