{"id":55020,"date":"2023-12-04T07:36:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T12:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=55020"},"modified":"2023-12-10T10:13:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T15:13:43","slug":"for-bas-al-degree-recipient-lorina-upshaw-if-you-want-to-do-something-be-determined-thats-what-i-always-tell-my-kids-and-my-grandkids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/for-bas-al-degree-recipient-lorina-upshaw-if-you-want-to-do-something-be-determined-thats-what-i-always-tell-my-kids-and-my-grandkids\/","title":{"rendered":"For bachelor’s degree recipient Lorina Upshaw, \u201cIf you want to do something, be determined. That\u2019s what I always tell my kids and my grandkids\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lorena

Lorena Upshaw poses in her cap and gown in front of the UTC Library in early November. Upshaw will be the recipient of a Bachelor of Applied Science: Applied Leadership degree during UTC fall commencement ceremonies. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

On May 6, Alex Upshaw crossed the McKenzie Arena stage as part of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga spring commencement proceedings.<\/p>\n

Seven months later, on Saturday, Dec. 16, she will return to McKenzie Arena as a spectator\u2014this time to watch her grandmother, Lorina Upshaw, march across the same platform to receive a bachelor\u2019s degree of her own.<\/p>\n

Lorina Upshaw, who officially completed her UTC coursework in August, will hear her name called as a recipient of a Bachelor of Applied Science: Applied Leadership degree (BAS-AL).<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, she\u2019s going to hear me yelling across the stage,\u201d said Alex Upshaw, the recipient of a bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration: management. \u201cI was just in that moment: I understand all the emotions, how it feels to walk across that stage, all eyes are on you.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re carrying the Upshaw name another time, so I know that me and my family\u2014we\u2019re going to be loud. It\u2019s going to be amazing to see her walk across that stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0 \u00a0*<\/p>\n

\"\"

1971 Moccasin Yearbook<\/p><\/div>\n

Lorina Upshaw\u2019s journey toward receiving a bachelor\u2019s degree started 53 years ago.<\/p>\n

Then known as Lorina Burse, she came to UTC in 1970\u2014in the University\u2019s first full year as a member of the UT System\u2014after graduating from The Howard School in Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

She was one of the first Black students to attend UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then, there weren\u2019t many Blacks at all. There were very few on campus,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI was like, \u2018Where\u2019s everybody?\u2019 I had gone to an all-Black school all my life, and when I got here it was a little different, but I adjusted to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Academics, though, were a tougher adjustment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not used to studying. In high school, I made good grades and was on the honor roll and everything, but I didn\u2019t have to study,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After completing three full-time semesters, Upshaw transitioned away from school. As is the case for many students in the UTC BAS-AL program, life got in the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got married, had a family\u2014and I didn\u2019t come back,\u201d she explained. \u201cI said, \u2018Oh well, I\u2019m just going to work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She went to secretarial training, which led to full-time employment. After a few years in the workforce, she landed at TVA\u2014where she was a nuclear power group information representative. She worked there for nearly 35 years before retiring in 2012.<\/p>\n

While at TVA, she attended Chattanooga State Community College, taking one class at a time as a part-time student. She graduated with a Management Transfer associate degree in 1999.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll along, I kept wanting to come back to continue my education. I finally got to the point where I said, \u2018Well, I\u2019m going to get my associate\u2019s degree at Chatt State,\u2019 and I did that. But I still wasn\u2019t satisfied. I wanted to come back here and finish up what I started years ago,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Doing that wasn\u2019t easy or feasible\u2014until the birth of the BAS-AL degree.<\/p>\n

\"Lorina

Lorina Upshaw, UTC class of 2023<\/p><\/div>\n

The BAS-AL program, housed in the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies (CHEPS), was launched in fall 2021. The fully online program was created to serve nontraditional contemporary learners with previous college, military or work experience\u2014also known as adult learners\u2014who want to complete their undergraduate degrees.<\/p>\n

Once she learned of the BAS-AL\u2019s existence, Upshaw contacted UC Foundation Professor Beth Crawford\u2014the program\u2019s adviser\u2014and explained her situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Crawford said, \u2018Don\u2019t you worry. Come on in and we\u2019ll help you,\u201d Upshaw recalled. \u201cShe has been there for me ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Crawford, \u201cLorina\u2019s getting the bachelor\u2019s degree because she\u2019s always wanted to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree and she was willing to put forth the effort to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she retired from TVA, she wasn\u2019t through giving to society. She went back and started substitute teaching so that she could give back, but she had challenges there. One of the things that she and I talked about specifically was the leadership challenge that she had in a classroom. The teacher is the leader and is responsible for pushing the leadership of everybody else in there, but the substitute teacher comes in with an automatic disadvantage. She really worked hard to demonstrate leadership principles to those kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upshaw said leadership plays a huge role in her everyday life and in substitute teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a lot of leaders today. I see that in the world, even in my church. We need leaders,\u201d she said. \u201cSomebody can stand up and be strong for what\u2019s right and know exactly what they\u2019re talking about, and somebody is not going to take us in the wrong direction. That\u2019s what leadership is to me, knowing exactly what to do, how to do it and when to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upshaw earned her place on the Dean\u2019s List every semester as a BAS-AL student while increasing her enrollment from part-time to full-time.<\/p>\n

