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Sue Culpepper

Adult Education

Sue is currently seeking her MS in educational psychology with the Adult Education program. Originally from Chattanooga, TN, she received her BS in business administration with a concentration in accounting at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). She joined EPC in 2016, and still lives in Chattanooga. We asked her to reflect on some past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Current Occupation

Director
Joseph F. Decosimo Success Center
UTC College of Business
Chattanooga, TN

Student success is my passion. Using my experience from my previous 25 years in banking has allowed me to develop a focus for students to become business world ready. In the Success Center in the College of Business at UTC, we offer our professional academic advisors to academic achievement and the Career Development Center to assist students in becoming competitive in the business world through professional development opportunities and internships.

Personal Interests

My family time together is very important and I truly enjoy hanging out with my with husband, Lee (retired engineer, UTC ’70, ’76), our two children and their spouses, our two grandchildren (Topher and Patricia), our dog, Riley and grand dogs (Rosie and Laney). Hiking is one of my personal pleasures in life, and we try to get to Colorado each summer to fill that space! Yoga is something that Lee and I enjoy frequently, as well as spending time walking Riley and consider mindful living as a ritual of our lifestyle. Additionally, travel is a great learning experience, and we love to travel to educate ourselves about other parts of the world.

Future/Vocational Goals

My only goal at this stage of my life is to be more effective at UTC. The increased understanding of the dynamics of the way adults learn, the techniques of program planning, and the fascinating theories of educational psychology and adult learning will allow me to broaden the scope of services and apply my knowledge to provide a more robust experience for our students.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program/department?

Make a commitment to yourself be an active participant in the program. The program is so amazing and the sharing of experiences from our many backgrounds provides an inclusive learning platform. We enjoy others’ similarities, differences, and perspectives as we learn from one another. The faculty brings the theory to life through a variety of means, and the students confirm our learning through our experiences.

What do you think has been the most rewarding/challenging about this program?

I came from the business world with a successful 30-year career in the financial industry. Making the transition from the business environment and philosophy to education was in itself a personal challenge. This program is not easy. The challenge in producing and addressing the theoretical assignments in a scholarly way has made me a better writer and thinker. I look at the world differently now. It has opened up another world of information that is very exciting and applicable in many ways.