November 4, 2021
By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer
With three children under the age of four, Roane State student Anna Roberts quite literally has her hands full. But that hasn’t stopped her from maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
Roberts, 25, who was homeschooled by her parents in the Middle Tennessee community of Hohenwald, participated in the Civil Air Patrol during her high school years.
That was a big factor in her decision to join the Air Force after graduating high school. She ended up in Anchorage, Alaska, where she became a crew chief maintaining F-22 fighter jets.
While in the Air Force, she married her best friend, Davy Roberts. When they found out she was expecting twins, she separated honorably from the military and moved back to Tennessee to be with her husband and raise their children together.
She and her husband now live in Karns in Knox County with twins Charlotte and Hannah, age 3, and Elizabeth, who’s just under a year old.
Roberts said she has always been interested in running her own business and has been exploring the possibility of operating a food truck specializing in waffles.
She has been studying business administration and said Dale Wampler, Roane State’s success coach for veterans, and her professors have been invaluable by offering tips for adjusting to college.
Standout teachers have included David Rath. “You could tell he enjoys the topics,” Roberts said of Rath’s Introduction to Business class.
Roberts has had a couple of business-related classes with Associate Professor Gloria Drake and will be taking an accelerated class in sales and services with her.
Roberts also gives high marks to Associate Professor Matt Waters, her instructor in communications, whom she said “gave really good feedback.”
While many of her classes are online, she also has taken evening classes in person while her husband takes care of their children.
After graduating from Roane State in the spring, Roberts is also considering going after a degree in culinary management.
“I was apprehensive about starting college as an adult and a mother, but the wonderful staff at Roane State has made it more than possible,” Roberts said. “It has been a great experience that has built not only my knowledge, but my confidence in my abilities as well.”
Roane State Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity or national origin, sex, disability, age, status as protected veteran or any other class protected by Federal or State laws and regulation and by Tennessee board of Regents policies with respect to employment, programs, and activities. View full non-discrimination policy.
