Click Here to Schedule with Lindsey Morgan
Lindsey has been advising students for 20 years in various roles including financial aid, multicultural affairs, student life, veteran affairs, and others. Lindsey has an MBA and finds advising students aligns with her strengths of empathy and future thinking.
Lindsey is a self-described foodie who loves finding new restaurants and foods to try out and enjoy. Her favorite type of food is Indian, but she has a weakness for a good vegan blueberry lemon scone.
What are your best tips for success?
- Ask questions. You're in school to learn, so don't be afraid to do just that! Asking for help—from a professor, a tutor, or your friends—is a surefire way to make sure you truly understand the material.
- Get Organized. Making a plan for what you're going to do and when you're going to do it will make sure you're always ahead of the curve - literally.
What inspires you?
“In a world where you can be anything, BE KIND.” Treat others the way you wish to be treated; you never know the IMPACT your KINDNESS may have on another individual.
Any other information you have you’d like to share?
The Cookie Monster has a real name. It's Sid.
Click Here to Schedule with Cassandra Cooksey
Cassandra served on ChattState’s Enrollment Services Team as a College Enrollment Specialist. She has an Associate’s Degree in Biology from Chattanooga State and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music from Austin Peay State University. Cassandra is as an advisor for Business & Industry students.
What are your best tips for success?
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Take advantage of all of your resources
- Breathe! Your wellbeing is important. Always make sure you set aside some time for yourself to do something you enjoy.
- Knock out your work a little at a time, don’t procrastinate!
- Believe in yourself, you’re your own worst critic.
- Get to know your fellow students. You can make some great new study buddies and awesome friends!
What’s something you enjoy in your spare time?
- I love to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea
- I also enjoy aerial arts, horseback riding and making music
What’s something that inspires you?
- Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts- Winston Churchill
- Little by little, one travels far – J.R.R. Tolkien
Click Here to Schedule with Kellie Graves
Kellie has been advising students for 11 years. She has had a few different roles: planned and implemented fun activities and sports for Student Life and provided success strategies to students in the Student Support Center.
What are your best tips for success?
- Go to class, every class.
- Be present.
- Participate in school. Make it a priority.
- Complete as much schoolwork/homework as you can on campus—fewer distractions and more help available with all the resources here.
- Use the resources. If you need something, say something.
- Talk with your advisor. Don't wait until the last minute.
- If you are taking an online class, read everything several times.
What inspires you?
Watching the sunrise.
Click Here to Schedule with Trevor Hill
Trevor has been an advisor at ChattState for 2.5 years. Before that he worked as a Success Coach and in Enrollment Services. Trevor’s bachelor’s degree is from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. When he is not on outdoor adventures with his wife Molly or running, he can be found at music festivals or concerts.
What is your best tip for success?
1. Take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep. Incorporate physical activity into your lifestyle if you're able. If you are struggling with anything—ask for help.
2. "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become." - James Clear
3. Avoid cramming—spread your studying out over time.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by people who step out of their comfort zone.
Click Here to Schedule with Tiffany Scruggs
Tiffany has been advising for 12 years at ChattState. She started as a general advisor and has been advising for engineering and computer science since 2015. She also teaches college success.
Tiffany is a first-generation college student and amazing mother of three. When she has SOME spare time, she enjoys watching Law & Order SVU. She also loves basketball and going to concerts. She says it’s hard to have a favorite team because the players change teams often, but her favorite player is KD (Kevin Durant).
What are your best tips for success?
- This journey is yours...go at your own pace!
- Invest in yourself...say, (with a smile) "I can't, I have to study."
What quotation inspires you?
“Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr.
What is your strangest, irrational fear?
That I'm going to be attacked by a squirrel on the riverwalk while walking on my lunch break.
Click Here to Schedule with Kendra Veal
Kendra has been advising students at ChattState for about 4 years.
Click Here to Schedule with Roni Abraham
Roni has been advising at ChattState for 11 years. He has a degree in Finance & Economics and worked as a financial planner for 10 years before he joined our team.
Click Here to Schedule with Rhonda McWhorter
Rhonda has been with the college for 13 years and advising students for 3 of those years. Rhonda thinks of herself as an ambivert (50% extravert/50% introvert). She loves to see people happy. Her gifts are motivating people and organizing.
What are your best tips for success?
- Communicate with professors and classmates.
- Get involved even if it’s outside your comfort zone.
- Create study groups even if something is not due, it’s best to stay ahead!
What inspires you?
I find inspiration everywhere that I can. I learn from people as well positive and negative experiences. If something does not work out the way I envisioned it, I will push myself to find another way to move forward. Life is just like finding a career. There is no clear-cut single pathway to doing things. Everyone's experience is uniquely different and is equally important.
What is your strangest irrational fear?
