On Oct. 16, the university hosted the organization Dear World as a part of the “Listen. Learn. Lead.” week.

Dear World is a community of storytellers, innovators and leaders in learning and development, committed to amplifying voices and building connections. They aim to uplift individuals and organizations to share their stories and create meaningful change.

‘Listen. Learn. Lead.’ week occurs once every semester. The Division of Access and Engagement, the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs and the Division of Student Life all work together to bring this week-long event to life.

This event was also part of UT’s “Vol is a Verb,” which entails that students take action and can do things that require listening and learning to be more engaging for members of the Vol community.

Ciara Gazaway, the program director for the Dean of Students, spoke more about what it means to be a Vol.

“It is this idea that since we are Vols, we do more than just show up and wear orange,” Gazaway said. “We look out for one another, and we want to get connected with students, even if they have different backgrounds and perspectives.”

Before this event became a tradition at UT, members of the Dear World company formed relationships with staff from UT at the SROW conference. The connections made at this conference led to this being the third year of partaking in this event on campus.

Dear World brought a three-day event to UT — the first day includes students indulging in self discovery. They are asked a series of questions reflecting on their lives, digging up memories and picking out their brain tattoo from their journal of reflections.

Expanding on day one, day two of the event is where they can create and take pictures with their new brain tattoo.

Those who participated got to enjoy lively music complemented by various light fixtures and cameras that gave off a welcoming environment. After their portraits are taken to their liking, the participants will receive their photos for a keepsake.

The last day of this program is for students to share their stories and tattoos with other people to truly strengthen the idea that being together is better.

Yev Zakharkin, a senior field producer with Dear World, has been involved with the company for over a decade. Zakharkin is a key member of this organization — he coordinates the event logistics, including hiring the crew, renting equipment and ensuring everything runs smoothly.

Zakharkin spoke more about the importance of storytelling.

“We want students to know that it is OK to share vulnerability,” Zakharkin said. “Whatever they went through in life or whatever they experience with others.”

Dear World has much to offer from this experience including “improved recall of an organization’s mission and values by staff and customers, overall employee sentiment and verbal, written and visual communication skills.”

“Students connect with us on a deeper level, and it inspires me to come and help create this safe space for students to learn through self-discovery,” Zakharkin said.

This collective empowers students to express their stories and connect with others, creating an environment where they feel seen and heard.

“Their story matters, and their story is important,” Gazaway said. “If it is meaningful to students, it is meaningful to everyone.”