{"id":854,"date":"2025-03-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/?p=854"},"modified":"2025-03-24T07:19:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T11:19:23","slug":"the-pellissippi-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/26\/the-pellissippi-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pellissippi Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Women's History Month 2025<\/a><\/div>\n
By Heather Lee Schroeder, Faculty Advisor<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

On a recent Friday, I brought my 11-year-old son to work with me because my husband, who normally works from home, had an in-person meeting to attend. Since my son is enrolled in an online academy,  I set him up to complete his synchronous class meetings in an empty classroom on the third floor of McWherter while I met with the Imaginary Garden<\/em>s staff. Every so often, I checked in on him to make sure he was doing OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley pond is home to hundreds of water fowl and serves as a container for surface water run-off. | Kaleb Guzman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His responses ranged from \u201cThese desks hurt my butt\u201d (yes, my dude, they are terrible) to \u201cI told my teacher and classmates that I\u2019m attending college today\u201d \u2013   the usual stuff for an 11-year-old boy. We got ready to leave when my meeting ended and his homework completion period started, but first, I had to run over to the campus bookstore to pick up an order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s explore!\u201d he said, which, given who he is, wasn\u2019t too surprising, but, what happened next did amaze me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spend a lot of time on the Hardin Valley campus, and, in early March, the drab gray and browns of the landscape combine with the mid-semester slump, making me unlikely to feel a sense of wonder about anything, let alone a campus I know all too well. The same could not be said for my son, who, with his backpack on and standing at five-feet tall, could be mistaken for a small college student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we walked down the stairs in McWherter, he didn\u2019t seem to notice the tired paint on the walls or the curling posters. Instead, he asked about the engineering department. I told him about the lab classes and how students have the opportunity to complete hands-on engineering work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s going to be me,\u201d he said with certainty. \u201cYou know, when I come here. I\u2019m going to take engineering classes and get to do those projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stopped and looked at him. \u201cYou want to attend Pellissippi State?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a foregone conclusion that he will<\/strong> attend college, but honestly, we haven\u2019t talked much about where that might happen. Sometimes he speaks longingly about my alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and I\u2019m always suggesting he think about an HBCU since he\u2019s a biracial Black kid. However, we\u2019ve never really talked about what college might look like for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great school. I\u2019d be proud to graduate from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although I think Pellissippi State is the best deal in town and I\u2019m a diehard cheerleader for two-year colleges, I confess that I was surprised, mainly because I often find myself defending the community college experience to people I meet. Of course, many students argue that Pellissippi State is just a stopgap until they get to attend their \u201creal\u201d college, so I was taken aback by my son\u2019s enthusiasm, although it was unexpected and delightful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think Pellissippi State is the best deal in town and I\u2019m a diehard cheerleader for two-year colleges…<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we walked across the campus quad, he said, \u201cIt feels like a real college here. I\u2019ll bet people hang out on the lawn and stuff\u2014play Minecraft or kick a soccer ball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hated to break it to him that most college students leave Minecraft behind, but I could confidently affirm that, yes, on sunny, warm days, students do hang out on the lawn and socialize. He nodded as if that was the most obvious statement ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We entered the Goins Building, and, although he had been on campus before, he didn\u2019t realize we have a cafeteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSick,\u201d he pronounced. \u201cI\u2019ll bet students eat here every day with their friends!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t have the heart to tell him that a lot of students probably don\u2019t even realize we have a cafeteria, but, suddenly, the darkened and empty space took on a new luster. In fact, he\u2019s correct. It is pretty amazing that we serve food on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We popped out into the rotunda area in the Goins Building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhoooooaaaaa,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is amazing. Let\u2019s go up the stairs so I can see what\u2019s up there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stopped in at the bookstore to pick up my order. The bookstore clerk knew who I was and hurried to help me. When we left, my son noted with appreciation that as a professor, I\u2019m somebody special on campus. (I didn\u2019t tell him that the bookstore staff treats everyone that way.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He asked again if we could walk up the stairs in the rotunda. He was vibrating with excitement, and honestly, who can say no to a kid with that much enthusiasm? Not me, clearly. We climbed the stairs and he stood looking out at the space below us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis building is trippin\u2019,\u201d he said, bestowing the highest compliment he knows on a space that I often find echoey and disheveled. I looked around and saw the space through his eyes. Instead of glossing over what I take for granted, I noted the grandeur of the rotunda area\u2014the lofty ceiling, the graceful lines of the balcony area framing the circle of a space that connects key college services. Yes, I thought, the building is pretty great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s down that hallway?\u201d my son asked, interrupting my reverie. He was pointing to the administrative wing of the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d I said, getting into the mood. \u201cI\u2019ll show you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wandered down the hallway, and he looked down at the flags lining the hallway beneath us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose flags represent our academic departments,\u201d I said when I noted his interest. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like the houses in Harry Potter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs the English Department like Slytherin,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey!\u201d I said, and we laughed as we strolled past the many doorways that lead to the administrative heart of the campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe college president is down this hallway,\u201d I said, pointing in the direction of Dr. Wise\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll run into him,\u201d my son said. \u201cDo you think it\u2019ll help me get accepted to the college someday if he knows me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I explained how we\u2019re an open-access college, meaning we accept all students who apply in an effort to make education possible for anyone who wants it. He nodded in appreciation. \u201cI like that,\u201d he said. I do too, I realized. In fact, educational access happens to be one of my dearest-held values and plays into why I think community colleges are vital to the American educational experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were walking past the Alexander building now. The weather was sunny and fine, and my son breathed in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d he said, \u201csomeday this\u2019s going to be my college. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked around, and the college quad looked less drab. In fact, through his eyes, Pellissippi State looked pretty gorgeous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the drive home, my son was buried in a book, and I was thinking about how we all probably take the Pellissippi experience for granted. We have beautiful campuses\u2014each one vibrantly different from the other\u2014and, on any given day, if you were to ask me about my students, I would tell you that I have the best on campus in my classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My son\u2019s wonder and excitement served as a good reminder that we are lucky at Pellissippi State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our community ties run deep. Our professors care about individual students and their wellbeing. Our staff goes out of their way to help students succeed, and our student body truly reflects the fabric of Knoxville and surrounding communities. Sometimes all it takes is a reminder that what we have in our campus community is extraordinary\u2014\u201dsick,\u201d as my son might say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Women's History Month 2025<\/a><\/div>

By Heather Lee Schroeder, Faculty Advisor On a recent Friday, I brought my 11-year-old son to work with me because my husband, who normally works from home, had an in-person…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"series":[28],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","series-women25"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":880,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions\/880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}