The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Undergraduate Research & Fellowships are proud to announce that Avery Noe has been named as a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

Noe, a Chancellor’s Honors Scholar, is a senior musicology and history student and is minoring in music theory and applied music.

The Rhodes Scholarship is a fully funded postgraduate award that allows its recipients to study at the University of Oxford in England. If she wins the award, Noe plans to study Musicology and Modern History.

An active student, Noe is involved in Phi Kappa Phi honor society, Pi Kappa Lamba honor society for undergraduates, graduate students and professors of music, the Progressive Student Alliance, and the United Campus Workers.

In addition, Noe is a part of the UT Appalachian String Band. A member of the band for three years, Noe believes it has been an enriching experience for her degree.

“I enjoy how it allows me to get more plugged into the community and find a renewed appreciation for the music of my home,” said Noe.

In addition to extracurriculars, Noe has completed undergraduate research with art history Professor Dr. Mary Campbell on painter Beauford Delaney, as well as a thesis on Russian composer Mikhail Kuzmin with musicology professor Dr. David Salkowski. She has also worked with the East Tennessee Historical Society as a 2023 Bergeron Intern working under Dr. Warren Dockter on a table book covering White Stores grocery stores.

After graduating, Noe ultimately plans to obtain her PhD in Historical Musicology to bring greater focus toward LGBTQ+ voices in historical research.

“I want to expand my work into queer modernism,” said Noe, “and create a new approach to queer musicology that is more inclusive and understanding of the complexities of queer identities.”