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News: For the Adkins family, Roane State and education are a way of life

Rena Adkins is pictured with her two sons, Jared, left, and Josh.

By Bob Fowler
Staff writer

HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. - For this mom and her two sons, Roane State Community College’s campus in Scott County has played a key role in their lives.

Rena Adkins and sons Jared and Josh are graduates of Roane State. They all took classes at the college’s W.H. Swain Scott County Center.

Their Roane State experiences opened doors to job opportunities in education. They eagerly stepped through and are now giving back, helping fellow Scott County residents better themselves.

“We grew up watching Mom help thousands of kids,” Jared said.

“Being here at Roane State with the faculty, staff and students, we’re like a tight-knit family,” Rena said. “We all work together to help each other.”

“This campus is truly a blessing for me and my children,” she said.

Rena has been a technical clerk at the Scott County campus for 26 years and also serves as interim director of Roane State’s Fentress County campus in Jamestown. She received her associate degree from Roane State in 1996.

Her sons in their respective jobs help students and prospective students from low-income families and those who are the first family members to go to college.

Josh Adkins has two Roane State diplomas; an associate degree in radiological technology, received in 2011, and a general associate degree, awarded in 2015.

He’s now Roane State’s Success Coach in Scott and Fentress counties, keeping tabs on some 250 first-time freshmen who have less than 24 college credit hours under their belts.

“It’s a great job,” he said. His duties include providing information about admissions, financial aid, and course registration.

Jared Adkins graduated from Roane State in 2013.

He is now an educational advisor for the nonprofit Douglas Cherokee Economic Authority, and he helps high school students – particularly those from low-income families – complete the groundwork for entering and graduating from college.

He makes sure seniors complete the Tennessee Promise scholarship application and also guides students through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application.

The mother and sons continued their education, receiving B.S. degrees in interdisciplinary studies from Tennessee Technological University through classes offered at Roane State’s Scott County campus. Rena graduated in 2013, Jared in 2015 and Josh in 2016.

The Roane State campus in Scott County has been in existence since 1989, when it was first headquartered in a former hardware building before the modern campus off Highway 63 was constructed, opening in 1994.

Two businessmen, the late W.H. Swain and the late Earl McDonald, played key roles in helping create the new campus. “There was also a lot of other local help,” Rena said.

Both men were keenly aware how college education could help residents of Scott County, where the unemployment rate has often been Tennessee’s highest.

Because of Roane State’s Scott County campus, working adults can easily return to school and continue their education at night, Rena said.

There’s also an emergency medical technician program, and that’s “definitely needed,” she said, since there’s presently not a hospital in Scott County.

Over the years, there have been improvements to the Scott County campus, Rena said, including an expanded library, a student lounge and a lab for students taking classes in anatomy and physiology and geology. A classroom for TTU students has also be added, she said.​

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