Author: Grayson Marshall

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 family, Klea decided to tour a few nearby colleges at the request of her sister. 

“My sister, Seta, wanted us to go look at some colleges together, so we decided to visit Pellissippi State,” shares Klea. “It was right before the pandemic, so the campus was full of people. I remember driving by the pond and I fell in love with the college. That was my first perception of America, and I loved it.”  

After getting to speak with Pellissippi State’s international admissions advisor, Klea decided to stay and attend college in the States. “That was my sister’s plan all along,” laughs Klea. “I just decided to stay. Everyone was so nice, even from my first time on campus.”  

While Klea was excited to get started at Pellissippi State, she had to wait another year until her visa was transferred from a B-2 to an F-1 status, which would allow her to attend college in the United States. During this time, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and Pellissippi State’s campuses closed.  

Klea began her college career during the pandemic and took all her classes online. Even though she had to come to campus a few times for certain classes, she recalls that the campus was so empty it felt like a ghost town.  

Even though her first semester in college was nothing like what she had anticipated, Klea remained determined to stay in college and see it through.  

“I was able to keep going because I just kept looking forward to how it would look eventually,” shares Klea. “I try to enjoy wherever I’m at in life, so I found the good part of it even during the pandemic. Even online classes were different and fun. I enjoyed the experience even though I didn’t get to see a lot of people.”  

Eventually campuses reopened and classes began to return to in-person. Klea finally had the chance to get involved around campus, and she quickly jumped into several leadership roles. Klea became director of the Student Activities Board, president of the International Club, a New Student Orientation leader, and a National Society of Leadership and Success inductee.  

“As student director of the Student Activities Board, I get to plan and host events for students on campus, which is one of the best things ever!” says Klea. “Because of this job, I’ve been skiing for the first time, and I went to a baseball game for the first time. It’s so much fun. I’ve gotten to know all these people and do all these things to give back to others.”  

Klea’s first visit to campus had such a great impact on her that she immediately decided to attend Pellissippi State, Now, Klea leads campus tours for visitors and gets to share that same experience with new and prospective students. As an orientation leader, Klea also coaches freshmen through their first-year experience.  

“I’ve had moments where students have been really affected by the help,” she says. “I’ve been able to encourage students who were ready to drop out, and they’ve told me how that support made them want to keep going. It’s good to know that I get to affect other people and help them because that’s the best thing ever. I just want to make sure they succeed.”  

After two years of unexpected twists, Klea is graduating from Pellissippi State this May and will transfer to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to continue studying accounting. She hopes to eventually work in forensic accounting, but she’s leaving her options open for travel and other business ventures. 

Even though her path through college ended up looking much different from what she had originally thought, Klea found her place at Pellissippi State.  

###

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 I heard from the school was ‘just don’t quit’ — keep trying, do what you can and just don’t walk away,” shares Steve. “If it wasn’t for those people who were in my corner cheering for me, I probably would have walked away a year ago.” 

Steve was born and raised in Australia and moved to the States with his father after high school. After working in retail for years, he was happy working at a small, mom-and-pop computer store. Everything was going great until the store was held up in an armed robbery and Steve realized he didn’t want to work in retail anymore. His girlfriend encouraged him to apply to Pellissippi State, where they ended up taking classes together for a semester before she graduated.  

Steve and his girlfriend got married and moved into student housing at the four-year university where she had transferred. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t work out, and Steve’s wife asked him to leave their apartment the week of finals.   

“It’s been an interesting journey. If you’ve ever been through a divorce or relocation, your life kind of blows apart,” shares Steve. “I had really bought into the dream of being a full-time student, and then I had nothing. So here I was — unemployed, homeless and struggling.” 

Steve emailed his professors to explain he was homeless and jobless and unable to finish his finals. All were encouraging and did what they could to help him finish with good grades.  

