Megan Mathews first started taking classes at the Kimball campus, where she fell in love with the smaller class sizes and close-knit community of Chattanooga State Community College. Now taking a full load of classes on the main campus, she shares a poignant moment that helped her feel like she truly belonged here. Even though Megan is a quiet, shy, introverted person, she talks about how she now walks into new classes determined to introduce herself to whoever happens to sit next to her. What we learn from Megan is that people of all personalities and ways of being can find a sense of community and, indeed, home on our campus.

Want to be a part of Tiger Stories? Do you have feedback for us? Get in touch! Email [email protected].

Tiger Stories is a part of the Belonging Matters initiative at Chattanooga State. For more on this initiative, including other podcast episodes and transcripts, visit www.chattanoogastate.edu/belongingmatters.

A Tiger Stories first -- two students, Destiny Warner and Nick Jung, join us to have a conversation about the similar experiences that straight-out-of-high-school students and adult students have at Chattanooga State. Warner came to ChattState thinking that she had to know, on day one, what she was going to do for the rest of her life ... and then she saw that adults were coming to college mid-career to change their life trajectory. Nick shares how coming back to college as an adult helped him find a high-demand career after working in restaurants and being in a band in his 20s. Warner and Nick met over the summer and realized they had much more in common than they might have expected. What emerges in this conversation is how rich the opportunities on campus are for students to learn from one another.

Want to be a part of Tiger Stories? Do you have feedback for us? Get in touch! Email [email protected].

Tiger Stories is a part of the Belonging Matters initiative at Chattanooga State. For more on this initiative, including other podcast episodes and transcripts, visit www.chattanoogastate.edu/belongingmatters.

Alumnus David Pitchford joins us to talk about his time as a student at Chattanooga State, when he was a psychology major and a member of the Student Government Association, among other activities. Now a graduate student, David credits his time at ChattState with setting him off into advanced studies equipped to be successful.

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future episodes, email is at [email protected]. For more on our Belonging Matters initiative, including other podcast episodes and transcripts, visit www.chattanoogastate.edu/belongingmatters.

Alumni Colin McCormick and Itzel Toro Garza stopped by to chat with us before heading back to college in Chicago and Rochester, NY, respectively. These Global Scholars are indeed using the world as their laboratory, engaging in higher-level study of international politics and English and both preparing to attend graduate school next year. In this episode, they share what was most meaningful to them during their time at #ChattState, as well as how the education they got here prepared them for transferring to a 4-year institution. They share lessons learned for future students making that transfer, too.

Want to share your #TigerStory? Get in touch! You can email us at [email protected]. We'll have another episode for you next week! In the meantime, catch up on our previous episodes or see other ways that at Chattanooga State, we believe that belonging matters. http://www.chattanoogastate.edu/belongingmatters

Kimberly Merfert is a sophomore Mass Communications major at Chatt State. In this episode, she talks about finding a welcoming campus community from her very first day on campus, A Global Scholar, Kimberly has always been a pretty strong student, but she particularly appreciates how a Composition faculty member, Natalie Pitts, helped her improve her writing even more. She also shares her cautionary tale of taking 15 credit hours over a summer semester.

Would you like to be on Tiger Stories? Let us know! Send us an email at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Samantha Burger graduated with an honors distinction from ChattState in May 2019, majoring in political science. We talk about the bumps along the way, the friendships she made while a student here, and what lessons she wants to share with other students.

Want to be on Tiger Stories? Get in touch! You can let us know by emailing [email protected]. Stay tuned for another story of a Chattanooga State student next week!

In this episode, we talk to Ryan Tate, a current student at Chattanooga State who is involved with the Leadership Involvement Team (LIT) and works in the Student Life office. Ryan's advice for other students includes: "Just ask for help! Someone will be there to help you out." Also, "One--two--three--breathe."

Tyler Gentile stays very busy at Chattanooga State! Through all of his involvement on campus, though, he's most passionate about letting students know about the power of refusing to give up. He shares the ups and downs of his own time at ChattState; we bet he will inspire you as much as he inspires us!

Taylor Kline waited several years before coming back to college to finish his associate's degree, expecting to spend his life working his way up to management at a restaurant. Now, he's juggling school, work, and parenthood while working towards his associate's degree at Chattanooga State.

Alexis Pinela is an education major who graduated in Spring 2019. In this episode, she shares what it was like to come to Chattanooga State having never before driven to Chattanooga from her home in Cleveland.