She remained persistent and diligent as she learned to navigate campus software programs she hadn\u2019t used in her TVA work, such as Zoom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did have some technical challenges,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cNow, using the computer and keyboard, I had no problems with that. But when it came to Zoom meetings, I had to find out what to do and how to do it. Then Google Docs and all of this kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a long and successful career, why put herself through the degree pursuit?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still living. I\u2019m still alive, and I just feel like if you want to do something in life\u2014I don\u2019t care how old you are\u2014as long as you\u2019re breathing, as long as you have breath, you can do it. Just put your mind to it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Lorina

Lorina Upshaw and her granddaughter, Alex, at May 2023 UTC commencement ceremonies (photo courtesy of Alex Upshaw).<\/p><\/div>\n

When she graduated from Chatt State in 1999, the first in her family to receive a college degree, Upshaw promised herself and her parents\u2014Joseph and Lorina Burse\u2014that there was more to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be quite an experience for me, just happiness and joy,\u201d she said of the upcoming Dec. 16 UTC undergraduate commencement ceremony. \u201cMy parents were living at the time when I graduated from Chatt State. They were there and I know they would be proud of me that I finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it got difficult, but I prayed and was determined to keep pushing my way through. If you want to do something, be determined. That\u2019s what I always tell my kids and grandkids: Just be determined. You will make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She will be the latest in a line of Upshaw family members receiving degrees from UTC.<\/p>\n

Lorina\u2019s son, Reggie Upshaw, earned two degrees from UTC\u2014a bachelor\u2019s in secondary education: recreation in 2002 and a master\u2019s in education in 2006.<\/p>\n

Lorina\u2019s daughter, Rasheila Upshaw, received a master\u2019s in special education from UTC in 2008 and an education specialist: advanced educational practice (Ed.S.) in 2017.<\/p>\n

Lorina\u2019s grandson (and Reggie\u2019s son), Dezmond Gage Upshaw, is a former Mocs football player and 2021 recipient of a bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration: management from UTC.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s Lorina\u2019s granddaughter, Alex, who can always brag about going to college at the same time as her grandmother.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was actually funny because we would call each other and just talk about our tests or what we were doing. We\u2019d call each other and laugh about it,\u201d said Alex Upshaw, now a Nashville-based human resources contact center generalist with Aramark. \u201cIt was kind of like friends talking to each other about classes. Having that and going through the same thing together was special.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing her finishing something that she started was really motivating for me. If she can pick it up like it\u2019s nothing, it opened my eyes to see that you can do whatever you want at any age. A lot of people have a misunderstanding of the age, like, \u2018You need to be in college during this time. This is the only time you can do it.\u2019 But seeing her go back and figure things out on her own and graduate and finish what she had started is very motivating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn More<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Bachelor of Applied Science: Applied Leadership<\/a><\/p>\n

BAS-AL News<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Dec. 16, Lorina Upshaw, who officially completed her UTC coursework in August, will hear her name called as a recipient of a Bachelor of Applied Science: Applied Leadership degree (BAS-AL). Her journey toward receiving a bachelor\u2019s degree started 53 years ago.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":55032,"comment_status":"closed","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":[122460,70,123864,56,12659,7712,57,52,8244,122426,8288,661],"tags":[123586,122304,119406,122305,122687,123590,83248,123587,123589,123588,998],"class_list":{"0":"post-55020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-advancement-and-alumni","9":"category-applied-science","10":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","11":"category-events-entertainment","12":"category-faculty-and-staff","13":"category-college-of-business","14":"category-graduate-school","15":"category-honors-and-awards","16":"category-management","17":"category-school-of-education","18":"category-students","19":"tag-alex-upshaw","20":"tag-bachelor-of-applied-science-applied-leadership","21":"tag-bas-al","22":"tag-chattanooga-state-community-college","23":"tag-commencement-2023","24":"tag-desmond-gage-upshaw","25":"tag-elizabeth-crawford","26":"tag-lorina-upshaw","27":"tag-rasheila-upshaw","28":"tag-reggie-upshaw","29":"tag-tva","30":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nFor bachelor's degree recipient Lorina Upshaw, \u201cIf you want to do something, be determined. 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