“They all asked me what do you need, what do you have, what can I do?” he says. “One of my professors encouraged me to find some way to take my finals and my response was, ‘I wish I could!’ I have greater things to worry about right now, like it’s cold outside and I don’t want to sleep in my truck and where’s my next meal coming from. You know, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – I’m far from self-actualization at this point!” 

Everyone Steve knew at Pellissippi State reached out and told him not to quit. He found support and help in many places, including Student Care and Advocacy, Counseling Services and TRiO. 

“The Student Care and Advocacy office really helped carry me through,” Steve says. “They came up with some money to help me pay my rent, gave me Food City cards so I could eat. They really put a lot out there to help me through the really, really tough times.” 

Steve also began going to counseling every week with Pellissippi State’s Counseling Services.  

“They were extremely helpful,” he shares. “It was great to be able to sit down and talk with someone, and they pointed me in the direction to get more assistance.” 

And Steve found support and encouragement in TRiO, which offers one-on-one support for students who are first-generation, low income or who have a disability.  

“TRiO has always been there for me,” he says. “They’ll even text and check up on me if I haven’t showed up in the office for a couple weeks.”   

Despite monumental challenges, Steve never gave up and will be graduating from Pellissippi State this May with his Associate of Science degree. He plans to go back to Australia after he graduates to be with his mother and hopes to continue his education at a university in Sydney.  

“There’s so much help here,” he says. “There are people waiting to help you right this very moment in any way they can. When you’re thinking you’re helpless and hopeless and not good enough, there’s someone at this school waiting to tell you that you are good enough, that there is hope, that there is reason to continue – and they’re going to show you how to do it. You just have to ask for that help.”  

With the help of his professors and student services at Pellissippi State, Steve overcame extreme obstacles and found the support he needed to finish strong. 

“I didn’t overcome all these things because I’m any kind of miracle worker or anything special,” says Steve. “I overcame it because of all the help this school gave me.” 

###

While 689 Pellissippi State Community College students will graduate this May, the College already has more than 2,500 guests registered to attend the school’s Commencement ceremonies this week. 

Pellissippi State will hold two Commencement ceremonies, both in the courtyard of its Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville: 7 p.m. Friday, May 6, and 10 a.m. Saturday, May 7. 

Graduates could choose the ceremony that worked best for their schedules. 

“Several students have shared they didn’t have a high school graduation (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), so the families have really rallied to attend these events,” said Pellissippi State Records Manager Terri Strader.  

Pellissippi State is expecting 257 graduates to walk across the stage Friday night and another 155 on Saturday morning, Strader said. However, the College already has more than 2,500 guests registered to attend, she added. 

“That’s amazing,” Strader said. “The stories our students share and the obstacles some have overcome are so uplifting.” 

Pellissippi State is highlighting some of those stories this week on its Facebook page, Instagram account and News webpage. One graduate spotlight will be highlighted on social media each day this week. 

Tserendejid Batsaikhan, whose story was shared Monday, is graduating with her Nursing degree eight years after moving to the United States from her native Mongolia. She spoke no English when she arrived and started her Pellissippi State journey with English for Speakers of Other Languages classes. Her mother is coming from Mongolia for her daughter’s graduation, and it will be the first time the two have seen each other in four years. 

For more information about Pellissippi State’s graduation, including how to register to attend and which campus entrance to use, visit www.pstcc.edu/graduation. Commencement ceremonies will be held in the Hardin Valley Campus Courtyard rain or shine, but graduates should check the College’s website and social media accounts as well as their Pellissippi State email for any change in time or date due to severe inclement weather. 

Guests in need of accommodations should reach out to accommodations@pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6411 for assistance. 

### 

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 Club at Pellissippi State, even though it was just for my last semester. I made connections with other people and made new friends from other colleges. I learned that even if I don’t have money, I can still give my time to people. Everyone has time to help!”  

