Pamela Coffin received the support she needed from Pellissippi State Disability Services.
After years of struggling in class and feeling like a failure, Pamela Coffin was ready to give up on college.
Pamela first came to Pellissippi State because of her daughter, who encouraged her to go to college through the Tennessee Reconnect program. However, after failing several classes, Pamela became discouraged and thought something had to be wrong.
“I thought it was the end of the world and didn’t think I could do it,” recalls Pamela. “I thought something had to be wrong; there’s no way I keep failing back-to-back-to-back-to-back. I’m following the instructions, I’m reading all my homework, doing everything as best as I can, and I just can’t understand what’s going on.”
After Pamela reached out to Pellissippi State Disability Services, she was tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. Once she knew the source of her struggles, Pamela was able to find the support she needed and began thriving at Pellissippi State.
“Oh my goodness, you talk about support! Disability Services at Pellissippi State is top notch,” says Pamela. “The staff provide so many resources and tools for students. If it had not been for them and the tools they provided for me, I wouldn’t be sitting here today. They gave me everything I needed to be successful! I wasn’t ashamed that I had a learning disability. I finally felt like, ‘I can do this! I am going to do this!’”
Pamela graduated from Pellissippi State in December 2021 with her Associate of Science and plans to go into social work after a lifetime of caring for others. As a child, Pamela’s mother was in and out of the hospital frequently. As an adult, Pamela has supported family members as they battled illnesses, including cancer, and is also a full-time caregiver for her husband, who is a Vietnam veteran and a Purple Heart recipient.
She hopes to pass this compassion on to her children and grandchildren, Devin, Makayla, Amos and Amora.
“I’m teaching my family to care about others,” shares Pamela. “It’s not always about money, it’s about having love for one another.”
Pamela has already started her own business, A Lota Care, where she provides services as a notary public, personal representative and medical surrogate. She loves helping people and solving problems, and she believes everyone deserves to have someone who believes in them and is willing to fight for them.
“Life is a journey,” says Pamela. “We’re all paving a way as we go. The struggle is real, poverty is real, mental illness is real, physical conditions are real, habits – good or bad – are real. And it’s a reality of life, but if you just have that one person to extend a helping hand and listening ear, it will make a difference.”
Christy Pittman knew what she wanted to say to her fellow fall 2021 graduates, who had continued their educational journeys despite a global pandemic: “This class did not quit.”
Christy Pittman can still remember the scent of her Daddy’s woodshop when she was young.
“I’ve always loved the smell of sawdust, woodsmoke, paint and varnish,” remembers Pittman, now 53 and a grandmother of three. “That is where my love of design began.”
Now, after 20 years as a nail technician and co-owner of a salon, Pittman has embarked on a new career, having graduated from Pellissippi State with her Associate of Applied Science in Interior Design Technology in December.
“I had attempted college before, but this time I had a major in mind,” Pittman explains. “I knew I wanted to be an interior designer, and I wanted to do this for myself. I wanted to show myself I could complete a college degree.”
Pittman didn’t just take her classes and go home, however. She also plugged in on campus, serving as a New Student Orientation leader and as a tutor with TRIO, a federally funded program that assists first-generation college students as well as low-income students and those with disabilities.
Pittman did all this while taking a full load of classes each semester, cleaning houses, doing nails, helping take care of her 78-year-old mother and keeping two of her grandchildren four days a week!
“My business partner, my (nail) clients and my family have all been amazingly supportive of my decision to go back to school,” Pittman notes. “My children did not choose to continue their education, but if I can do this, they can do it. I’ll be their biggest cheerleader.”
In August, as Pittman embarked on her final semester at Pellissippi State, she also took her first design job with Tile Sensations. It’s a good fit for Pittman, who describes herself as “most passionate about kitchens and bathrooms.”
“Sometimes people don’t know the difference between being an interior decorator and an interior designer,” she adds. “An interior designer creates layouts for accessibility and sustainability.”
In November, Pittman was asked to speak at Pellissippi State’s fall Commencement. It was an honor she couldn’t pass up, even though “it was crazy preparing for this and still doing everything else!” But Pittman knew exactly what she wanted to say to her fellow fall 2021 graduates because she felt an affinity with these students who also had weathered the pandemic during college:
“As students, each of us had to decide to either withdraw and wait for a return to ‘normal’ or to remain committed,” she penned. “COVID robbed us of our normalcy, our jobs and our stability, and we grieved those losses. Exhausted and determined, we confronted our circumstances and overcame obstacles. This class did not quit.”
