{"id":39067,"date":"2021-12-05T11:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=39067"},"modified":"2021-12-11T09:20:36","modified_gmt":"2021-12-11T14:20:36","slug":"utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC is &#8216;my happy place,&#8217; graduate says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well span3 pull-right\">\n<div id=\"attachment_39072\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"817\" height=\"1200\" data-attachment-id=\"39072\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/celena-kirby-21\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"817,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Angela Foster&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 6&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Celena Kirby, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 on Chamberlain Field.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1637158554&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;86&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Celena Kirby-21-&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Celena Kirby-21-\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Celena Kirby, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 on Chamberlain Field.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-697x1024.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-39072\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236.jpg 817w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-697x1024.jpg 697w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-768x1128.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-580x852.jpg 580w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-610x896.jpg 610w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-136x200.jpg 136w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-236-272x400.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 817px) 100vw, 817px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Celena Kirby is pursuing a master&#8217;s in psychology.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Commencement Fall 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What: <\/strong>Undergraduate<\/p>\n<p><strong>When:<\/strong> Saturday, Dec. 11<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>9 a.m.: College of Arts &amp; Sciences and College of Engineering and Computer Science;<\/li>\n<li>1 p.m.: College of Health, Education and Professional Studies and Gary W. Rollins College of Business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Where:<\/strong> McKenzie Area, 720 E. Fourth St.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Livestream Links<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>9 a.m.: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Iey3yG\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Iey3yG<\/a><\/li>\n<li>1 p.m.: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3EilP5V\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/3EilP5V<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3lswkvS\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/3lswkvS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Celena Kirby calls herself an open book. She has a story different from most when she shares why she decided to pursue a career in psychology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh goodness, I could spend three years telling you that story,\u201d said Kirby, who will be receiving a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology as part of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 11, in McKenzie Arena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been independent since I was 3 years old, since I could walk and talk and get myself around a house. I grew up in a different environment than the average child and saw things in a very different light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kirby was raised in the Nashville area, the only child of a single mom. Her mother has struggled with addiction issues, and her biological father was not in the picture. He, too, has addictions that he\u2019s working through, Kirby said.<\/p>\n<p>It all came to a head when she was 16. Her mom was arrested, sentenced to 10 months in jail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a turning point for both of us. My whole life was up in arms,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cI was just a sophomore in high school, not really knowing anything. That\u2019s a malleable age, anyway, and that kind of did it for me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mom and I did months of very extensive therapy just to have a relationship. Her therapist at the time &#8230; I knew that I wanted to be that person for somebody. I knew that I didn\u2019t want to keep my story silent. There were two different ways you can use it, as a success story or as a sob story, and I wanted to use it as success.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>\u2018Where I learned who I am\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It was the pursuit of telling her success story that led her to Chattanooga. That along with her aunt and uncle, Jennifer and Steven Chaffin, who live here.<\/p>\n<p>The Chaffins grew up in Middle Tennessee before coming to UTC. They both earned bachelor\u2019s degrees in 1998\u2014Jennifer in multidisciplinary school learning and Steven in environmental science: biology\u2014and stayed in Chattanooga after graduation.<\/p>\n<p>While visiting them as a high school senior, Kirby saw UTC and didn\u2019t apply anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI submitted my application. I was accepted. And that was that,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI knew this was where I wanted to be. Chattanooga became home for me. It\u2019s where I grew and where I learned who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kirby arrived on campus in the fall of 2018 with an \u201call-business\u201d mindset and hasn\u2019t looked back. She has taken up to 19 hours each semester and will be graduating in three and a half years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone says college is the best four years of your life, but I\u2019m an old soul. I\u2019ve seen enough that I knew I was here and I meant business,\u201d she said. \u201cI got it done early, but not to be done early. It\u2019s just to start the next part sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She will be working for her aunt and uncle\u2019s real estate investment company while waiting to learn the next chapter in her story.<\/p>\n<p>A psychology degree and real estate don\u2019t sound like they mix, but \u201cin true psychologist\u2019s fashion, I\u2019m going to find a way to use it,\u201d Kirby explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really important to be able to know what people need like location, practicality, school systems, so being able to use my ability to read people and understand them on a different foundational level than just ground level will help me. So there is some intertwine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her plan is to pursue a master\u2019s degree in psychology, and she has been applying to programs at UTC that begin in fall 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of the reason I want to apply (to UTC) for Graduate School is that I don\u2019t want to leave,\u201d she said. \u201cI love this school. I love who\u2019s here. The connections I\u2019ve been able to make with professors and peers are unmatched in my world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou often hear that a home isn\u2019t four walls. A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me. It\u2019s my happy place.