A native of Tanzania, Louise is graduating from Pellissippi State with a degree in political science and will transfer to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville this fall to work on earning a Legal Studies Graduate Certificate. She plans to eventually work as a paralegal in immigration law.  

During her time at Pellissippi State, Louise has learned the importance of getting involved on campus. “Connection is very crucial,” she says. “Getting involved is a great way to learn from other people and to get to know more about those who are different from you.”  

One of the best ways Louise has gotten involved is by volunteering with the Rotaract Club, a national organization with the mission to bring together people ages 18-30 in universities and communities worldwide to organize service activities, develop leadership and professional skills and have fun.  

The Pellissippi State Rotaract Club is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Farragut, and members of both chapters have served together at several service projects this spring. In addition to participating in World Rotary Day at Vine Middle Magnet with other local Rotary and Rotaract chapters, the club has also volunteered with Laundry Love, a program designed to ease the burden of laundry care for struggling families, and planted 35 cypress trees at Girls, Inc. in Oak Ridge. 

“Through the Rotaract Club, I got to meet a lot of people who have spent years volunteering,” says Louise. “It was amazing because I thought I would meet other people with similar experiences as me, but I also met people who have been volunteering for so long helping the community.”  

The Rotaract Club at Pellissippi State was founded in 2013 but has been inactive for several years. The club was officially reinstated at Pellissippi State this spring. Instructional Technology Specialist Stephanie Markowitz is serving as the club’s advisor, and a group of students have already jumped right into action. 

“Louise has inspired me through her desire to serve and help others, along with her ability to lead and take initiative,” shares Markowitz. “Her passion for serving others, her beautiful smile, and her kind heart are contagious.” 

One of the benefits of joining the Pellissippi State Rotaract Club is meeting members from other chapters, including the UTK Rotaract Club. Louise will already be connected with the club and will know other students when she transfers to UTK this fall.  

“I am glad that we could connect Louise with the UTK Rotaract Club so she can continue serving our community and making a difference in the lives of others after her time at Pellissippi State!” says Markowitz. 

In addition to volunteering, Louise has worked as an orientation leader at Pellissippi State, where she helps students to get involved and make their own connections around campus. Louise has also taken advantage of Pellissippi State’s student support services such as tutoring from the Academic Support Center and resume help from Career Services. 

“I appreciate how much the College really helps students to get involved and provides lots of activities that help students make connections,” she shares. “It’s been a great experience, and I wish I could stay at Pellissippi State longer!” 

###

Due to unfavorable weather forecasts for Friday, May 6, Pellissippi State Community College has rescheduled both of its outdoor Commencement ceremonies to Saturday, May 7. 

The ceremonies will still be held in the Hardin Valley Campus Courtyard, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville. 

Dean of Students Travis Loveday alerted all graduates and guests who had registered to attend Commencement ceremonies via email Wednesday evening. 

“To make Commencement memorable for all the right reasons, we are making the decision to reschedule the ceremonies,” he wrote. “We are very excited to celebrate your accomplishments with you this weekend! We will see you at the Hardin Valley Campus soon.” 

Pellissippi State has rescheduled Commencement ceremonies as follows: 

• 7 p.m. Friday, May 6, has been rescheduled to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7 
• 10 a.m. Saturday, May 7, has been rescheduled to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7, out of concern the ground will still be wet on Saturday morning 

Graduates do not need to re-register for Commencement, but are asked to attend the rescheduled ceremony that corresponds with their original commitment to ensure the College has enough seating for graduates and their guests. Pellissippi State is expecting more than 2,500 people between the two ceremonies. 

If the forecast shows increased chances of inclement weather for Saturday afternoon and evening, Pellissippi State will move the ceremonies to Sunday, May 8. A decision will be made on Friday, and graduates and guests will be notified of any additional changes on Friday afternoon. 

Graduates and guests with questions about where to enter campus, arrival times or anything Commencement related should visit the Graduation website at www.pstcc.edu/graduation or contact grad@pstcc.edu.  

