{"id":51389,"date":"2023-07-03T08:12:55","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T12:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=51389"},"modified":"2023-07-10T15:19:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T19:19:28","slug":"it-is-possible-to-move-forward-in-life-katie-streber-overcame-drugs-jail-and-uncertainty-to-earn-a-bachelors-degree-and-pursue-a-masters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/07\/it-is-possible-to-move-forward-in-life-katie-streber-overcame-drugs-jail-and-uncertainty-to-earn-a-bachelors-degree-and-pursue-a-masters\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It\u00a0is possible to move forward in life’: Katie Streber overcame drugs, jail and uncertainty to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree and pursue a master\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Katie

Katie Streber and her daughter, Joy, sit Friday, June 9, 2023, in Coolidge Park. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Katie Streber\u2019s daughter, Joy, turned 4 on Aug. 14, 2016. Thirteen days later, Streber was arrested in Tennessee for drug possession with intent to sell, a felony.<\/p>\n

It was not the first time she\u2019d been arrested that year. She already was facing identity theft charges for trying to use a stolen credit card in a North Georgia store in March 2016.<\/p>\n

In all, Streber spent seven and a half months in jail on the two charges in late 2016 and early 2017. During that time, the father of her daughter overdosed and died.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, while I was incarcerated after that happened, I had a 4-year-old little girl out here in the world with no parents,\u201d Streber said.<\/p>\n

Embarrassed by her longtime behavior\u2014drugs became a major part of her life after she graduated from Ooltewah High School in 2000\u2014and determined to complete a life-altering makeover, in August 2021 she enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga at the age of 38.<\/p>\n

In May 2023, she graduated summa cum laude from UTC with a bachelor\u2019s degree in integrated studies, focusing on social work and criminal justice. She has been accepted into the UTC graduate school and plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree in public administration.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Click here to learn more about the UTC Master of Public Administration program<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time at UTC has been amazing, and I have met so many incredible people,\u201d Streber said. \u201cI did have moments where I was, \u2018I’m by far the oldest student,\u2019 and it does make you look back and consider, \u2018If I had done this when I was supposed to, at the appropriate age, where would I be now?\u2019 That kind of thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am incredibly grateful for the second chances afforded to me, and I am determined to utilize each one in giving back and helping others who might have histories similar to mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Talia Welsh, director of integrated studies and UC Foundation professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, was the instructor for Streber\u2019s Integrated Studies: Senior Portfolio course. Welsh described her as \u201can excellent student.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’d describe her as personable, smart, hardworking,\u201d Welsh said. \u201cShe obviously was able to juggle a lot\u2014working and being a parent and going to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe always handed in her stuff on time and always was really thoughtful about it. Even if you gave her the most minimal feedback, she’d want to respond to it and improve her work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Streber began her journey to UTC\u2014and sobriety\u2014after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge and being sentenced to Hamilton County Recovery Court. The program gave her probation in return for wearing an ankle bracelet for a period of time, remaining sober, holding down a job, attending Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, submitting to random drug tests and reporting to a probation officer.<\/p>\n

Authorities in Georgia agreed to let her complete probation ordered by that state in Tennessee, so long as she met all Recovery Court requirements.<\/p>\n

Recovery Court included the help of group therapy and one-on-one counselors, such as those from the local, Chattanooga-based Council for Alcohol and Drugs Services (CADAS).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lifeline. The people there are wonderful. They supported me. They acted like I was somebody until I believed that myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Streber tried college before coming to UTC. Several times, in fact. Months after graduating from Ooltewah High School in 2000, she spent a semester at the University of Memphis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt did not go well,\u201d she said. \u201cI guess I met the wrong people and started doing the wrong kind of things.<\/p>\n

She came home from Memphis and worked as a server, hostess, bartender, you-name-it in several local restaurants. She enrolled for a semester at Chattanooga State Community College. Quit. She enrolled for a semester at UTC. Quit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I knew it all. I just thought that I was going to go to work and be successful that way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Drugs were part of her life the entire time\u2014\u201cI did everything\u201d\u2014and she tried rehab several times without success, she said. She was arrested on a few misdemeanors before her felony charges, which led to her time in jail\u2014her divorced father and mother took care of Joy during that time\u2014then her probation through Recovery Court.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Click here to learn more about Integrated Studies at UTC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

While on probation, she enrolled again at Chattanooga State in 2019 and earned an associate of science degree in social work. With that in hand, she enrolled at UTC.<\/p>\n

She worked in restaurants for a time during her probation but eventually was hired by CADAS as lead behavioral health technician. She has progressed to financial utilization review counselor at the organization, helping those in the program deal with the payment of fines and other bills, with insurance companies and advice on money matters. She dealt with all of those herself, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, by sharing my story, I will have a small impact on\u00a0changing the stigma associated with mental health and substance-use disorders and show others in\u00a0recovery\u2014or even those thinking about getting clean and sober\u2014that it\u00a0is possible to move forward in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Streber originally aimed for a career as a personal counselor, Welsh suggested public administration. To some, \u201cadministration\u201d means paper-pushing and bureaucracy but, as an academic program, the focus is on policymaking and programs for the public welfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalia introduced me to the idea that maybe you can help people on a broader scale through public administration,\u201d Streber said. \u201cHow you can just really be that change; how you’re in a position to promote positive change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job fits Streber\u2019s personality, Welsh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKatie’s definitely somebody who’s interested in making the world a better place. She\u2019s had people in her life who have helped make her life be in a better place,\u201d Welsh said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying that going to school while working full-time and being a single mom had its strains, Streber said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to think that I am a good example of someone working to overcome substance-use issues and criminal justice involvement to achieve academic and professional success while positively impacting the lives of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

This past school year as a fifth-grader at East Brainerd Elementary, Streber\u2019s daughter won the Daughters of the American Revolution Citizenship Award, and she hopes some of Joy\u2019s success was based on watching her mother\u2019s determination.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had the best characteristics: honesty, loyalty, truthfulness, all the things that I learned as part of being in recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and drug court,\u201d Streber said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2014and this is so clich\u00e9\u2014but I think knowledge is power, and I think the more knowledge that I can learn, I’ll be able to deal with life and help Joy deal with life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> for details about the\u00a0Integrated Studies program at UTC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In May 2023, Katie Streber graduated summa cum laude from UTC with a bachelor\u2019s degree in integrated studies, focusing on social work and criminal justice. She has been accepted into the UTC graduate school and plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree in public administration.<\/p>\n

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