Gentry Whittaker and her 2-month-old daughter, Echo. Photo by Angela Foster.
Gentry Whittaker graduates from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Friday, Dec. 15, with a master’s degree in business administration.
With UTC’s 100% online MBA program, students can complete their studies from anywhere in the world.
Whittaker’s experience, though, was unlike most others. Throughout her academic journey, she lived as a nomad.
Whittaker and her husband, Brendon Peck, started their new nomadic life in Alaska in May 2022, where they stayed for two weeks. They returned to Whittaker’s hometown of Chattanooga to map out the following months.
Peck, who graduated from UTC in 2019 with a degree in engineering technology management, works remotely as a project manager. He frequently has to travel, she explained, which partially guided where they would go.
Whittaker said they put a lot of thought into choosing their exact residence, always opting for a vacation rental to accommodate both themselves and their two dogs.
“What do we want to explore next? What’s the weather like? What are we trying to do in the next month? Do we need to travel anywhere or be near an airport?” Whittaker listed the questions they would ask.
They drove to their next destination, San Diego, where Whittaker—a graduate of Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences who received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UT Knoxville in 2017—began working towards her master’s.
Then came two months in Oregon, then Idaho, back to Chattanooga for the holidays, Florida, Texas and Arizona—where Whittaker and her husband were in for a somewhat unexpected surprise: she was pregnant.
“In January of this year, we briefly talked about having a child,” she said. “I didn’t think it would happen as quickly as it did.”
They soon realized they had to adjust their plans, ultimately deciding to have their baby in Chattanooga surrounded by friends and family.
The idea of traveling and school work while pregnant was a bit daunting for Whittaker, but she soon found out her sister, Marlowe Allen, was also pregnant.
“That made me feel a bit better about such a big life transition,” she said.
Whittaker said there were a few difficulties one may not consider while being nomadic. For example, she said she had trouble finding doctors willing to treat her because she would not be able to stay with a single health care provider throughout her pregnancy.
“Finding care in all the other states was the most difficult,” she explained, “and getting people to return your calls … A lot of places don’t want to see you.”
When at higher altitudes, Whittaker had trouble managing her high blood pressure. When she got back to Tennessee, it mellowed.
There were also some unexpected hiccups when it came to traveling, such as their car catching fire in California—requiring them to buy a new vehicle—and finding themselves trapped in a snowstorm in Idaho.
“I learned that logistics are so important when you’re traveling,” she said. “There’s so much that can go wrong.”
Thanks to the flexibility of her professors, Whittaker said pursuing a master’s degree did not add to the stress.
“They were like, ‘We understand people are doing this from all over the country and we want to make sure that you’re able to meet the deadlines and it not be too overwhelming.’”
However, she struggled a bit with the constantly changing time zones, which she had to keep up with to ensure she got her work turned in on time.
“When we were in Arizona, the time changed for everybody else, but Arizona doesn’t do daylight savings,” she said. “I woke up and was like, ‘I think I have something due.’ I was all discombobulated.”
Despite the time zones, the stress of travel and the hardships of pregnancy, in no way was their nomadic journey hindered.
After discovering she was pregnant, Whittaker and Peck decided to “do a loop” through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and Hoover Dam in the Southwest. Her favorite places and experiences were visiting Crater Lake in Oregon, seeing the hot springs in Yellowstone and stargazing at Zion.
“I saw the Milky Way for the first time and that was just insane,” she said, “so it’s been really amazing to do school while experiencing all this and seeing the different expectations of each region.”
They also visited Seattle, where she took her midterms, and explored the Grand Teton mountain range, where she took her finals.
Finally, they returned to Tennessee. On Oct. 5, Whittaker gave birth to her daughter, Echo. Her sister’s baby, Jameson, was born four days prior.
After graduating from UTC, Whittaker plans to follow the guidance of a career counselor.
“Take the time to be a mom. You’re never gonna get this time back. It’s special,” she recalled the counselor saying.
Her travels, however, will not slow down. Whittaker said she and her husband want to continue their nomadic lifestyle next year.
“We still want to be nomadic and show our little one all the places that we love, even though she’s super young,” she said. “She’s already been to her first national park.”
Learn More
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Gentry Whittaker’s “living as a nomad” photo gallery
