As Cadie Chapell approached the front of the room, she was unsure of how her speech would go. Little did she know it would be her first of many.
Chapell, at the time a small, petite, 4th grader talked to her class about a family ski trip never imagining that those small steps would one day lead to her speaking in front of her graduating class and guests at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Chapell, daughter of Anthony and Christy Chapell grew up in the Luttrell community. She was involved in Union County 4-H as well as numerous artistic endeavors. Once graduating from Union County High School she moved on to the University of Tennessee where she began her studies in graphic design with an emphasis on media production.
At first, Chapell was a little unsure about graphic design as she was more interested in the traditional fine arts, but once she got involved in the program, she knew it was where she was meant to be. Once she got the idea under her feet, she started working for a print shop in Maynardville.
Along with her work at the print shop, Chapell got involved at a local church and started working for their media production team. This is where she spends the majority of her time when not hitting the books at Hodges Library on the UT campus.
Chapell’s interest in art started in her teen years when she was a student at UCHS. Not only was she able to enroll in the art classes she was also able to paint the windows at the top of the library which allowed her to try new art materials as well as get her start in artistic expression.
Once Chapell started painting the windows inside the school, she thought why not paint windows around town. This idea then turned into a small program called Painting the Town. Through this program, she was able to highlight her work as well as work with local businesses in the community.
Some of Chapell’s biggest influences were Mrs. Sexton, the UCHS art teacher, as well as Mr. Collins, a higher-level history teacher and Mrs. Collins the librarian at UCHS for many years.
Teachers like these would allow her to go to the art room and express her artistic abilities which then turned into a passion and future career which a little twist.
Along with this, Chapell was involved in the Union County 4-H program as she was extremely involved in the public speaking project for 6 years. This took her many places, including the regional speech contest annually, State 4-H Congress as well as Academic Conference which allowed her to get a taste of life down at UT.
4-H Congress was an immeasurable experience, similar to many other delegates it was one of her most memorable times in 4-H. Through this trip, Chapell was able to meet her state representative as well as run for Tennessee 4-H Congress Governor.
Now, six years later, Chapell is seeking the rewards of those seeds she planted through her time in 4-H and other extracurriculars. Chapell was the commemorative speaker on May 20 for the University of Tennessee School of Art.
In order for a speech to be considered, they were to be sent to a committee for review, and then if they were chosen to move on they were to be presented to that committee. Out of numerous speeches, Chapell’s unique spoken word type speech was chosen.
As Chapell reflects on her time at UT, she lends a few helpful words of advice to the younger community members.
“It does kind of matter where you come from because it shapes so many of your experiences coming forward,” Chapell said. “Embrace where you come from! Knowing that everyone comes from different places and knowing that they all have unique experiences make campuses like UT so diverse.”
Chapell is only one story of many that make our county so unique and special, if you know of a graduate from Union County High School that you believe would be a good addition to the Union County Success Story series, please email them to me at khill9126@gmail.com.