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News: Roane State Middle College student inspired by her mother’s educational path

Erika Rogers

April 10, 2019

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Talk about a role model.

Roane State Middle College student Erika Rogers is following in her mother's footsteps, even including plans to pursue a special degree online.

"I'm planning on doing exactly what my mom did, actually," Rogers, 18, said of mother Rhonda Chapin. "I'm hoping to end up just like her."

Chapin received a degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Tech and an online degree in fire protection engineering from the University of Maryland.

She's now part of the fire protection engineering team at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. Rogers took the initiative to enroll in Roane State's Middle College program.

That's where students go to Roane State in the mornings while wrapping up their high school studies so they can graduate with both an associate degree and a high school diploma at the same time. Rogers said she "first heard other students talking about dual enrollment where they could take college classes at the high school."

"I did some research on my own," Rogers said, and in doing so, she learned about the innovative Middle College program. She's already completed high school graduation requirements

The transition from online homeschool studies to attending classes at Roane State's Roane County campus was challenging, Rogers said.

"In college there is a lot of heavy material to learn, especially with classes you have to take in engineering," she said

Her love of math helped. Two Roane State faculty members were also instrumental to her success and are outstanding educators, she said.

She took physics with Professor Phillip Hyun and is now taking his Physics II class, Rogers said. She's also in a differential equations class, and Prof. Jill Denton is the instructor. "I'm liking it a lot," she said of the class. Denton "keeps her office hours open and tries to help as much as she can."

Rogers is on target to graduate in May with an associate's degree in general science and has already been accepted into Tennessee Tech's electrical engineering program.

Then, like her mother, she said she's going to take the online fire protection engineering program.

Rogers said Roane State's Middle College program "is a real opportunity if you have the determination for it."

To learn more about Middle College, visit roanestate.edu/middlecollege or contact coordinator David Lane, lanedr@roanestate.edu, (865) 354-3000 ext. 4223.

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