{"id":58741,"date":"2024-04-30T13:04:33","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T17:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=58741"},"modified":"2024-05-14T08:44:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T12:44:24","slug":"chamyra-teasley-wins-harold-love-outstanding-community-service-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/chamyra-teasley-wins-harold-love-outstanding-community-service-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Chamyra Teasley wins Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UTC

UTC junior Chamyra Teasley is a recipient of the 2024 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, given by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to 10 individuals in higher education throughout the state. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Forgive Chamyra Teasley if she\u2019s not quite ready for her junior year to end.<\/p>\n

Teasley, pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree in engineering management with a minor in political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has packed a lifetime\u2019s worth of memories into one academic year.<\/p>\n

As Student Government Association (SGA) president, she has hobnobbed with UTC leadership and dignitaries, including UT System President Randy Boyd and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Alongside Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement Stacy Lightfoot, she co-moderated \u201cA Conversation with Bernice King and Ilyasah Shabazz\u2014A Legacy of Leadership and Service\u201d for the UTC MLK Day 2024 celebration. She was a featured speaker at commencement in December and will return to the McKenzie Arena podium during undergraduate ceremonies this Saturday, May 4.<\/p>\n

But the icing on the cake was being honored for her community service efforts.<\/p>\n

Teasley was the recipient of the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award<\/strong><\/a>, given by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to 10 individuals in higher education throughout the state who demonstrate a lasting, meaningful impact through service; are valued by peers and community leaders; and embody the legacy of the late Rep. Harold Love Sr.\u2014the namesake of the award.<\/p>\n

A reception to honor Teasley and the other award winners was held on Monday, April 29, in the State Capitol\u2019s Legislative Lounge in Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 10 awards in the state at every level\u2014and only five students get this award\u2014so this places Chamyra among the very top students in Tennessee,\u201d UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle said. \u201cThis is an elite group and that\u2019s where she belongs. It\u2019s very satisfying to see her acknowledged for everything she does.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the award program\u2019s website, community service recognition for higher education students and faculty\/staff at the campus level was created in Tennessee through legislation enacted by the General Assembly in 1991. In 1997, the awards were named for Love, who was instrumental in passing the enabling legislation.<\/p>\n

Teasley was nominated for her work with her leadership team to help communicate that the SGA is an advocacy group for UTC students to have a voice on campus. As part of her SGA work, she helped bring a \u201cStudent Leader Summit\u201d on campus, inviting SGA leaders from universities across the state for a three-day program in Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

She serves as a resident assistant in the engineering residential learning community while holding two internships\u2014one in the UTC IT Department and one with The House Campus Ministries. She has also worked in the Office of Student and Family Engagement, learning how to plan and host inclusive events to allow everyone to enjoy activities on campus.<\/p>\n

\"Chamyra

Chamyra Teasley<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still in shock,\u201d said Teasley, a native of Clarksville, Tennessee. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s always great to get recognized for the work that you put in. I don\u2019t do the work to get recognized; I do it to help others. And I guess it\u2019s just great to know that people believe in what I\u2019ve done and they\u2019re proud of the work that I\u2019ve done on our campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels really, really amazing to see that someone else outside of our campus has seen the work that I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angle said Teasley\u2019s emotional intelligence \u201cis off the scale where she can talk to people, she can relate, she can think things through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t have to be in the spotlight; she has this desire to empower those around her to be successful, and\u2014as a result\u2014she shines,\u201d he continued. \u201cChamyra is just a really caring person and very mature for her age. She wants to make UTC a better place for students so they can be engaged and successful and launch their careers and futures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teasley was the first UTC student to win the Harold Love Award since Briana Brady<\/strong><\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\n

She credited her parents\u2014Charles and Felecia\u2014and her faith for inspiring her community service and servant leader mentality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a Christian, and I believe that I need to give back to the world because that is what we were created to do; we were created to love and support everybody,\u201d Teasley said. \u201cCommunity service is really important to me because we\u2019re able to give back to a community that pours into you. Chattanooga has been my home for almost three years now, and I take every opportunity to give back to a place that\u2019s poured into me so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really instilled in me by my parents. Growing up, it was countless weekends\u2014 whether we were at church, or we were doing community cleanups, or we were helping at a local homeless shelter or a food bank. I\u2019m thankful to my parents and my campus ministry for making it easy to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teasley said her time at UTC has allowed her to grow her passion for social justice and change.<\/p>\n

Engineering management, she said, is teaching her leadership skills for her future. The political science minor has educated her to \u201clearn about gender and politics and how the world works.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has helped me become a more well-rounded individual,\u201d she said, \u201cand I\u2019ve learned through my role in SGA that I also have a heart for advocacy. I\u2019m hoping that what I\u2019m learning can help me find a career that lets me take the engineering management skills I\u2019ve learned and circle in my love and passion for advocacy and social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

With everything she has accomplished during the 2023-2024 academic year, it\u2019s no wonder Teasley called the end of the year \u201cbittersweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe year went by super-duper fast. I\u2019m sad to leave behind the SGA president role because that\u2019s been a big part of my life since last February, but I\u2019m also happy because I love seeing next year\u2019s leadership step up. I know that SGA is in good hands with them,\u201d said Teasley, who was recently offered a summer internship as a nuclear intern with the Tennessee Valley Authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m not leaving UTC, so I don\u2019t have too much to be sad about just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

UTC Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award Recipients (since 1998)<\/h4>\n

Students<\/strong><\/p>\n