Mae Manis had gone down many different paths on her way to Pellissippi State, not the least of which was as a firewalker. “I started firewalking at 15, I started teaching at 18 with my brother, and then I went to firewalking school and got licensed to teach by myself… Read More »Firewalker blazes new path at Pellissippi State
James Lombard III has the whole college thing figured out, but that epiphany didn’t happen instantly. He went to Eastern Michigan University right after graduating high school in Detroit, but “I didn’t know why I was there,” he explains. James tried again after he left the Navy, that time at the University of Tennessee. After a couple of years there, however, he still wasn’t sure what college really had to offer… Read More »Veteran finds Pellissippi State to be a perfect fit
Nicki Spurling transferred her job from Georgia to Tennessee to be with her husband. After a few years, however, she felt she’d been putting her education on the back burner for too long, and it was time to go back to school. “I really want to do it,” she told her husband, who… Read More »Cancer diagnosis didn’t stop Spurling from finishing her degree
Evaughn Barnett was going to college in his home country of Jamaica, “but the future wasn’t looking too bright,” he says. The opportunity wasn’t there like it is in the United States, Evaughn explains, so he wanted to make a move. He contacted his godfather in Knoxville for some guidance.… Read More »Hope for a brighter future brings Barnett to Pellissippi State from Jamaica
After sending her daughter off to college in 2014, Tina King started having her own aspirations to return to school. “Why not? I didn’t get to finish college when I first started in 1993, so I think I’ll give it a shot,” Tina recalls. A longtime employee of the Tennessee… Read More »King’s pursuit of management degree helps her move up the ladder at TDOT
Keegan Rouland comes from a long line of college graduates, so it was important for him to live up to that legacy. His first step toward that goal was to enroll at Pellissippi State. Fortunately, he already had family on his side. His stepfather is a Pellissippi State graduate and… Read More »Stay Strong Success Center helps Rouland get back on track to graduation
Fatima Alhaj Salameh didn’t know anyone in the United States upon arriving in 2019, but she knew she had a strong desire to go to college. “Education is what makes me feel the most happy and most alive, and I always want to develop myself and keep going,” Fatima explains. … Read More »International student cultivates sense of belonging by working with students
Brandon Ball, a veteran of the U.S. Army, enrolled in college right out of high school, but put his academic journey on hold to help financially support his family after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. After serving in the military for four years, Brandon applied to Pellissippi State… Read More »U.S. Army veteran finds strong support system at Pellissippi State
To celebrate our class of fall 2022, we will be releasing a series of graduate spotlights to share the accomplishments of our amazing students. The first in this series features Mariana Milano-Benitez, a Venezuelan-born student who moved to the United States five years ago with her family so they could… Read More »Milano-Benitez interns with quantum materials, plans career in energy
Sawyer Radford of Maryville wanted nothing more than to go to college, but her family faced a lot of challenges when she was growing up. Between the death of her father and the hospitalization of one of her sisters, Radford made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw from classes at Carson-Newman… Read More »Childhood challenges mold Radford into intuitive teacher