Dear Sewanee Family,

Sewanee is beautiful in every season, but fall, in particular, makes headlines. Anyone who’s seen our ginkgoes and maples in October will agree with this recent piece in Southern Living—the Domain’s autumn colors are the prettiest in the region!

Your student is probably getting excited for fall break, coming up October 18–21! Many of you have asked me about transportation options between the Mountain and Nashville International Airport. One popular choice is taking the Groome Shuttle, which serves the Chattanooga area, including Monteagle. You can learn more about the shuttle here.

If your student decides to use the Groome Shuttle, please note that reservations are required. The shuttle runs between the Smoke House Lodge parking lot in Monteagle and the Departures section of the Nashville Airport’s terminal, stopping in Manchester along the way. Your student can also use the shuttle to return to Monteagle. Pickup is at the airport’s Ground Transportation Center. Additional details are here.

What about traveling between Sewanee and the Smoke House Lodge? The Dean of Students Office has created a form to request a ride for fall break. You and your student can access it here. The deadline to sign up for a ride is 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, so don’t delay!

I’m glad to share another round of updates from across campus. As always, if I can answer any questions, please don’t hesitate to email sewaneeparents@sewanee.edu. If you’re planning a family trip for fall break, I wish you safe and fun travels!

Bess Turner, P’25, P’28
Director of Family & Donor Engagement

PS: If you joined us for Family Weekend and haven't yet completed this short survey, I need your help! We've received 47 responses so far. More feedback will make a huge difference in continuing to ensure a great experience.

Sewanee Athletics is on the move this month! Special congrats to our men's golf team for being ranked number one nationally in the Sept. 19 Golfweek Division III coaches’ poll, after winning the prestigious Gate City Invitational in Greensboro, North Carolina.

We’re making good progress with a number of projects aimed at elevating the student-athlete experience. Currently, we’re raising funds to renovate the softball stadium in memory of Jon Parker, P'26. We also continue our extensive renovation of the Fowler Center, which will include a new weight room, locker room, and training room, as well as an updated natatorium, and we recently added new scoreboards at the baseball field and tennis stadium. 

A dedication ceremony for our new tennis scoreboards was held on Sept. 20, with lots of familiar Sewanee faces in attendance, including Vice-Chancellor Rob, C’76, and Phoebe 

Director of Athletics John Shackelford, P'24, (far left) joined the Wicklund family (center) and Men's Tennis Head Coach Hamza Khan, C'20 (far right) to dedicate Sewanee's new tennis scoreboards on Sept. 20.

Pearigen; P’14, P’17, Director of Athletics John Shackelford, P’24, Head Men’s Tennis Coach Hamza Khan, C’20, and many others. We are grateful to Michelle and Jay Wicklund, P’25, for generously funding the scoreboards in celebration of their son, Quinn Tyler Wicklund, C’25, and his Sewanee tennis coaches and teammates.

The Office of Global Citizenship wants to help your student maximize experiential learning opportunities in locations around the world.

Upcoming Opportunities:

The Biehl International Research Fellowship provides up to $7,000 for five Sewanee students to conduct independent social science research abroad each summer. Students will work with Sewanee faculty to develop their proposal. Applications for summer 2026 will open soon! 

Freeman Asia Fellowship applications are now open and due on Nov. 15. 

Twelve Sewanee students will receive up to $10,000 to participate in an internship in East or Southeast Asia this summer. Students of any academic background are encouraged to apply. 

Study Away:

Our Advent 2026 study away process is well underway! If your student is interested in studying abroad, encourage them to reach out to us. 

Easter 2026 Pre-departure Orientation is planned for Nov. 18, 2025. Students preparing to go abroad should be working on their Application for Degree Credit for Off-Campus Study.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global@sewanee.edu. We're also on Instagram!

Sewanee Dining is celebrating an important honor—last month, the University was named a top 10 performer in the Food and Dining category of the 2025 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

The achievement recognizes our commitment to local food sourcing, waste reduction initiatives, and other sustainable practices. You can read more here.

Don’t forget, if your student is celebrating a birthday this month, you can show love by sending a sweet treat! Also, we’re eager to accommodate food allergies and dietary needs. Students can work directly with our dining staff to ensure safe and satisfying options or connect with Sewanee’s Student Accessibility Office for additional support.

Career Readiness + Student Success is always excited to help students develop valuable pre-professional skills and explore the possibilities for life beyond Sewanee. Over the summer, students interned and conducted research in 23 states and 12 countries. Thanks to 

generous donors, Sewanee provided $630,000 in stipends to support their work in unpaid and underpaid internships. To see where Sewanee students spent the summer and learn more about internships and fellowships, click here.

We welcome your internship and job opportunities to share with Sewanee students! Learn more and share an opportunity or email us at hireatiger@sewanee.edu. Please encourage your student to visit our office in Carnegie to begin their planning for summer 2026, and follow us on Instagram to see our upcoming events. 

With midterms on the horizon, we encourage you to talk to your student about checking in with their professor about how they’re doing in class and visiting our office to make a study plan, discuss time management strategies, and talk about ways to finish the semester successfully.