The people of UTC: Get to know Tish Hubbard

Tish Hubbard sits in her office, smiling at the camera. Behind her are shelves filled with colorful rubber ducks, framed items and UTC memorabilia, creating a warm and personal workspace.

Tish Hubbard is the associate director of student outreach and support at UTC. Photo by Angela Foster.

Associate Director for Student Outreach and Support (SOS) Tish Hubbard has been working with college students since her own undergraduate days as a resident assistant. She joined the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2016 to do case management and student care work and has worked in the student outreach and support space ever since.

Hubbard’s background is in clinical mental health counseling and higher education, where she helps students navigate whatever concerns they’re facing—whether that’s a crisis, a major life transition or a basic needs challenge. Currently located in Room 278 of the University Center, Hubbard wants students to know that office doors are always open.

For students who aren’t familiar, what is Student Outreach and Support?

“A lot of folks are like, ‘What is SOS? Where are we? What do you do?’ A lot of people think we’re the absence excuse office. Students will say, ‘You’re where I go when I have an absence and I need a letter for my professors.’ And we do help with that, but we do so much more than that.

“The way I describe our office is we are twofold. When a student has a crisis in their life, no matter what it is, we are there to help them navigate, find resources and advocate for them—to help the student, in the end, learn how to advocate for themselves.

“The other thing we do is we are the hub for basic needs resources. We know for students to be successful, their basic needs need to be met. Unfortunately, students may not have access to everything they need or they may not have the support outside of themselves to keep a roof over their head or food in their bellies.

“Our office provides Scrappy’s Cupboard food pantry, our student emergency fund, our emergency technology program. We run free period products across campus. Anything that we can do to help a student meet their basic needs is what we try to do here.”

What kinds of concerns do you typically see from students?

“It’s evolved. I’ve been in this office since 2019 and I went through COVID here. Looking at what students are struggling with, a lot of it is connection—to their peers, to their faculty, even just how to have an in-person conversation. Some of our students are like, ‘I don’t know how to do that.’

“When it comes to mental health, there’s a lot of anxiety. They’re thrust into this grown-up world of college and they’re sitting here going, ‘I don’t fully know what I’m supposed to be doing,’ and it’s that heightened anxiety. They’re also dealing with the stressors of the world and big life events. Some of them are experiencing first-time medical or mental health illnesses that are popping up and that’s causing stress and pressure. They don’t know what to do, which leads to feeling overwhelmed, anxious and depressed.

“Our office says, ‘No, that’s normal when you’re facing these experiences.’ Unfortunately, one of the mental health issues we see a lot is students whose parents and grandparents are passing away. That’s a big loss. Navigating that grief and that transition—what does this mean at 18, 19 and 20 years old?

“On the flip side, we’re seeing mental health concerns in our non-traditional populations, and that population is growing at UTC. They’re navigating coming back to school and being around people who maybe aren’t the same age as them, and they’re asking, ‘What does this mean and how do I explore this?’ Maybe they don’t have a formal diagnosis, but they’re struggling with, ‘How do I cope with this?’”

How can students access SOS services?

“Right now, if you need us today, you can come to the University Center. When you come in, you’re going to start with our administrative support specialist. Her name is Taylor and she’s great. She’ll talk a little bit about what’s going on. Nine times out of 10, you’re going to get an appointment scheduled with one of my three case managers; it’s myself and two others. We’re a small but mighty team.

“Those appointments are about 30 minutes and we talk through what’s going on with the student. Students can also email us at [email protected] or call us at 423-425-2299, and we’ll work to get them on the schedule. We really try to prioritize critical things: homelessness, self-harming behavior, thoughts about hurting other folks. We’re going to get you in and see you almost immediately.

“For other things, we may have to schedule you out a day or two or three. We have forms online that students can fill out, like our Absence Notification Form. If students need to be out for whatever reason, they can fill that out. That form is really for crisis events—a death in the family, a health concern—not weddings and trips and things like that.

“Students can refer their friends, parents can refer their students, and students can refer themselves to us through our Community Member of Concern Form. They can fill it out and explain what’s going on, and then one of our team members will reach out. When we get concerns from the campus community, we’re actively reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, we’re here to support you. Here’s how to schedule with us.’ Typically, that’s by email, but sometimes we call or text students too. Students still have the right to make that decision if they want to take the next steps.”

What would you say to students who feel like they should handle everything on their own?

“We have so much cautiousness about asking for help. I see it in the food pantry all the time. A student comes in and says, ‘I don’t need all this stuff. I just need a couple things,’ and they’ll say, ‘Other students need it more than me. I’ve got support, I’m OK.’

“I’ll say, ‘Sure, you can handle this by yourself. But my staff’s job, and the reason we exist on this campus, is to be here to walk with you hand in hand and say, “How can we be that third leg of your tripod?” Yes, you can stand on your own two feet, but let us be that third balancing piece to get you through some of these things—because at any point in time we always need help.

“I tell students, ‘You’re not alone. We want to support you. You’re the reason I have a paycheck and a job, so come and make me earn my paycheck.’ Asking for help is hard, but that’s the best time where I can get the support and really flourish.

“That’s the job of my team and me. We’re here to help students be successful. We can help you pass those classes and get you to graduation. That’s something my team does all day long.”