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Sharing her success story<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Her mom is in recovery now, \u201cand I\u2019m very thankful for that,\u201d Kirby said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy success story is living through it and working through it and the knowledge of it,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving that brightness of a mom in recovery and is doing great things &#8230; I\u2019m blessed to have her. I don\u2019t want that to look any different than it does.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knows her story is public. She uses her story to guide people to their own success story, so I have permission to use it because most of her story is my story, too. It\u2019s obviously from different lenses, but my story\u2014my childhood\u2014is of my mom\u2019s addiction and what that looks like now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kirby plans to pursue a career as a school psychologist, saying she wants to make sure children growing up with similar adverse experiences don\u2019t go down the wrong path. Kids coming from a life similar to hers are either going to do exactly what they\u2019ve seen or go the opposite route\u2014as she did.<\/p>\n<p>She wants to be the voice of success stories.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWherever I land in psychology,\u201d Kirby said, \u201cI want to take my story and be able to share with people, \u2018Hey, there is hope. Let me help you find the ways to get there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":39073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,61,286,661],"tags":[119118,119119],"class_list":{"0":"post-39067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","8":"category-news","9":"category-psychology","10":"category-students","11":"tag-celena-kirby","12":"tag-commencement-fall-2021","13":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UTC is &#039;my happy place,&#039; graduate says | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&#039;A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.&#039;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UTC is &#039;my happy place,&#039; graduate says | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#039;A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.&#039;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-05T16:00:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-11T14:20:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1363\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Wasserstrom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chuck Wasserstrom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5\"},\"headline\":\"UTC is &#8216;my happy place,&#8217; graduate says\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-05T16:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-11T14:20:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1016,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Celena Kirby\",\"commencement fall 2021\"],\"articleSection\":[\"College of Arts and Sciences\",\"News\",\"Psychology\",\"Students\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC is 'my happy place,' graduate says | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-05T16:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-11T14:20:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5\"},\"description\":\"'A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.'\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":852,\"caption\":\"Graduation headshot of Celena Kirby.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UTC is &#8216;my happy place,&#8217; graduate says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"description\":\"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5\",\"name\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\"},\"description\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom is the director of communications in the UTC Division of Communications and Marketing.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/author\\\/wyf557\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UTC is 'my happy place,' graduate says | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"'A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.'","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UTC is 'my happy place,' graduate says | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","og_description":"'A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.'","og_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/","og_site_name":"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga","article_published_time":"2021-12-05T16:00:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-11T14:20:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1363,"url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chuck Wasserstrom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_site":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chuck Wasserstrom","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Wasserstrom","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5"},"headline":"UTC is &#8216;my happy place,&#8217; graduate says","datePublished":"2021-12-05T16:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-11T14:20:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/"},"wordCount":1016,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","keywords":["Celena Kirby","commencement fall 2021"],"articleSection":["College of Arts and Sciences","News","Psychology","Students"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/","name":"UTC is 'my happy place,' graduate says | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-05T16:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-11T14:20:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5"},"description":"'A home is where you are. This campus, while it has four corners, everything inside of it is home for me.'","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","width":1280,"height":852,"caption":"Graduation headshot of Celena Kirby."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/utc-is-my-happy-place-graduate-says\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UTC is &#8216;my happy place,&#8217; graduate says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/","name":"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5","name":"Chuck Wasserstrom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chuck Wasserstrom"},"description":"Chuck Wasserstrom is the director of communications in the UTC Division of Communications and Marketing.","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/author\/wyf557\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Chuck Wasserstrom","author_link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/author\/wyf557\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/12\/Celena-Kirby-21-295.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1493"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39067"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39299,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39067\/revisions\/39299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}