UTC junior Chamyra Teasley is a recipient of the 2024 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, given by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to 10 individuals in higher education throughout the state. Photo by Angela Foster.
Forgive Chamyra Teasley if she’s not quite ready for her junior year to end.
Teasley, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in engineering management with a minor in political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has packed a lifetime’s worth of memories into one academic year.
As Student Government Association (SGA) president, she has hobnobbed with UTC leadership and dignitaries, including UT System President Randy Boyd and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Alongside Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement Stacy Lightfoot, she co-moderated “A Conversation with Bernice King and Ilyasah Shabazz—A Legacy of Leadership and Service” for the UTC MLK Day 2024 celebration. She was a featured speaker at commencement in December and will return to the McKenzie Arena podium during undergraduate ceremonies this Saturday, May 4.
But the icing on the cake was being honored for her community service efforts.
Teasley was the recipient of the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, given by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to 10 individuals in higher education throughout the state who demonstrate a lasting, meaningful impact through service; are valued by peers and community leaders; and embody the legacy of the late Rep. Harold Love Sr.—the namesake of the award.
A reception to honor Teasley and the other award winners was held on Monday, April 29, in the State Capitol’s Legislative Lounge in Nashville.
“There are 10 awards in the state at every level—and only five students get this award—so this places Chamyra among the very top students in Tennessee,” UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle said. “This is an elite group and that’s where she belongs. It’s very satisfying to see her acknowledged for everything she does.”
According to the award program’s website, community service recognition for higher education students and faculty/staff at the campus level was created in Tennessee through legislation enacted by the General Assembly in 1991. In 1997, the awards were named for Love, who was instrumental in passing the enabling legislation.
Teasley was nominated for her work with her leadership team to help communicate that the SGA is an advocacy group for UTC students to have a voice on campus. As part of her SGA work, she helped bring a “Student Leader Summit” on campus, inviting SGA leaders from universities across the state for a three-day program in Chattanooga.
She serves as a resident assistant in the engineering residential learning community while holding two internships—one in the UTC IT Department and one with The House Campus Ministries. She has also worked in the Office of Student and Family Engagement, learning how to plan and host inclusive events to allow everyone to enjoy activities on campus.
Chamyra Teasley
“I’m still in shock,” said Teasley, a native of Clarksville, Tennessee. “To me, it’s always great to get recognized for the work that you put in. I don’t do the work to get recognized; I do it to help others. And I guess it’s just great to know that people believe in what I’ve done and they’re proud of the work that I’ve done on our campus.
“It feels really, really amazing to see that someone else outside of our campus has seen the work that I’ve done.”
Angle said Teasley’s emotional intelligence “is off the scale where she can talk to people, she can relate, she can think things through.”
“She doesn’t have to be in the spotlight; she has this desire to empower those around her to be successful, and—as a result—she shines,” he continued. “Chamyra is just a really caring person and very mature for her age. She wants to make UTC a better place for students so they can be engaged and successful and launch their careers and futures.”
Teasley was the first UTC student to win the Harold Love Award since Briana Brady in 2020.
She credited her parents—Charles and Felecia—and her faith for inspiring her community service and servant leader mentality.
“I am a Christian, and I believe that I need to give back to the world because that is what we were created to do; we were created to love and support everybody,” Teasley said. “Community service is really important to me because we’re able to give back to a community that pours into you. Chattanooga has been my home for almost three years now, and I take every opportunity to give back to a place that’s poured into me so much.
“That was really instilled in me by my parents. Growing up, it was countless weekends— whether we were at church, or we were doing community cleanups, or we were helping at a local homeless shelter or a food bank. I’m thankful to my parents and my campus ministry for making it easy to get involved.”
Teasley said her time at UTC has allowed her to grow her passion for social justice and change.
Engineering management, she said, is teaching her leadership skills for her future. The political science minor has educated her to “learn about gender and politics and how the world works.”
“It has helped me become a more well-rounded individual,” she said, “and I’ve learned through my role in SGA that I also have a heart for advocacy. I’m hoping that what I’m learning can help me find a career that lets me take the engineering management skills I’ve learned and circle in my love and passion for advocacy and social justice.”
With everything she has accomplished during the 2023-2024 academic year, it’s no wonder Teasley called the end of the year “bittersweet.”
“The year went by super-duper fast. I’m sad to leave behind the SGA president role because that’s been a big part of my life since last February, but I’m also happy because I love seeing next year’s leadership step up. I know that SGA is in good hands with them,” said Teasley, who was recently offered a summer internship as a nuclear intern with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
“But I’m not leaving UTC, so I don’t have too much to be sad about just yet.”
UTC Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award Recipients (since 1998)
Students
- 2024—Chamyra Teasley
- 2020—Briana Brady
- 2019—JJ Lewis
- 2001—Andrew Smith
- 1998—Isaac Connor
Faculty/Staff
- 2022—Dr. Courtney Crittenden
- 2020—Dr. Priscilla Simms-Roberson
- 2019—Dr. Tammy Garland
- 2019—Dr. David Ross
- 2018—Dr. Richard Brown
- 2018—Dr. June Hanks
- 2011—Dr. Roger Thompson
- 2009—Dr. Zibin Guo
- 1998—Dr. Barbara Wofford
From left: Rep. Harold Love Jr., Chamyra Teasley, Tennessee Higher Education Commission Director of HBCU Success Brittany Mosby and THEC Executive Director Steven Gentile at the annual Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award ceremony on Monday, April 29, at the State Capitol. Photo credit: Tennessee Photographic Services.
