The Alice Eaves Barns Award Outstanding Achievement in Master’s Program

The Alice Eaves Barns Award is named in honor of a Graduate School staff member’s many years of outstanding service to the Graduate School. This award recognizes a student who has displayedtenacity in the face of adversity while attaining excellence in both the classroom and outside endeavors; it is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in a master's program. Staff Sergeant Thaddious Jermaine Brown is this year's recipient of the Barns Award.

Thaddious is completing a Master’s of Education in Counseling and Human Development with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, under the direction of Dr. Melissa C. Henry, who has served as his academic mentor throughout the program. Dr. Ahmad Washington has also provided guidance that has extended beyond the classroom into life and leadership. Thaddious earned an Associate of Arts in Psychology from Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in May 2019 and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Louisville in August 2022. His undergraduate journey reflects the mobility and demands of military service, as he completed coursework at American Public University System, Austin Peay State University, and Trident University International while serving his country. After entering the CMHC program in Fall 2022, he balanced both part-time and full-time enrollment while supporting his family and residing in Fort Knox.

Before entering the counseling profession, Thaddious served for many years in the United States Army, including multiple combat deployments. His leadership experience and commitment to service shaped his transition into graduate education and clinical practice. During his program, he completed clinical training at Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health Outpatient Center in Radcliff, Kentucky, commuting from Fort Knox. He later served at Cumberland Hall Hospital in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, providing counseling services to individuals navigating significant mental health challenges. His clinical focus on supporting Veterans and individuals coping with trauma reflects both his lived experience and professional commitment to service. Throughout his time in the program, Thaddious became known for his steady presence, humility, and ability to foster community within his cohort.

The Alice Eaves Barns Award honors tenacity amid adversity coupled with excellence across domains. His mentors write that “Thaddious J. Brown exemplifies this ideal in both measurable and immeasurable ways. He entered this program already a leader forged by military service, mentorship, and faith-rooted commitment to others. During his graduate studies, he endured profound personal loss, academic challenge, geographic strain, and the complexities of military family life-yet he maintained academic progress, fulfilled clinical responsibilities, strengthened his cohort, and continued serving vulnerable populations. He has not allowed adversity to define him. Instead, he has transformed hardship into compassion, grief into teaching, and struggle into service.”

Following graduation, Thaddious plans to continue his work at Cumberland Hall Hospital in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where he will provide compassionate, trauma-informed mental health care to individuals and families in need. His journey from military leadership to professional counselor embodies resilience, service, and an enduring commitment to uplifting others.