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.
First Gen Week: Celebrate what it means to be a first-generation student at UTC
When Curel Jones came to UTC as a freshman in 2020, she quickly realized she was a bit in over her head. As a first-generation student, Jones had no idea what to expect from college.