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International students

Kseniia Sulialeva, a native of Russia, in front of a dock filled with sea lions.

Graduate spotlight: Kseniia Sulialeva turns passion for art into career in graphic design

A paid internship has led to a full-time job for a Pellissippi State Community College student who will graduate Friday.  Kseniia Sulialeva, who has earned her Associate of Arts in Media Technologies/Design for Web and Print, has accepted a graphic design position at Radio Systems Corporation, 10 years after she… Read More »Graduate spotlight: Kseniia Sulialeva turns passion for art into career in graphic design

Evaughn Barnett in cap and gown

Hope for a brighter future brings Barnett to Pellissippi State from Jamaica

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

Fatima in cap and gown

International student cultivates sense of belonging by working with students

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

Milano-Benitez interns with quantum materials, plans career in energy

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

Louise Niyogushima

Volunteering helps graduate make connections in community

As a self-proclaimed “broke college student,” Louise Niyogushima has learned that everyone has something they can give to help others, even if it’s not money.  “I am a broke student,” laughs Louise, “but I wanted to do something to make a difference in the community. So, I joined the Rotaract… Read More »Volunteering helps graduate make connections in community

Steve Anderton inside the Goins Administration Building

Student support services help Anderton finish what he started

In the two years Steve Anderton has been a student at Pellissippi State, he’s had six different addresses, gotten married and divorced, experienced homelessness and suffered two major illnesses. But through it all, Steve’s professors kept telling him not to give up.  “All the way through, the most common message… Read More »Student support services help Anderton finish what he started

Seda Ellis, left, and her sister Klea Lamallari, right, sit on the Hardin Valley Campus under a dogwood tree

Lamallari takes the lead on campus that convinced her to stay

From medical school in Albania to an Associate of Science in Accounting at Pellissippi State, Klea Lamallari has learned that unexpected changes can still lead to great things.  While in high school in Albania, Klea had already applied for medical school. Then, during a trip to Knoxville to visit her… Read More »Lamallari takes the lead on campus that convinced her to stay

Nursing graduate learns English on way to new career

“I was somebody in my country. When I moved here, I was nobody.”  That’s what it felt like to Tserendejid Batsaikhan when she arrived in the United States from her native Mongolia eight years ago. Although she had a degree in radio communications engineering, Batsaikhan did not speak English and… Read More »Nursing graduate learns English on way to new career