Lori Coletta shakes hands with College of Health, Education and Professional Studies Dean Valerie Rutledge as she crossed the McKenzie Arena stage during Graduate School commencement on Friday, May 2. Photo by Angela Foster.
As advanced degree recipients from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Graduate School crossed the McKenzie Arena stage on Friday, May 2, one in particular stood out—not because of a number, but because of her story.
At 62 years of age, Lori Coletta accepted her Master of Social Work degree—a moment of “legitimacy” marking the culmination of a decades-long path rooted in advocacy, exploration and the pursuit of purpose.
Coletta’s commencement was less about pomp and ceremony and more about validation of a life spent in service and a decision to return to the classroom later in life.
“This degree gives me legitimacy,” she said. “Now I can walk into places with credentials that open doors. But more than that, it’s a continuation of what I’ve been doing my whole life—helping others.”
Originally from Long Island, New York, Coletta left home at 18 and ventured west.
“Go west, my daughter, became more than a phrase,” she said with a smile. “It became a lifestyle.”
Her why of leaving home, she explained, was a combination of youthful inspiration and a desire to be immersed in nature, “which has become a guiding force throughout my life.”
Her path has included living in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Colorado. Her travels have taken her to Brazil, Japan, Canada and Mexico.
“I’ve cycled all over the western United States and I’ve kayaked many of the rivers out there—283 miles through the Grand Canyon at 39 years old. At 40, I ran a marathon up in Vancouver,” she said.
Coletta has been a licensed massage therapist, a shiatsu practitioner, a cook, a traveler, a mother—and now, a social worker.
Lori Coletta
Coletta’s educational journey officially started in 1983 at Prescott College in Arizona, where she studied human development and holistic health. She didn’t graduate right away—as her studies led her to professional holistic health opportunities—but she eventually returned to school to complete her bachelor’s degree in 2008.
She then went on to earn a graduate certificate in global health and development from the University of Arizona College of Public Health in 2013.
But it wasn’t until she returned east a few years ago—with her partner, Terry Stone, to care for their aging mothers—that the idea of pursuing a master’s degree in social work came into focus.
“When my father passed, the experience of working with social workers during that time was so profound,” Coletta said. “That was the epiphany. I originally thought I would pursue hospice care, and I still might. Aging populations have always been close to my heart.”
For Coletta, the UTC MSW program became a way to channel a lifetime of service and advocacy into focused, credentialed work. She praised the program’s flexibility, its faculty, and the depth of fieldwork she was able to experience.
Her internships reflected a broad sweep of social work’s reach—from Health Connect America, working with young children and their families, to Parkridge Valley, a psychiatric hospital for adults and seniors, to her work in recent months helping launch MobileMOC.
“That trajectory—from children to adults to seniors—was incredibly powerful,” Coletta said. “Social work is about walking alongside people at every stage of life.”
In her work with MobileMOC, UTC’s mobile outreach clinic serving rural communities, she was able to participate in Bingocize® sessions—which are interactive programs blending physical activity, health education and social connection for older adults.
She described working with Bingocize® participants at a Whitwell, Tennessee, senior center as “some of the most meaningful experiences of my time at UTC.”
“These seniors in Whitwell felt stronger and more connected,” she said. “That feedback—knowing we made a difference—meant everything.”
Lori Coletta (second from right) and members of the MobileMOC team at the March 13 event celebrating the vehicle’s arrival. Photo by Angela Foster.
Coletta said community has always been central to her identity.
In Arizona, she worked with the Iskashitaa Refugee Network, organizing food harvesting forays, teaching geography and building cultural bridges between refugees and indigenous populations. She also worked with the International Rescue Committee, helping resettle families through community gardening and nutrition programs.
“Advocacy, community, social justice—those aren’t new ideas for me,” she said. “They’ve always been part of who I am.”
When Coletta moved to Chattanooga, she didn’t have that community. Pursuing her MSW helped her find one.
“I like Chattanooga,” she said. “It’s a little more progressive. It gave me the opportunity to reconnect—to education, to people, to service.”
Juggling graduate school at age 59 wasn’t easy, she said. While taking a full load of classes and completing 20-plus hours of internship work each week, Coletta also worked part-time cooking at Whole Foods.
“My one day off, I did homework all day,” she said. “It was a lesson in tenacity. You just take it one step at a time.”
Throughout her time in the social work program, Coletta became increasingly passionate about aging populations, chronic disease management and physical activity—all areas in which her public health background and holistic health experience converged.
She believes the path forward lies in prevention and connection.
“Community is crucial to mental health. Movement is crucial to aging well. We’re about to see the pyramid of aging turn upside down—there will be more people over 65 than ever before,” she said. “We need to keep people healthy longer and we need systems in place that recognize the full picture: medical, physical, emotional and social.
“I’ve always helped people, and it never mattered who they were. We always need to stand up for those who need it.”
She credited the UTC social work faculty—especially the guidance of Clinical Associate Professor April Wilson and Associate Professor Cathy Scott—for supporting her growth.
“The internships, the mentorship, the real-world experience—it all mattered,” she said. “I learned how to move through things with purpose and I’ve seen that this field is exactly where I’m meant to be.”
Her advice for other nontraditional students considering a return to the classroom?
“Don’t give up on yourself. Find your passion and move toward it,” she said. “We’re living longer. Retirement doesn’t mean you stop contributing. If anything, now’s the time to give back.”
As for what she wants to be when she grows up?
“A contributor,” she said. “To our society, to our communities, to the Earth.
“I’m a perpetual student; I could be a student forever. But now, I also get to be a social worker—and that feels like exactly the right next step.”
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Lori Coletta and Interim Chancellor Robert Dooley