I am afraid of sunflowers and clowns.
Click Here to Schedule with Anna Kent
Anna has been advising students about their college journey for 23 years. She has a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on student affairs. Anna has been at ChattState for 15 years working with our students in an advising role who are pursuing Nursing & Allied Health majors.
What are your best tips for success?
- Never hesitate to ask questions and ask for help. Chatt State has numerous resources to help you be successful.
- Making and using flash cards is a great study tool.
What inspires you?
Our students... watching our students overcome challenges and obstacles to their success inspires me. Their perseverance through difficult life events and commitment to achieving their career goals is humbling.
What is your favorite random fact?
Foraging bees communicate with the hive about food sources they find by dancing.
Click Here to Schedule with Demetria Smith
Demetria has been advising students at ChattState since 2013. She is also an instructor for College Success. Before Demetria joined us, she had been a financial aid counselor for several years at UTC (2004–2007).
What are your best tips for success?
1. Use the resources that ChattState provides to help you be successful.
2. Use the 2 for 1 rule for studying: plan to study two hours for each one hour of class time (depends on the class).
What is your favorite way to spend your day off?
I love to spend time with my family, reading and travel. Traveling is my most favorite thing in the world, so much that I recently became a certified Travel Agent.
What inspires you?
“Travel brings Power and Love back into your life.” -Rumi
Click Here to Schedule with Helen Knight
Helen has worked at ChattState for 13 years. She has been involved in enrollment services as well as a success coach. She has been advising students in her current role for 2 years.
What is your best tip for success?
Picture achieving your career path using something like Google Maps. There can be multiple routes to the same destination, some more direct and others that may take more time. But when you actually get on the road, there can also be unexpected occurrences that can lead you to a different destination altogether.
What quotation inspires you?
"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor" -Franklin D. Roosevelt
Click Here to Schedule with Brandon Hines
Brandon started out in Enrollment Services at ChattState 4 years ago. He then became a success coach and has been advising students for the last 2 years. Brandon is currently serving as the Gateway Scholars advisor liaison, assisting Recruiting & Orientation by going to our 6 Gateway schools throughout the school year. Brandon serves as a mentor not only to students but to his peers as well.
What are your best tips for success?
1. Go at your own pace! It may seem impossible until it's done! ASK FOR HELP!
2. Make a schedule and get in the routine of studying daily.
3. Read the material before going to class so you are familiar with what is going to be covered.
What is your favorite way to spend your day off?
Hanging out with family and friends.
Binge watching shows.
Sleeping.
What inspires you?
Since I know that working in the education field is a part of my calling, achieving goals that I have set for myself keeps me motivated and inspired.
Click Here to Schedule with Jade Pierce
Jade has been an advisor since July 2020. She has been with the college for seven years and gained experience across the campus: Financial Aid, Enrollment Services Center, and a Success Coach. This experience is a valuable tool as Jade advises not just about what classes to take next but how to succeed in college.
What is your best study tip?
Use the 25/5 method or the "pomodoro technique" to study. Before you study, decide what you want to accomplish and break your work into 25-minute intervals. Set a timer for 25 minutes and start studying. After 25 minutes, take a short 5 to 10-minute break. Repeat.
What inspires you?
Graduations inspire me. I get very emotional when I think about how hard each graduate worked to get where they are. It’s so inspiring to see students reach their goals.
Click Here to Schedule with Stracee Jones
Stracee has been an advisor for ChattState for five years.
What are your best tips for success?
1. Ask all of your questions even when you’re nervous.
2. Read all of the instructions.
3. Look at things how they are not how you want them to be.
4. This isn’t high school; you have to study and study more consistently.
What inspires you?
1. The ability to create joy and live through the lens of joy.
2. What is your favorite way to spend your day off?
3. Traveling with friends and family.
Click Here to Schedule with Vicki Duncan
Vicki has been advising since 2020. She started out working for Project AHEAD at ChattState and later in the Student Support Center assisting students with everything from Time Management to Test Anxiety. She has been in the education field for 25 years, starting out as a Special Education Teacher.
What is your best tip for success?
College is a great time to come out of your comfort zone.
Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Be open to new study tips and techniques.
Don’t get stuck doing what you have done in the past.
What quotation inspires you?
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(COVID was such a trying time for all of us, but I saw true resilience and tenacity in our students. I placed this quote on my work email so I would always remember the beauty of how strong we all are and can be, no matter the odds.)
What is your favorite random fact?
The “M’s” in M&Ms stand for “Mars” and “Murrie.”
Click Here to Schedule with Kyle Summers
Kyle has been an advisor at ChattState for just under two years. Before he became an advisor, Kyle was a success coach.
What is your best tip for success?
Always ask for help and never suffer in silence. Everyone at Chattanooga State wants you to succeed.
What inspires you?
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.