Summary: In this episode of the Unlikely Academics Podcast, the Undergraduates have occupied the Unlikely Academics Studio at UT Chattanooga, offering their experiences as unlikely academics navigating admission to undergraduate, navigating living in a new city, and learning the rules of university. Each guest (Kelsie, Nicole, and Paris) co-host discussed their experiences of coming to college, learning to make connections, and finding resources to survive and thrive in college. They discussed the challenges of overcoming deficiencies in their high school education, overcoming socio-economic challenges of coming from working-class families, and also issues of diversity particularly coming from a Latin American Country. The co-hosts shift the discussion to navigating the graduate school admission process, including the GRE, finding the right program, and offering questions to address in future episodes of the Unlikely Academics Podcast. Kelsie Anderson - Kelsie Anderson is a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is incredibly passionate about solving educational inequities. Throughout her undergraduate career majoring in both psychology and sociology, she has worked with non-profits focused on education policy and has assisted in research. Her future plans include becoming a teacher and getting her master's through a teacher residency program and eventually lead schools in the district in which she works. Paris Wright - Paris Wright is a 19-year-old, junior psychology major at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She plans to work on getting a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology following graduation, as she is interested in studying the “people” side of the business world. Outside of school, she enjoys volunteering, music, working and spending time with her family, friends, and cats. Nicole Ribera-Ergueta: Nicole Ribera-Ergueta is a 21-year-old from Bolivia. She will be completing her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice in December of 2019 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her future plans include working and going to graduate school, while also making sure to travel and keep up with her artistic hobbies.
