‘The best things that happened were accidents’: As commencement nears, Aria Beloate reflects on her UTC experience

Aria Beloate will graduate from UTC with a bachelor’s degree in economics on Saturday, Dec. 14. Photo courtesy of Aria Beloate.

Aria Beloate keeps a countdown on her phone to the very minute she will walk across the stage at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga undergraduate commencement ceremony.

For Beloate, graduation on Saturday, Dec. 14, marks a culmination of accomplishments and opportunities. When she came to UTC in 2021 during “the COVID times,” she said she didn’t have any plans to get involved on campus.

“The best things that happened were accidents,” said the first-generation economics major from Brentwood, Tennessee.

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Becoming bored with her routine while the campus was still returning to normal after the pandemic, she stumbled across an opportunity.

“I saw the little freshman signup thing for SGA (Student Government Association) and I thought, ‘That seems fun,’” she recalled.

That “gateway” decision, as she called it, opened the door to countless other opportunities, including Freshman Senate, then vice chair of Student Affairs and Academic Success. She later became treasurer and most recently served as the Freshman Senate advisor.

Her experience in SGA, she said, taught her everything from voting on bills that would better the University to project management and event planning.

“I loved being a part of SGA,” she said. “It’s been my defining character growth moment. I definitely would not be where I am now without it.”

Beyond SGA, Beloate also served as a Chancellor’s Ambassador, an experience she said gave her a chance to interact with University leaders in a meaningful way. Initially intimidated by working so closely with Chancellor Steve Angle and other administrators, she quickly realized it wasn’t so bad.

“I was really terrified at first,” she said. “This man is over a UT System school and responsible for so much. But he’s genuinely the most down-to-earth, sweetest person.”

Her involvement at UTC also included the Dean’s Student Advisory Council for the Gary W. Rollins College of Business, where she collaborated with other students and faculty to “figure out how we can make the College of Business better and more accessible for students,” she said.

“We helped with resume workshops, we did mock interviews and talked to them about how to build a LinkedIn profile,” she explained.

Beloate also participated in First in Fletcher, a mentorship program for first-generation students in the College of Business.

Drawing from her own experience, she became a helping hand to other students who had questions or needed help with their schoolwork.

“It’s a place for first-gen students who really don’t know how to go about their college career to come and figure it out together,” she said. “It’s always awkward coming into a place alone. You don’t know anybody and no one knows you.”

Because Beloate didn’t intend to get as involved on campus as she is now, she is often shocked by how much of the campus community she knows.

“The majority of stuff that happened to me is just a very nice coincidence that all the stars aligned in my favor,” she said.

Outside of UTC, Beloate worked as a Unum Scholar intern, where she and other student interns helped organize large projects for departments within the company.

“It was my first corporate environment,” she said. “It was really interesting to see how adults function in the workforce, especially in insurance, because it’s a lot more than claims and filing.”

She received more project management experience as an intern for New York Life, another insurance agency in Chattanooga.

“I did a lot of networking there,” she said. “It was funny. I’m 21 years old, and corporate VPs are telling me, ‘We’ve been trying to get this project off the ground for two years. We’re so glad you’re here.’”

As she prepares to graduate, Beloate said she looks forward to starting her career as a functional consultant at Oracle NetSuite, a software company in Nashville. She also plans to work toward a master’s degree and—eventually—her project management certification.

Her biggest long-term goal? “I eventually want a house, a baby goat and a cow,” she said with a laugh.

Though she’s ready to trade homework for a paycheck, Beloate said she will miss her life at UTC.

“I love the structure college has given me,” she said. “All my friends are here. A majority of them are graduating this December, too, but they’re all staying in Chattanooga. I’m moving back home to my job in Nashville so I’m going to miss them.”