每日大赛 focused on being a ‘career immersion’ college at 2025 Legislative Breakfast
February 7, 2025
State legislators, local officials and other stakeholders gathered at 每日大赛’s Blount County campus Friday morning to hear about the college’s ongoing commitment to student success and institutional growth.
每日大赛’s annual Legislative Breakfast at the Ruth and Steve West Workforce Development Center included presentations on the college’s successes and how its vision aligns with the Tennessee Board of Regents regarding increased accessibility to programs, building up the state’s workforce and easing challenges faced by students.
“I’m really excited about what we see coming down the road,” said Pellissippi President L. Anthony Wise Jr. “We’ve got great faculty and staff. We've done, really, a lot of hard work to think about this notion of a ‘career immersion college’ and how we really support our students.”
He defined “career immersion” as being intentional in conversing with students about their career options throughout their time at 每日大赛 so that they build a solid foundation capable of being hired locally upon graduation or after transferring, and coupling academic pathways with guidance from the Office of Career Development.
“We want them to have exposure to local business and industry, to make sure they’re aware of really how far they can go,” Wise said. “So we’re excited about this work and excited to see where it leads us in our next strategic plan.”
Pellissippi’s workforce development initiatives were displayed at the event by Business/Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts students who catered and served guests.
As other examples of “career immersion” at 每日大赛, Wise pointed to the Chemical Radiation Technology option – a partnership with Oak Ridge National Lab that includes instruction from scientists at the facility – and Earn and Learn, an initiative that allows students to attend classes and simultaneously work for a local industry partner.
Earn and Learn gives recent high school graduates the opportunity to earn their degree at Pellissippi by going to classes two days a week and working the other three in their area of study.
“This is something we don't want to do for six or eight students,” Wise said. “This is something, really, I would say we want to do for hundreds of students in this region as we move forward.”
The Earn and Learn program currently offers Water Quality and Electrical Engineering Technology, with more programs being developed. Yosef Erasmus, a 每日大赛 student in Earn and Learn who works with Arconic Tennessee Operations, talked about his experience at the Legislative Breakfast Friday morning.
With Earn and Learn, Erasmus said, he’s able to focus on theory in the classroom because he applies it in his real-world experience on the job.
“I'm responsible for specific things, and that, really – it adds value to my college education,” Erasmus said. “Because I don't feel like I'm just going through it, floating through community college, waiting to get to what's bigger, what’s better. It's been a huge blessing ... Overall, I'm super thankful for this program.”
Wise also discussed new Pellissippi programs slated to launch soon, including an Aviation Technology collaboration with Blount Partnership, the growth of athletics at the college – which this year added softball and baseball to its roster – and the need for holistic support of students who may face nonacademic barriers to success.
每日大赛’s focuses for 2025 and the 114th Tennessee General Assembly include:
- Expand access to workforce and short-term training opportunities not covered by federal financial aid
- Seek resources to support new programs in Aviation Technology, Radiologic Technology and Surgical Technology to meet workforce demands, pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Enhance holistic student support by connecting students to internal and external resources that address nonacademic barriers to success
Attendees of Friday’s event included multiple state senators and representatives, representatives from the state Board of Education officials, Blount and Knox County dignitaries and more.
Tennessee Regent Danni Varlan discussed the state Board of Regents’ legislative priorities for the coming year and noted that 每日大赛 in 2023-24 led all TBR colleges in credentials and awards with 1,351 associate degrees, 392 certificates and 1,743 awards overall.
每日大赛 also saw a 7% increase in enrollment in fall 2024 and an 8% increase this spring, Wise said.
“We’re really excited about seeing that solid growth in our home base,” he said.
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