Inspiration came come in many forms. For Memphis Mayor Paul Young (BS/EE, ’02), it came from Dwayne Wayne of the TV show A Different World.
Young grew up watching the sitcom and saw a lot of himself in Wayne. Sporting his trademark flip-up glasses, Wayne majored in engineering and mathematics at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college in Virginia.
“I literally decided at that point in time that I wanted to major in engineering, because that was his major,” Young said. “I went to a high school in Memphis where they had an emphasis on engineering programs, and I graduated from there and took it up at the University of Tennessee.”
Young’s time at UT was a foundational piece of his growth process—intellectually, socially, and emotionally. It helped pave the way to his current political career and reaffirmed his devotion to servant leadership. The 45-year-old was sworn in as mayor of Memphis on January 1, 2024.
“The experiences that I had at UT helped me to become a better man. It taught me how to interact with people from many different backgrounds,” Young said. “At UT, I had relationships with African Americans, but also white, Hispanic, Asian. There were a lot of people in our engineering program that exposed me to a lot of diversity, and I think that helps to make your perspective broader as an individual.”
Young grew up in the Oakhaven neighborhood of Memphis. His parents were both in the ministry. His late father, Bishop William Young, was the first Black chaplain of Methodist Hospital, and his parents were instrumental in providing mental health services and church-based counseling throughout Memphis.
As a senior at East High School in Memphis in 1997, Young met a UT recruiter who convinced him to visit the Knoxville campus and meet some of the faculty and students.
“He was very, very convincing about how great of a school UT was. I didn’t know much about it at the time,” Young said. “Then, I took a trip there, and it was amazing. That pushed it over the edge for me.”
Engineering Mindset
Young spent much of his childhood fascinated by how things worked. He loved taking things apart and putting them back together again. Majoring in electrical engineering was a natural selection once he enrolled at UT.
Although he’s not working directly in the engineering industry, Young uses his UT education every day in his role as mayor.
“I think the most important thing from engineering was being a problem solver and somewhat of a linear thinker,” Young said. “Engineering teaches you how to solve problems in a very regimented way—thinking through it, step by step. As a leader and a mayor, you are encountering a series of problems and challenges that are complex, so having an approach to solve those problems in a way that people can understand has helped me to be successful.”
A formative moment in Young’s life came when a UT engineering professor asked him to stay after class once Young turned in his first test of the semester.
“No teacher had really ever done it before, particularly in college because there’s so many of us. But he was telling me how unacceptable my grade was, and it was a C. It wasn’t like it was an F,” Young said. “But he told me he could see more in me than how I performed on that test, and that was one of the classes for which I excelled.”
Rather than recoil at the constructive criticism, Young took the words to heart and began working even harder in the classroom to reach his full potential.
“Because of how demanding he was that I do more, I wouldn’t miss that class,” Young said. “I will always remember how he made me feel. He made me feel like someone cared and that someone was paying attention to how I was showing up in that space.”
Creating a Brighter Future
Young met his wife, Jamila Smith-Young, at UT while attending a party. Smith-Young, who received her bachelor’s degree at UT in microbiology, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists and an assistant professor of nursing at the UT Health Science Center. The couple has two children.
Young returned to campus last fall to receive the Alumni Professional Achievement Award at the 2024 Alumni Awards Gala. Seeing future generations of Vols walking in the same spaces he did more than two decades ago was invigorating.
“I get inspired by encountering young people that look at me as motivation, that look at my story and journey as motivation to where they can go,” Young said. “Because we all have a short period of time on this earth, whether you live to be 30 or 100, it’s still not that long in the context of time. So, you want to make sure that while you’re here, you’re having an impact on somebody’s life being better as a result.”
Young isn’t sure what he will do professionally once his term as mayor ends. He is confident, however, that he can make a difference in any role he fills. His Volunteer spirit, engineering mindset, and optimism will remain guiding forces.
“My life goal is to leave the place better than I found it,” Young said. “I want to be able to say when it’s all said and done, that my city is better as a result. I want to make sure that there’s always a connection to elevating the lives of the people in my community.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)