Pellissippi State Community College student Louis Rey Valenzuela has been recognized by the Tennessee Board of Regents as Student of the Year for the state of Tennessee.
Valenzuela earned the Student of the Year title, which is presented to one student from a Tennessee College of Applied Technology and one community college student, as part of TBR’s annual Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) Awards in March.
The award is presented annually to an outstanding student from one of TBR’s more than a dozen member community colleges, who has earned at least a 3.3 GPA and exhibits academic accomplishment along with exemplary service to their college.
“I don’t do anything halfway,” said Valenzuela, who is studying Electrical Engineering Technology and is slated to graduate in May. “If I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it with my whole heart. And I think this whole opportunity with SOAR let me really just get to talk about Pellissippi and how Pellissippi has changed my life and my family’s life.”
Valenzuela returned to college at Pellissippi after more than 10 years in the workforce. He had completed only nine credits when he and his wife discovered their unborn daughter had a tumor on her heart.
The Pellissippi State Foundation intervened so Valenzuela could continue his education while balancing full-time work and fatherhood. At the SOAR Awards on March 4 and 5 in Nashville, Valenzuela networked with state lawmakers and TBR members, sharing his story.
“It was just a really good opportunity to brag on Pellissippi State – brag on the Foundation,” he said. “Because without that whole team, I would not be here.”
As a nominee for the Student Excellence Award, Valenzuela provided a two-page essay and resume to TBR and completed a 30-minute interview to test his knowledge of the TBR system and how institutions like Pellissippi State impact the local community and economy.
He was selected at the regional level in the fall to advance to the state competition, where he completed another interview. In that discussion, he emphasized the importance of “giving people the opportunity to say yes,” Valenzuela said.
“Community college and technical colleges are not a backup plan – they’re a launch pad,” he said. “They are a place to equip people for those next steps, whether it’s going right into the workforce or going to a four-year.”
Valenzuela thanked Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Travis Loveday along with Student Engagement and Leadership Director Sharon Couch for giving him “opportunities to say yes.”
That includes participating in student government, the Pellissippi State Leadership Institute and leading the Pellissippi lobbyists for the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature 56th general assembly.
Valenzuela serves as president of not only Pellissippi’s chapter of SkillsUSA – a nationwide workforce-development organization – but also the statewide chapter. He won gold and silver medals in extemporaneous speaking at the Tennessee and national SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference, respectively.
He is also an inaugural member of a society new to Pellissippi State – though relatively common at TCATs – the National Technical Honor Society.
“I couldn’t have done it without Pellissippi,” Valenzuela said of his win at the SOAR Awards. “I would not be shaped or molded in the way that I am, or be such a huge advocate for people to have opportunities to say yes, if it wasn’t for Pellissippi.”
At the SOAR Awards, Pellissippi President L. Anthony Wise Jr. introduced Valenzuela to regents and other representatives of TBR.
“We are so privileged at Pellissippi to have students who are as dedicated, hardworking and passionate as Lou,” Wise said. “He cares so much about student success – not just his own, but also that of his peers – and I was extremely proud to see him win such a deserved recognition at the SOAR Awards.”
Pellissippi State Community College is a public community college based in Knox and Blount counties in Tennessee and operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college operates four campuses: Hardin Valley, Blount County, Strawberry Plains and Magnolia Avenue.
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