Guests in need of accommodations should reach out to accommodations@pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6411 for assistance.   

### 

Anika Schultz will speak at Pellissippi State’s spring 2022 Commencement ceremonies this weekend, but even though Schultz is only 19, it won’t be her first time addressing a crowd.

From testifying in front of the Tennessee General Assembly on behalf of a bill she wrote to bringing home a gold medal for Prepared Speech at the state’s SkillsUSA leadership conference, Schultz has spent her one year as a full-time student at Pellissippi State pursuing her passions of debate, government and public speaking. 

“I enjoyed everything I did so it rarely felt that I had overcommitted myself,” laughs Schultz, who is transferring to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this fall to double major in communications and political science with a focus on public administration. “I always told myself that an opportunity not taken is a good opportunity lost. You never know what may come of it.” 

Originally from Chicago, Schultz moved to Knoxville when she was 13 and graduated from high school last year with a slew of college credits, thanks to dual enrollment courses. While Schultz knew coming into Pellissippi State last fall that she would only be at the community college for one academic year, she made the most of her time on campus, joining the Debate Team and serving as secretary for the Student Government Association. 

“You will never get anywhere in life if you don’t go out and make something of yourself, and that’s why I decided to get so involved in the first place,” says Schultz, who brought home the championship trophy at the Tennessee Valley Invitational Tournament in February with her debate partner Dylan Bass. “I would tell other students, ‘Take every opportunity that comes your way.’ For me, it taught me what I’m passionate about — specific things, like writing a bill showed me that I love policy and legislation. These are things I would not have known if I hadn’t got involved.” 

Getting involved can also help students make connections, she adds. 

“Connections in college are very important,” Schultz says. “Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know. Connections can get you internships and maybe even a job down the road.”  

Schultz considers Pellissippi State to have been “a tremendous launch pad” for her, and she especially thanked three faculty and staff members who influenced her this year: political science Instructor Jesse Cragwall, communications Assistant Professor Shaquille Marsh and Student Engagement and Leadership Director Matt Spraker. 

“Pellissippi State is a wonderful place because it puts students into an environment of faculty who truly care about the success of their students,” Schultz notes. “To me, the best part of Pellissippi State is the relationships I’ve made with faculty and all the ways in which they’ve helped me to grow. In fact, I’ve loved my time here so much that I am not ready to move on.”  

This is a marked difference from the high school senior who would have preferred to go straight to a four-year university, she admits. 

“I initially did not plan to go to Pellissippi State, but it has ended up being one of the best years of my life,” says Schultz, who calls testifying before the Tennessee General Assembly the “coolest” experience she’s ever had. “I have had so many amazing opportunities that I never imagined would happen, and all these things have pushed me to be the best student I could possibly be. I’ve grown through these opportunities, begun to prepare for my future career and have loved every single thing I’ve gotten to experience.” 

### 

Did you know that Pellissippi State Community College has a campus garden to help provide fresh fruit and veggies to students who face food insecurity? 

Tucked behind the portable buildings next to the Student Recreation Center, the Hardin Valley Campus Garden grows produce to supplement the nonperishable food Student Care and Advocacy provides to Pellissippi Pantry participants. New part-time Garden Specialist April Ellis, who was hired in March, is hard at work planning and planting the crops that will be ready to harvest in time for fall semester. 

There are already apples, peaches and pears growing in the small orchard while Ellis plans to add grapes there and plant broccoli, collards, garlic, ground cherries, kale, lettuce, onions, potatoes, strawberries, sweet potatoes and tomatoes in the 48-foot by 84-foot garden. 

“The garden went to fallow during the pandemic; it was a field with 2-foot-high weeds,” said Ellis, who graduated from Pellissippi State in 2016 and transferred to the University of Tennessee, where she studied sociology and plant sciences with a focus on horticultural therapy. “To me, it’s like a clean slate. We’re going from eight raised beds to 18 raised beds.” 

As Ellis started working on a garden revitalization plan, focusing on crops that will be harvestable during the academic year, Associate Professor David Fey and his wife, Cathy, bush hogged the weeds and transplanted flowers and herbs. Professor Claude Hardy built gates for the newly installed rabbit fencing to keep critters from eating the garden, and student workers Malcolm Neely and Cami Lloyd have been valuable extra sets of hands, providing physical labor to keep the project moving forward. 

“I’ve been blown away by the mountains they’ve moved!” Ellis said. 

Meanwhile, down in the former Hardin Valley Campus cafeteria, the Vienna Coffee Co. barista approached Ellis with an idea. 

“At our main store in Maryville, we spread the coffee grounds onto our flower beds,” explained Daelynn Crossno, who has been the lone Vienna barista assigned to the coffee house’s Hardin Valley Campus location. “I used to get rid of so many coffee grounds here. I’d take out the trash every day, and it was so heavy.” 

Crossno proposed collecting the used coffee grounds – both from espresso drinks and from drip coffee – for the garden, which would reduce Vienna Coffee’s waste and help Pellissippi State at the same time. Ellis thought this was an excellent idea and provided Crossno with 5-gallon buckets to fill. 

“Coffee grounds are good for organic matter, and they’re already partially broken down from the grinding process,” said Ellis, who uses a three-tier composting bin to prepare the mixture for the soil. “Now these coffee grounds will be composted and used to grow more food in the Garden.” 

Although Vienna Coffee will not be open on the Hardin Valley Campus over the summer, Crossno plans to return for fall semester. In the meantime, Ellis soon will be seeking volunteers to help get the garden’s crops in the ground. To learn more about the Hardin Valley Campus Garden and how you can help, email hvcgarden@pstcc.edu. 

###

Blind since birth, Campbell Rutherford of Dandridge is used to “seeing” the world a different way from her sighted peers. But as a dual enrollment student at Pellissippi State Community College since fall 2020, Rutherford has helped her professors “see” new ways of teaching. 

“Parts of calculus are inherently visual,” said Associate Professor Tony Crossland, who had Rutherford for Calculus III this spring. “I’ve taught this course for several years and gotten away with drawing shapes for the students, so I knew it would be a challenge with Campbell because she would need to ‘see’ the shapes.” 

Calculus III is the study of functions in two or more dimensions. This includes a focus on six quadric surfaces, which are 3D extensions of conic shapes such as ellipses, parabolas and hyperbolas. Students learn how to examine cross sections of these shapes to figure out what surface a given equation represents. 

“The main task of Calculus III is to learn the equations that equal these shapes,” Crossland explained. “Calculus III is about 60 percent visualization, so I was a little bit nervous because Campbell is the first blind student I’ve had in my classes.” 

Rutherford wasn’t intimidated, however, having lived with Leber congenital amaurosis, a rare genetic eye disorder commonly referred to as LCA, her entire life. The condition causes moderate to severe vision impairment to blindness and, as a Braille reader and a cane user, Rutherford describes herself as “much closer to the totally blind end of the spectrum.” 

“I have to access all my schoolwork through screen readers,” she added. 

Rutherford, now 19, has been homeschooled since fifth grade and wanted to take dual enrollment courses at Pellissippi State to gain experience in a classroom before attending college full time. She thought it would be helpful for her to practice requesting accommodations as well. 

“It has been much easier to get accommodations at Pellissippi State than in public school,” noted Rutherford, who has taken Spanish I and II, Calculus II and III, and General Biology I and II at Pellissippi State. “I have not had a problem getting anything I needed. Disability Services has always been there.” 

But when it came to Calculus III, Crossland went above and beyond her expectations, working with Associate Professor Lynn Klett, who teaches Mechanical Engineering Technology classes, to make 3D models of the six quadric surfaces. He then loaned those models, called quadric sections, to Rutherford for Calculus III. 

“I wanted her to get an idea of what kind of shape goes with what equation,” Crossland said of the shapes, which range between 7 and 8 inches tall and vary in thickness. “It helps that Campbell has an affinity for mathematics and that she enjoys the subject matter. It’s been a pleasure to work with her, and I’m fascinated by learning how she learns.” 

While Rutherford has been provided existing 3D models in science classes – representing molecules and DNA, for example – this was the first time a math instructor had 3D models made especially for her, she noted. And this was not an accommodation that she requested. 

“Having these quadric sections was extraordinarily helpful because the surfaces we were examining are composites of the different figures we have learned in Calculus I and II and even algebra,” Rutherford said. 

For the nonmathematically minded, Rutherford gave the example of a paraboloid, which she described as a U-shaped bowl instead of a U-shaped line on a graph. Calculus III students need to be able to examine its cross sections in order to reproduce the equations in two dimensions, she explained. 

“Think of an Easter egg,” Crossland added. “The shape is oval if you slice it horizontally, but round if you slice it vertically. Students need to know how to piece these surfaces together to get the right equations.” 

Rutherford finished Calculus III with an A and has already committed to Harvard University this fall, where she plans to major in applied mathematics as an undergraduate with a goal of pursuing either biostatistics/bioinformatics or cybersecurity in graduate school. 

“For homeschooled students especially, I would recommend taking dual enrollment classes to help prepare you for college,” she said. “In college you will have to be self-motivated because people won’t stay on top of you to turn in your assignments, and you’ll develop different study habits. 

“For students with disabilities, I would say, ‘Don’t be afraid to talk to Disability Services and ask them for what you need, but don’t go in demanding your rights with an attitude of entitlement,’” Rutherford added. “You’ll be surprised how far a civil conversation can go, and it will help you to build good relationships with college staff and your professors. They will be more willing to help you and not treat you like a burden.” 

Crossland balked at how Rutherford ever could be considered a burden to her teachers. 

“She has been so accommodating to us,” he stressed. “She’s such an eager and earnest learner, and her work is always immaculate. There are problems that require me to use scratch paper, and she already has the answer! It’s very impressive the way she can visualize and calculate in her beautiful brain.” 

### 

Jennifer Dabney of Maryville had three good reasons to be at Pellissippi State Community College’s spring 2022 Commencement: her husband, her daughter and her son. 

Tim Dabney, 41, and his stepchildren Lexi Douglas, 24, and Zane Douglas, 22, earned their associate degrees at Pellissippi State, walking across the stage May 7 to a cheering section that included two sets of parents, an aunt and several friends. 

“My wife was the first to notice that we had the opportunity to finish our programs at the same time, and she pushed us to do it,” said Dabney, who met his stepchildren when they were 3 and 1 years old and married their mom when they were 8 and 6. “She said, ‘We’ve got to have a party, and we’re all going to the ceremony.’ She was the one who recognized how unique this was and a big deal.” 

Dabney and Zane started Pellissippi State together in fall 2018, taking advantage of the Tennessee Reconnect last-dollar scholarship for adults who never finished their college degrees and the Tennessee Promise last-dollar scholarship for college students coming straight into higher education from high school. 

“For Zane and me, it had a lot to do with economics,” said Dabney, who works as a team leader at DENSO. “We knew we could get our associates for free, plus having a campus here in Blount County helped, too.” 

During their first semester, Dabney and Zane had English 101 together, but after that, they didn’t cross paths at Pellissippi State. Dabney was taking night classes in Business Management while Zane was studying Mechanical Engineering Technology. 

“I was apprehensive about going back to school at first, but it honestly wasn’t that bad,” said Dabney, who has been in management at DENSO for about 11 years and wanted to get his associate degree to open future opportunities with the company. “I was able to pull from both my experience at DENSO and the courses I’ve taken here at work. Time was the hard part.” 

That meant long days for Dabney, who gets up at 4 a.m. to be at work by 5. Attending classes after work meant late nights, driving home having not had dinner and falling asleep just to start over again. Dabney eventually moved to taking his classes fully online his last couple of semesters. 

“That scared me to death at first, but it worked out really well,” he said. 

In the meantime, a couple of things happened in their household: Zane left Pellissippi State for a full-time job before he finished his degree, but Lexi came to the community college after having started at Maryville College. 

“The second I talked to the advisors here, they said I’d only have to finish a couple of semesters to have my associate degree,” said Lexi, who also is employed by DENSO. “I was really impressed with the professors here, they were so nice and clear, and Will Buck in the Blount County Campus library was always helpful, too.” 

Zane resigned from his job so that he could finish the degree he started, which put all three of the family on track to graduate. Dabney earned his Associate of Applied Science in Business Management, Lexi graduated with a General Associate of Science and Zane completed his Associate of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology. 

“It was a great idea to try to finish together, but it was a little bit hectic,” Dabney said, laughing. 

Degrees in hand, Dabney and Lexi are still employed with DENSO, and Zane’s goal is to get on with the company as an engineering tech, he said. Lexi added that she is using her job as a DENSO associate to help her pay for a bachelor’s degree in marketing or business analytics in the future. 

“Going forward, if either of us decide to finish our bachelor’s degrees, DENSO has programs that will help us pay for that,” Dabney noted. 

Right now, however, Dabney has his eye on a different level of education: K-12. He’s running for Maryville City Schools Board of Education in August. 

“Now that the kids are grown and I’ve finished my degree, I have more time to serve the community,” he said. 

### 

Can Pellissippi State Motorsports improve on their sixth-place finish in the Formula SAE competition last year? 

The team will travel to Michigan International Speedway June 15-18 to compete against 47 other teams from four-year universities across the United States as well as from Canada and Mexico. Pellissippi State Motorsports will still be the only team fielded by a community college. 

Formula SAE competitions challenge teams of university undergraduate and graduate students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop and compete with small, formula style vehicles. Each competition gives teams the chance to demonstrate their creativity and engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around the world. 

Pellissippi State Motorsports first competed at Formula SAE Michigan in 2019. Last year in Formula SAE Nevada, the team finished in sixth place overall as well as sixth in the Acceleration event, beating larger schools like Purdue University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas, despite a sweltering heat wave that shortened the window teams had to get their cars to pass tech and safety checks and then complete the competition’s four events.  

 “Thankfully, the race in Michigan should lack some of the challenges Las Vegas had like overheating and early ride times,” said Pellissippi State Motorsports co-captains Zachary Koller and Daniel Rasmussen during a sneak peek at the car on the College’s Hardin Valley Campus. 

Pellissippi State Motorsports did not stop there, however. The team also participated in the Pittsburgh Shootout last August, a one-day event of Formula SAE teams focusing on driving distance, to gather more data about their car, and they used these insights to make decisions about how to improve their car for the 2022 competition. Additions such as a composite steering wheel, new radiator hose and one-piece shifter have decreased the weight of the race car for better ergonomics.  

“[The car’s design] is mostly dictated by the rules, and everything else is engineering practices,”  Koller explained, noting that the team’s goal for the car is to find ways to make it smaller and lighter.  

Continuity could be a challenge for a community college where students often graduate or transfer after two years. However, Pellissippi State Motorsports welcomes University of Tennessee and Maryville College students who serve as volunteers and pay their own way to competition.  

“The Formula SAE program at Pellissippi State has helped many of our past team members get related jobs in the industry — positions with Honda research and development, Lexus IMSA Race Team and Toyota research and development,” Koller and Rasmussen said. “The resume boost the program adds has been beneficial for previous and hopefully current and future members.”

###

This story was written by Benjamin Murphy, intern for Pellissippi State Marketing and Communications, summer 2022.