Pittman isn’t quitting now either. Next week she starts East Tennessee State University’s 2+2 program that will allow her to finish her bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture on Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley Campus.
“Wherever our paths lead us, we began collectively at Pellissippi State during a global pandemic,” she told her fellow graduates on Dec. 10. “This is not the end, but a continuance of our extraordinary story.”
“Denise Burge: Recent Work” is on display at Pellissippi State through Feb. 4. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
A new art exhibit at Pellissippi State Community College shows another side of “usually glamorous” beach life.
“Denise Burge: Recent Work” will be on display in the College’s Bagwell Center for Media and Art Gallery, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, through Feb. 4. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Burge received her Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1991 and has been a professor at University of Cincinnati in Ohio since 1992. She works in a variety of media including painting, film, installation and quilt making.
“Her work is beautiful and unsettling, using images of lush beach landscapes that are completely devoid of people,” said Pellissippi State Professor Herb Rieth. “I described the work in our faculty meeting on Monday as ‘a Destin spring break party where a neutron bomb went off.’”
“I am interested in the romance that we attach to natural space, an illusion onto which we project our desires and fears,” Burge writes on her website. “Imagery of the tropical is usually glamorous, a sort of air-brushed cultural fantasy of profusion and sensuality. I like to expose its more corporeal reality, depicting vernacular tropical living spaces that one finds a few blocks back from the beachfront.”
Burge has received multiple Ohio Arts Council Awards for Individual Artists and has carried out residencies at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts; the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California; and the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. In 2004 she was awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Visual Art.
Burge’s exhibit is the first offering in The Arts at Pellissippi State for spring 2022. The Arts at Pellissippi State includes visual arts exhibits as well as theatre and music performances, all of which are open to the public. For a complete list of this semester’s events, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.
Student Government Association members Anika Schultz, Erin Russell, Aundrea Harding, Schylar Long, Caity Southall and Samantha Russell, from left, soak in the atmosphere of the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville during the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature in November.
A Pellissippi State Community College student has authored a bill that will be submitted to the 2022 Tennessee General Assembly.
“I was extremely excited to find out my bill was going to be sent on!” said Anika Schultz, who serves as the College’s Student Government Association secretary. “I see a large need for this bill to become a law as too many students are missing out on the Tennessee Promise scholarship and end up having to pay out of pocket for their tuition.”
Schultz authored the bill for the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature in November. Commonly referred to by its acronym TISL, the annual event allows college students from across the state to act as a mock Senate and House of Representatives, meeting in the legislative chambers of the State Capitol to exchange ideas, express their opinions and learn how government works.
Pellissippi State sent six students to TISL in 2021, the first year under Student Engagement and Leadership Director Matt Spraker and political science Instructor Jesse Cragwall. Schultz served as a senator while students Caity Southall, Samantha Russell, Erin Russell and Aundrea Harding served as representatives and Schylar Long as a lobbyist.
Schultz, who graduated from high school in May 2021 with a semester of college credits thanks to dual enrollment classes, worked with Cragwall to draft a bill to amend the legislation that established and governs the Tennessee Promise scholarship:
To allow students who fall below 12 credit hours during a semester to be put on probation for a semester instead of revoking the scholarship and
To increase the age limit to allow students to take a gap year between high school and college or to apply if they missed the deadline while still in high school.
“We have seen an issue with many people not applying for the Tennessee Promise because they don’t want to go to college right away because they don’t know what they want to study,” Schultz explained. “And if they miss the deadline to apply, they have to wait until they’re old enough to qualify for Tennessee Reconnect to come back as an adult learner, when what we want is for people to go to college and pursue an education.”
Meanwhile, loosening the requirement of staying at full-time hours to maintain the scholarship would help those who drop a class one semester, she added.
“There are many people who end up losing their scholarships from having to drop a class,” Schultz noted. “You can’t always maintain full-time hours and have lives outside of school.”
Schultz’s bill was sponsored by Southall in the TISL House and passed almost unanimously. When it came to the Senate, Schultz had the opportunity to speak on the chamber floor, even though there was no debate on the bill.
“I thought, ‘This is my dream!’” Schultz remembered. “‘I am in my element!’”
