{"id":47027,"date":"2022-12-12T07:34:28","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T12:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=47027"},"modified":"2023-06-29T11:33:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T15:33:29","slug":"tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Twenty-five

Twenty-five years after his first college class, Larry Guess\u2014an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic\u2014will soon to able to call himself a first-generation college graduate. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

As a U.S. Army veteran and longtime critical care paramedic, Larry Guess is used to keeping his emotions in check.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Dec. 17, don\u2019t be surprised if the 48-year-old openly sheds a tear or two as he crosses the commencement stage after hearing his name called.<\/p>\n

Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership (BAS-AL) online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began. He will participate in UTC undergraduate commencement ceremonies taking place at McKenzie Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe realization of it all still seems wild to me; the emotion of that moment will be huge,\u201d Guess said. \u201cJust finally making it to this point and knowing all the sacrifices that my family\u2019s made, that I\u2019ve made, that different people have made to ensure that I\u2019m able to do this is pretty overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially this woman,\u201d he continued, turning to his wife, Dianna. \u201cShe puts up with my being on the computer half the night when I should be helping with dishes or with the kids or something. She understands getting this degree has been my end goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was nodding in agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am immensely proud of him,\u201d Dianna Guess said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t say much about all the odds he\u2019s had to fight to get to this point in his life. His steadfastness has been very inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

#####<\/p>\n

Following his enlistment in the U.S. Army\u2014\u201cDesert Storm was going on as my senior year was wrapping up, so a whole group of us from high school decided to take off to the military\u201d\u2014Guess returned to civilian life in 1997 and began his collegiate career at Middle Tennessee State University.<\/p>\n

He said his focus at the time was the social aspect of the college experience, not his education, and the wake-up call came on Dec. 20, 1998\u2014the day his father died.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was high the last conversation I had with him,\u201d Guess recalled, \u201cand when he died, I was like, \u2018OK, what did we talk about this morning?\u2019 It got me questioning my priorities in life. My college career was pretty much done at that point, so it was time to go to work and do what grown folks do.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years later, he went back to school to become an emergency medical technician, earning degrees from Northeast Alabama Community College and Lenoir (North Carolina) Community College that allowed him to pursue that line of work. That started his progression through the hierarchy of emergency medical services, and he has been an EMS member for 16 years and a paramedic the last five.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he spent two academic years at UTC (2011-2012 and 2012-2013), majoring in business management. Life got in the way again in the form of family issues, forcing him to drop out of school.<\/p>\n

He admitted he often thought, \u201cIt\u2019s just not going to happen for me,\u201d when dreaming of an elusive bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, Guess received a correspondence telling him about the possible launch of a UTC online degree program for working adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe email basically said, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re interested in putting this program together. We\u2019re reaching out to prior students who are close to their degrees but aren\u2019t quite there. Would you be interested in a teleconference to discuss the different things?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Sure.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, since nothing else has been straight-line for Guess in pursuing the college degree, he missed the meeting; while driving, he had crossed time zones, \u201cand when I went to get on the call, I realized I was an hour late.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Well, there went my opportunity again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of curiosity, he sent an email a couple of months later to ask how that call went and learned that the program\u2019s creation had been approved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to miss my opportunity this time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Guess has become a walking billboard for the BAS-AL program\u2019s target audience: adult learners for whom life always seemed to get in the way of crossing the undergraduate finish line.<\/p>\n

Dr. Beth Crawford, UC Foundation professor and program adviser, said the BAS-AL \u201cis designed for working adults like Larry who need the flexibility of an online program in order to complete their degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being introduced in fall 2021, the BAS-AL has grown from its inaugural enrollment of 11 to have 53 members in fall 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarry has been a valued student in the program since our first semester,\u201d said Dr. David Rausch, associate dean of the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies and professor and director of learning and leadership programs at UTC. \u201cHe has been dedicated to his studies throughout the process and engages fully in all aspects of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Guess\u2019 case, he never thought he\u2019d be able to complete college because of the job constraints of his non-standard schedule.<\/p>\n

A bachelor\u2019s degree, he said, creates an opportunity for career advancement.<\/p>\n

\u201cA paramedic degree can only go so far,\u201d he explained. \u201cI cannot go into a leadership function without the bachelor\u2019s degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being in the BAS-AL program has already paid dividends.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my interview with Air Evac,\u201d he recalled, \u201cthey asked, \u2018What are you doing to better yourself? What are you doing to improve your education and to improve your sellability?\u2019 As soon as I said I was enrolled in this program, they wanted to know more about it and they were just as excited as I was about finishing that degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

#####<\/p>\n

Twenty-five years after his first college class, Guess\u2014a father of seven, ranging from adult to three children under the age of 7\u2014will soon be able to call himself a first-generation college graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing first generation is spectacular,\u201d he said. \u201cSadly, my dad\u2019s not with us to celebrate and my mother has dementia, so she\u2019s not going to be part of that celebration, but my children, grown and littles, are all very excited about me graduating.\u201d<\/p>\n

While her husband might be unable to control his emotions as he walks across the stage, Dianna Guess made it clear that she won\u2019t be holding back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will cry; I know I will,\u201d she said. \u201cOur three littles are always talking about, \u2018Daddy\u2019s in school,\u2019 and we\u2019re using that as a springboard so that the next generation can have that higher level of education.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began. <\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":47033,"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":[661,56,8244,99051],"tags":[119406,122272,48020,83248,119410],"class_list":{"0":"post-47027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","8":"category-honors-and-awards","9":"category-online-learning","10":"category-students","11":"tag-bas-al","12":"tag-commencement-2022","13":"tag-david-rausch","14":"tag-elizabeth-crawford","15":"tag-larry-guess","16":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nTears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began.\" \/>\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=\"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/\" \/>\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=\"2022-12-12T12:34:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-29T15:33:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2064\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1854\" \/>\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=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5\"},\"headline\":\"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-12T12:34:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-29T15:33:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1147,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"BAS-AL\",\"Commencement 2022\",\"David Rausch\",\"elizabeth crawford\",\"Larry Guess\"],\"articleSection\":[\"College of Health, Education and Professional Studies\",\"Honors and Awards\",\"Online Learning\",\"Students\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-12T12:34:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-29T15:33:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5\"},\"description\":\"Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/files\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1150,\"caption\":\"Larry Guess, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree\"}]},{\"@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":"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began.","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":"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","og_description":"Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/","og_site_name":"UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga","article_published_time":"2022-12-12T12:34:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-29T15:33:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2064,"height":1854,"url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.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":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Wasserstrom","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5"},"headline":"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree","datePublished":"2022-12-12T12:34:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-29T15:33:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/"},"wordCount":1147,"commentCount":4,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg","keywords":["BAS-AL","Commencement 2022","David Rausch","elizabeth crawford","Larry Guess"],"articleSection":["College of Health, Education and Professional Studies","Honors and Awards","Online Learning","Students"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/","name":"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-12T12:34:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-29T15:33:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ba12ddef664be78c31809fda10eae4e5"},"description":"Larry Guess, an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter flight paramedic, is a member of the inaugural class of the UTC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership online degree program to complete the curriculum and receive a degree\u201415 months after the program started and 25 years after his college journey began.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg","width":1280,"height":1150,"caption":"Larry Guess, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/tears-of-joy-a-25-year-flight-to-a-bachelors-degree\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tears of joy: A 25 year flight to a bachelor\u2019s degree"}]},{"@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\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.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\/2022\/12\/Larry-Guess-22-72-1-e1670092047450.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47027","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=47027"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47260,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47027\/revisions\/47260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}