I grew up in a mountain town with a tourism and construction economy—not unlike parts of East Tennessee. Where I’m from, young people often have to leave to find work, and families hope they’ll one day come home.

My husband, Terrance, grew up here in Knoxville. His dad was a union representative for the RWDSU, and Terrance graduated from Central High School, went on to Pellissippi before heading out to find work like so many other young people. We met and fell in love in Los Angeles.

When I first visited his parents here, I fell in love with Knoxville too. We planned and saved for years so we could come home—just like every parent hopes their kids will.

Terrance chose South Knoxville because, even after two decades away, it was the only part of the city that still felt like Knoxville.

We moved here, rented, bought a home, and I earned my Master’s in Social Work from UT. Since then, we’ve been working to build a Knoxville that doesn’t have to lose its young people—and that makes space for the ones who want to come back.