Schultz’s bill passed the TISL Senate unanimously and was signed by the TISL governor the next day. It is one of 10 bills that will be submitted to the 2022 Tennessee General Assembly.
“This was a very good experience,” said Schultz, who plans to transfer to the University of Tennessee and is considering a double major in communications and political science. “Now I know firsthand how government works and learning how government works is a valuable thing even if you don’t want to go into government. That’s the very foundation of our country. I hope we can get even more people interested in going to TISL next year!”
Cragwall has been researching how many people would be affected by this bill if it were adopted by the Tennessee General Assembly.
“Anika is in one of my classes, and she’s definitely motivated to take advantage of learning opportunities inside and outside of school,” said Cragwall, who interned on Capitol Hill when he was an undergraduate at Maryville College. “What are the building blocks she needs? TISL gives students a good hands-on approach to how state government works.”
A former Pellissippi State student and adjunct instructor, Keith Brown returns in concert. Brown is now based in New York City, where he continues to make a name for himself as a pianist and composer on the contemporary jazz scene.
Pianist, composer, arranger and educator Keith Brown returns to Knoxville next week to kick off Pellissippi State Community College’s spring 2022 concert series.
Brown will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, in the Clayton Performing Arts Center on the College’s Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville. The concert is free and open to the public. No tickets are required, but masks are encouraged when at least 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained.
Born in Memphis and raised in Knoxville, Brown is the son of world-renowned jazz pianist and composer Donald Brown and Dorothy Brown, who also is a pianist and plays various woodwind instruments. Brown began playing piano and bass at an early age and, by age 18, was playing piano and bass around Knoxville in a variety of jazz, R&B, funk and country bands.
Brown attended Pellissippi State and later earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music. Brown also served as an adjunct instructor of Music at Pellissippi State before taking his talents to New York City, where he continues to make a name for himself as a pianist and composer on the contemporary jazz scene.
“I always try to write and perform in a way that is intellectual, but that has a strong sense of melody or groove that can touch those who are open enough to listen,” said Brown, noting he continues to draw inspiration from his roots in R&B, funk, classical, jazz and hip-hop and constantly explores new ways of integrating these influences.
Keith Brown in Concert is part of The Arts at Pellissippi State, which includes visual arts exhibits as well as theatre and music performances, all of which are open to the public. For a complete list of this semester’s events, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.
Ahadut Mengesha works on his Raspberry Pi computer at camp in summer 2021. Raspberry Pi camp is an introduction to physical computing using the Python programming language and a Raspberry Pi single board computer.
Pellissippi State Community College has received a second round of funding to enhance its College to Career Collaboratives in Knox and Blount counties.
Gov. Bill Lee announced Nov. 18 the second round of the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) program, which prioritizes learning opportunities in rural counties and enhances career and technical education statewide. The first round of GIVE funding in 2019 served an estimated 8,000 students, and this second round will serve an estimated 7,500 students.
Among the 13 projects funded in East Tennessee are Pellissippi State’s Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology College to Career Collaboratives. The $786,284 GIVE 2.0 grant will expand the Advanced Manufacturing program already underway in Blount County to Knox County, while the $994,164 GIVE 2.0 grant will expand the Information Technology program already underway in Knox County to Blount County.
“We have experienced great satisfaction as we have helped to inform students to see all the career possibilities in manufacturing and construction,” said Jon Gilbert, work-based learning director for Pellissippi State’s Business and Community Services. “Building relationships with the schools and industry partners and helping to connect all relevant parties strengthens the entire community and the developing workforce.”
GIVE 1.0 focused on advanced manufacturing and construction career pathways for Blount County. To date, the grant enabled Pellissippi State to
Purchase needed equipment for Blount County, Alcoa City and Maryville City schools, including electrical trainers and precision measurement equipment;
Provide hands-on learning experiences for more than 100 students through camps and workshops in welding, electrical, machining, electrical engineering, robotics and construction;
Facilitate tours of local manufacturing plants, providing a first-hand look at what careers in these fields would involve; and
Provide resources for Pellissippi State students to receive National Institute for Metalworking Skills certifications and for Pellissippi State instructors to enhance their skills through externships with Denso.
Pellissippi State Instructor Jose Nazario, left, and MegaLab Director Andy Polnicki, second from left, teach Blount County high school students about manual machining during the Mechanical Engineering Young Manufacturers Academy.
