Dyersburg's Own: UTM Graduate and Ukraine Native Ready to Serve Community Through Crisis Communication

Drake Box, a Ukraine-born graduate from the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM), aims to contribute to his community. Box earned a bachelor's degree in mass media and strategic communication, with a focus on public relations, in December 2023. He was adopted from Donetsk, Ukraine, a city affected by the conflict with Russia that started in February 2022. His adoptive parents, Gary and Lory Box, brought him to the United States in 2002 when he was two.

Box was raised in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and completed high school in 2018. His decision to attend UTM was influenced by his mentor, Marsh Naidoo, and his sister, Jade, a UTM graduate. Initially, Box aspired to be a physical therapist's assistant, but due to his mild cerebral palsy, he shifted his focus to communication.

At UTM, Box developed a podcast and found an interest in public relations. His enthusiasm for his major led his fiancée, Rebecca Roberts, to change her major from English to PR. Box appreciated the balance of challenge and simplicity in communications and enjoyed a class on Crisis Communication taught by Dr. Jerald Ogg.

Box intends to specialize in crisis communication in his career. He finds the field's unpredictability appealing and values the importance of creating and delivering statements in response to different situations. As a graduate, Box is ready to use his skills to benefit his community, reflecting the resilience and determination that characterized his journey from Ukraine to UTM.

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