UTC junior Destini Givens, who received an associate degree from Chattanooga State Community College in May 2022, is majoring in psychology with a minor in child and family studies. Photo by Angela Foster.
Prior to the recent signing of a dual admission agreement between Chattanooga State Community College and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chatt State Director of Recruiting and Orientation Kisha Thomas was asked to recommend a recent graduate who had immediately transferred to UTC to continue their educational path.
Thomas suggested Destini Givens, calling the 2022 graduate “focused and driven.”
Givens nodded in agreement and smiled when she heard how Thomas had described her.
“Yes, I am,” she said, “and I appreciate hearing those words.”
By all accounts, Givens’ transition from Chatt State to UTC has gone fairly successfully.
However, the path in life to get to this point is another story.
Originally from Danville, Illinois, Givens and her family—parents Robert and Nikki and brothers Desmin and Kamrin—moved to the Chattanooga area during her elementary school days.
Shortly after she began attending Ooltewah High School, her father was diagnosed with sarcoidosis—an incurable inflammatory disease impacting multiple organs throughout his body. As a result, he could no longer work.
With only one income in the house, Givens worked two jobs to help out during her time in high school. She proved she could handle multi-tasking, graduating in 2019 with a 3.8 GPA.
What she couldn’t do was go away to college and leave her family in a precarious financial situation.
“I got into Austin Peay (in Clarksville, Tennessee); I did my tour, I had a dorm room,” she said, “but if I’m being honest, there was a huge financial strain. I remember talking with my mom and she said, ‘Whatever you want to do, we can do it, but you should really look into the Tennessee Promise Program.’
“When I decided to do Tennessee Promise, it was a privilege that I was able to get two free years. Without that, I wouldn’t have had my education.”
Similar to high school, Givens was a high-achieving student at Chatt State. Just like high school, Givens needed to help out financially while navigating college and a pandemic.
“My freshman year at Chatt State, I worked full-time hours,” she recalled, “but it was more of a flexible job; I was on campus two days a week and then worked. When COVID hit, I went to all online.
“When things went back down to where I could return to campus, I was working a full-time 9-to-5 job. I couldn’t attend school in person, but I needed to stick with it, get my associate’s degree and get something under my belt.”
Trying to navigate school and work turned into a three-year process, with Givens receiving an associate degree with an emphasis in psychology in May 2022.
Associate degree in hand, she wouldn’t stop her educational journey.
“I have become more aware of how much education is a privilege,” she said. “Where I come from, there’s no college down the street—and after moving here, I live down the street from not one, but two colleges. I knew I needed to take advantage of it.
“I looked at UTC, applied and got in. I knew this was the right place.”
Givens, targeting a spring 2024 graduation from UTC, is majoring in psychology with a minor in child and family studies. She continues to work 40 hours a week while taking 12 hours of classes to maintain full-time student status.
“It’s going to sound a little cheesy, but when I started coming here last fall, it was magical for me,” she said. “Being able to be on campus, take classes and meet people who may not have the same story—but we’re the same age—was so important. Being able to network and talk to people, I found myself and the career path I wanted to take. It has just been amazing.”
Recalling her start at UTC last fall, Givens admits it was a challenge at first. “Especially money-wise, it was hard to take off work and things like that.”
But she said she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“I try not to get emotional thinking about it, but the biggest motivator in my life right now is to be able to have my education,” Givens said. “To be able to break generational curses where it strained our families on both sides, I could not pass that up.
“I feel like my family’s rooting for me all the way from Illinois because they know I’m not taking any of this for granted.”