GIVE 2.0 will expand the advanced manufacturing career pathway into Knox County. Some of the key elements will be:
Providing Advanced Manufacturing interactive career awareness and exploration activities in up to six middle schools;
Providing Certified Production Technician training and camps to support the needs of local employers for skilled employees;
Working with industry partners to develop and facilitate work-based learning opportunities for Knox County students; and
Partnering with high schools to develop manufacturing dual enrollment course opportunities.
In Knox County, GIVE 1.0 focused on increasing the number of students who enroll in and complete Information Technology-related degrees and certifications in Pellissippi State’s Computer Information Technology programs, which include concentrations in Cybersecurity, Networking, Programming and Systems Administration and Management. A key component included embedding industry recognized credentials into Pellissippi State’s IT associate degrees.
GIVE 1.0 also engaged high school students with industry partners and faculty in a systematic and significant way. Examples include
Saturday Clubs for middle and high school students, taught by Pellissippi State faculty, on topics such as Introduction to Programming, Internet of Things and Principals of Cybersecurity;
Summer camps including two programming camps (one in coordination with Centro Hispano), an IT Fundamentals and Coding class in partnership with Project GRAD and a two-week Raspberry Pi camp in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley;
A series of virtual “Day in the Life” events with industry partners, highlighting careers within each of Pellissippi State’s Computer Information Technology concentrations; and
Placing 10 high school students in IT-related summer internships with local businesses.
GIVE 2.0 will expand the information technology pathway into Knox County. Some of the key elements will be:
Expanding IT career pathway programs, including the development of IT 4+1 plans with partner high schools that allow students to work toward their associate degrees over the course of their high school years, finishing with just one additional year of college after high school;
Implementing a collaborative, meaningful and structured work-based learning continuum that begins in middle school and continues through completion of postsecondary credentials; and
Expanding access to in-demand industry recognized certification testing.
“We are thrilled to expand our services into Blount County and continue our work making IT career pathways accessible to students from underrepresented populations,” said Rebecca McDonough, work-based learning director for Business and Computer Technology. “We are thankful to our IT industry partners who have invested in the next generation of local IT workforce through this type of community outreach and look forward to building new relationships in Blount County.”
The GIVE grants are administered by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), and the award process began in July 2021 with the release of a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP). Each proposal was required to show local data that clearly identified both workforce needs and a sustainable plan utilizing equipment, work-based learning experiences, or recognized industry certifications to increase the state’s competitiveness and postsecondary attainment goals.
For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865.694.6400.
Pellissippi State Community College is sending out notifications today regarding a December 2021 data security incident. That incident may have resulted in unauthorized access to, or acquisition of, some personal information of our former and current students, faculty and staff, as well as participants in Tennessee Consortium for International Studies (TNCIS) programs. Notification is being sent upon conclusion of the subsequent cyber forensics investigation.
The forensics investigation revealed that the ransomware attack was focused primarily on encrypting Pellissippi State’s data to force a ransom payment. The college’s main database and credit card payment systems were not involved in the attack, and no data from those systems was accessed by unauthorized users. However, the investigation confirmed unauthorized access to one system that included basic directory information such as names, email addresses, P numbers (internal ID numbers) and Pellissippi State passwords.
The investigation also concluded that it was impossible to determine with certainty whether any additional personally identifiable information was accessed. Therefore, Pellissippi State is urging all persons who have provided data to the college to take action to protect themselves from identity theft. Free credit monitoring is being made available to individuals potentially affected by this possible breach.
“Our students and employees entrust us with important information, and we take that responsibility very seriously,” said L. Anthony Wise Jr., president of Pellissippi State. “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts at data protection, as the investigation into the cyberattack progressed, it became clear that we could not conclude that there was no exposure of personal information. We are notifying members of the college community of this incident and want those who may have provided personal information to the college to be aware of how they can protect themselves.”
Pellissippi State has sent email notices to all individuals with email addresses in its database. This email included a code to sign up for the credit monitoring service. If you did not receive a code and believe you may have been affected or if you have questions, please contact the toll-free hotline at 1-855-604-1808 between Feb. 2 and May 2 or email cyberresponse@pstcc.edu. As always, individuals should monitor activity on their online accounts and report any suspicious behavior to the appropriate authorities.
