Pellissippi State student achievers balance work, family, education … and success

“What I dream of is an art of balance.”
—Henri Matisse (1869-1954), painter

Most people would describe their lives as a balancing act, one in which they juggle the demands of work and family. But throw in educational advancement, and the act of achieving balance becomes more like an art.

Two students at Pellissippi State exemplify that delicate art of combining work, family and education … and succeeding simultaneously in all three endeavors.

Like many of the College’s students who hold down jobs, raise families and attend school, Barbara Miller and Tam Ha are accustomed to the juggling act. And though their individual stories differ, both have so successfully struck the balance that they recently were recognized at the 2009 Pellissippi State Academic Awards ceremony.

Barbara Miller received the Paralegal Studies Outstanding Graduate Award and the Part-Time Student Outstanding Achievement Award.

Inducted into the 2008-2009 Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges, she is soon to graduate from the Paralegal Studies associate’s degree program. But she already works full time for Knox County Juvenile Court, at the same time maintaining a 3.9 GPA and serving as a community leader.

Miller has twice been president of the student-based Pellissippi Paralegal Association, doubling membership during her term. She organized PPA’s sponsorship of John Tarleton Home’s residents and other PPA fundraisers, as well as spearheaded a ride-share project for community members and students concerned about gas prices.

In fact, according to Arlene Cleveland, program coordinator of Paralegal Studies, Miller is “actively committed to getting more students involved in more different ways than at any other time in PPA’s history.” That’s quite an accolade for a working mom who also finds time to volunteer at her son’s school.

Tam Ha balances work, family and education. He’s also a non-native English speaker.

Inducted into Who’s Who during the 2007-2008 academic year, Ha is the recipient of two Pellissippi State academic achievement awards this year: the Electrical Engineering Technology Outstanding Graduate Award and the Outstanding Achievement Award (International).

Ha has come a long way since his first two days in an EET class in 2006. He says he made a 60 percent on his first quiz and wondered if he could pass the course.

The Vietnamese student had arrived in the United States in 2004 and enrolled in school, he said, “because I thought it would be the best environment for me to improve my English in the shortest time.

“However, my English was not good enough to understand the lecture and to do well on the quiz.”

Ha went on in his first semester to make an A in that and another EET course—and his success has continued with a 3.92 GPA. Beyond academics, Ha works full time and has a wife and two children.

Miller and Ha, and approximately 800 other students, are scheduled to graduate Saturday, May 9. Commencement is at 10:30 a.m. at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena.