{"id":864,"date":"2024-12-19T15:05:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T15:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/?p=864"},"modified":"2024-12-19T15:05:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T15:05:35","slug":"pellissippi-state-allows-commencement-speaker-to-pursue-her-passions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/?p=864","title":{"rendered":"Pellissippi State allows Commencement speaker to pursue her passions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Commencement speaker Anika Schultz<\/strong> celebrates with Pellissippi State faculty and staff at the College’s Mini-Graduation Fair on April 28.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Anika Schultz <\/strong>will speak at Pellissippi State\u2019s spring 2022 Commencement ceremonies this weekend, but even though Schultz is only 19, it won\u2019t be her first time addressing a crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI enjoyed everything I did so it rarely felt that I had overcommitted myself,\u201d 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. \u201cI always told myself that an opportunity not taken is a good opportunity lost. You never know what may come of it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou will never get anywhere in life if you don\u2019t go out and make something of yourself, and that\u2019s why I decided to get so involved in the first place,\u201d says Schultz, who brought home the championship trophy at the Tennessee Valley Invitational Tournament in February with her debate partner Dylan Bass<\/strong>. \u201cI would tell other students, \u2018Take every opportunity that comes your way.\u2019 For me, it taught me what I\u2019m 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\u2019t got involved.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting involved can also help students make connections, she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Connections in college are very important,\u201d Schultz says. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s not what you know, but who you know. Connections can get you internships and maybe even a job down the road.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schultz considers Pellissippi State to have been \u201ca tremendous launch pad\u201d for her, and she especially thanked three faculty and staff members who influenced her this year: political science Instructor Jesse Cragwall,<\/strong> communications Assistant Professor Shaquille Marsh <\/strong>and Student Engagement and Leadership Director Matt Spraker.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPellissippi State is a wonderful place because it puts students into an environment of faculty who truly care about the success of their students,\u201d Schultz notes. \u201cTo me, the best part of Pellissippi State is the relationships I\u2019ve made with faculty and all the ways in which they\u2019ve helped me to grow. In fact, I\u2019ve loved my time here so much that I am not ready to move on.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u201cI initially did not plan to go to Pellissippi State, but it has ended up being one of the best years of my life,\u201d says Schultz, who calls testifying before the Tennessee General Assembly the \u201ccoolest\u201d experience she\u2019s ever had. \u201cI 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\u2019ve grown through these opportunities, begun to prepare for my future career and have loved every single thing I\u2019ve gotten to experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

### <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anika Schultz will speak at Pellissippi State\u2019s spring 2022 Commencement ceremonies this weekend, but even though Schultz is only 19, it won\u2019t 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":866,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions\/866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}