“Regrettably, attacks by cybercriminals are much more common and are an inherent risk in today’s online environment,” said Pellissippi State Chief Information Officer Audrey Williams. “As soon as this incident was discovered, our Information Services staff acted swiftly to prevent further access by the attackers to our systems. We have been working diligently to restore our online services in a way that will better defend Pellissippi State from future cyberattacks.”
The college has set up a web page at www.pstcc.edu/cyberattack with more detailed information on the event itself and how individuals can protect themselves against potential misuse of personal information.
Those whose finances or job outlooks were negatively impacted by COVID-19 have one more chance to receive free career training at Pellissippi State Community College.
The college will offer its Reimagine Your Career program on Tuesdays and Thursdays Feb. 15-March 17 at the Blount County Campus and the Magnolia Avenue Campus. All classes will be held 6-9 p.m.
This free, noncredit training program, first held in fall 2021, is for anyone who has been let go from a job, laid off permanently or temporarily, experienced a reduction in hours or wages, or has had to take a new job that pays less, due to the pandemic.
Reimagine Your Career features foundational career skills as well as career-specific training. Participants choose the career track they’d like to pursue from options such as customer service, information technology and manufacturing – and are guaranteed an interview with at least one of Pellissippi State’s partnering businesses at the conclusion of the program. These businesses – including DENSO, Avero Advisors, PCS Inc., Flowers Foods and Allevia Technology – are actively hiring positions within each Reimagine Your Career Track.
“This is a great opportunity for both the individuals in our community that were impacted negatively from the pandemic and for the businesses that make up our local economy,” said Teri Brahams, executive director of economic and workforce development for Pellissippi State. “There are people who are seeking a meaningful career path and financial stability, and there are businesses that need people with certain skillsets to fill their open positions. It’s a win-win situation we’re helping provide.”
While the Reimagine Your Career program is provided at no cost to the participants, there is an investment of time. The career foundations training is a 30-hour commitment, while the training in specific career tracks vary from 36 to 140 hours.
For more information or to apply for the Reimagine Your Career program, visit www.tinyurl.com/reimagine22 or call Business and Community Services at 865.539.7167. Deadline to apply is Thursday, Feb. 10.
Muriel Condon: Fabric Print and Quilt, which includes this quilt Condon curated with fellow printmakers’ fabric squares, is on display at Pellissippi State Feb. 7-March 4.
Pellissippi State Community College offers free art exhibits and musical performances each month – and no tickets are required.
Beginning Monday, Feb. 7, The Arts at Pellissippi State presents Muriel Condon: Fabric Print and Quilt in the Bagwell Center for Media Art Gallery. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.
Condon, a printmaker who is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Tennessee, curated a fabric quilt print exchange with fellow printmakers from across the United States in 2021. Each printmaker, including Knoxville’s own Jake Ingram, contributed works on 12-inch by 12-inch fabric quilt squares, which Condon then pieced together.
“The overall installation touches on the tension between collaborative and individual art, two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional art, fine art vs. craft and objects that we use,” said Pellissippi State Professor Herb Rieth.
Condon received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Montana State University in Printmaking and Painting in 2016 and has studied and served at Frogman’s Print Workshops in Omaha, Nebraska; the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia; and Whiteaker Printmakers in Eugene, Oregon. Before moving to Knoxville, she also participated in the Print Arts Northwest’s Emerging Printmaker residency and was an instructional assistant for screen printing at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon.
Muriel Condon: Fabric Print and Quilt will be on display until Friday, March 4. The Bagwell Gallery is on Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville.
The college also will offer six free concerts this month, all of which will be held on the Hardin Valley Campus. Mark your calendars now for these opportunities through The Arts at Pellissippi State:
Spring Faculty Recital – Thursday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m., Clayton Performing Arts Center
Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra Concert – Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m., Clayton Performing Arts Center
Winter Choral Concert – Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m., Clayton Performing Arts Center
The public also is invited to Pellissippi State for three musical events in honor of Black History Month:
Grammy-award winner Dom Flemons in Concert – Wednesday, Feb. 23, 11:50 a.m., Clayton Performing Arts Center, followed by a free workshop on the African roots of the banjo and its influence on American music at 3:45 p.m.
Pellissippi Party and Motown Concert by Soulful Sounds Revue – Friday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m., College Center, Goins Administration Building
Variations Ensemble performs a collection of African American Spirituals – Monday, Feb. 28, 1:30 p.m., Goins Rotunda and Facebook Live
Masks are not required at Pellissippi State, but the college recommends you wear one when you cannot maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet between yourself and others in your party.
For a sneak peek at upcoming events in The Arts at Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.
Pellissippi State Community College invites the community to welcome two new campus deans who have weathered both a pandemic and a ransomware attack since their start dates.
The college will hold a Meet and Greet with Magnolia Avenue Campus Dean Stella Bridgeman at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18, on the Magnolia Avenue Campus, 1610 Magnolia Ave., Knoxville. RSVP by Friday, Feb. 11, to rsvp@pstcc.edu.
The college will hold a Meet and Greet with Blount County Campus Dean Priscilla Duenkel at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 25, on the Blount County Campus, 2731 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Friendsville. RSVP by Friday, Feb. 18, to rsvp@pstcc.edu.
Both Meet and Greet events will be followed by short programs at 9:30 a.m.
“I am very excited to welcome Deans Bridgeman and Duenkel to Pellissippi State,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Rushton Johnson. “Their experience and professional backgrounds are a good fit for the college, and I am confident that they will make significant and meaningful contributions to the strategic work of Pellissippi State in student success for years to come.”
Bridgeman joined Pellissippi State on Dec. 1, 2021. A native of Roane County and three-time graduate of Tennessee Tech University, Bridgeman’s 20-year career in higher education includes being an academic advisor in the College of Education at Tennessee Tech, assistant director of the Student Success Center at the University of Tennessee and, most recently, director of First-Year Programs at the University of Tennessee.
“Being a campus dean, we cross several lines: academic affairs, student affairs. We have to be knowledgeable about everything from recruitment to retention and graduation and everything in between while putting that all together for our campus’ students,” Bridgeman said. “Student success is important to me, and being a campus dean allows me to compile everything I’ve done in my career in higher education, at both Tennessee Tech and UT, and use all those different skill sets in one position, and that’s exciting.”
Bridgeman already felt she had “a whole little family” at Pellissippi State, she added, having worked with Pellissippi State leaders, including Division Street Campus Dean Esther Dyer, on a joint program with UT. She was only on board five days before Pellissippi State experienced a ransomware attack during finals week.
“I was able to learn a lot about Pellissippi State in a short amount of time because I jumped in to work Virtual Student Services in the aftermath of the cyberattack,” Bridgeman noted. “The best part was talking with students.
“I particularly enjoy working with first-year students, especially those who don’t have a major in mind because their minds are wide open to all the possibilities,” she added. “I was a first-generation college student, and what I realize is that you don’t know what you don’t know. I like helping students understand their strengths so that they can explore different avenues. I want them to feel comfortable coming in and talking with me. I know that having support provides the space to make great things happen.”
Bridgeman’s goals for Magnolia Avenue Campus include growing enrollment, providing resources for students and continuing to bolster community connections. She already forged a new partnership with Knoxville Utilities Board, which held a two-day career fair on the Magnolia Avenue Campus in January.
Duenkel joined Pellissippi State on Sept. 1, 2020, when the college was still primarily working and learning from home due to the pandemic. A native of Sweetwater and a graduate of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., and McKendree University in Illinois, Duenkel most recently served as assistant director for Student Success at Roane State Community College, where she was accountable for the supervision and performance of 15 success coaches as well as advised students in academic course selection, financial aid and career counseling. She previously worked at Tennessee Tech and King University.
“I have a passion for first-generation students,” said Duenkel, who found her calling in higher education while working as a resident chaplain at Lee University. “That’s why I wanted to transition to community colleges.”
Duenkel’s goals as Blount County Campus dean include fostering community on campus, making sure all the resources provided to students on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus also are available to students who attend classes on the Blount County Campus and increasing diversity.
“I want to create an environment here so that students want to be on campus and spend time here, not just come here for their classes and leave,” she said.
Despite starting her new job during a pandemic when most of her interaction with colleagues and students was virtual, Duenkel said her transition to Pellissippi State has been a good one.
“I worked across the street from the Hardin Valley Campus for six years when I was with King University, and I did a lot during that time with King’s Admissions team,” she noted. “I knew Pellissippi State was an inviting community.”
With most students back on campus now, Duenkel is busy looking toward the future.
“This is an exciting time for the Blount County Campus, with our new workforce development center opening this year,” she said. “That building will bring lots of opportunities and resources not only to our students, but also to the community – everything from workforce development to our Culinary Arts program.”
For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865.694.6400.
