An hour before their 9 a.m. class, several nuclear power engineering students gets together in the hall of the Center for Advanced Technology building for a home-cooked breakfast while they cram for their next exam.
Most have not been in school in many years and enrolled at Chattanooga State Community College seeking job security. They say the breakfast sessions provide both study time and camaraderie.
“We’re getting used to being back in school and trying to help each other,” said Daniel Speal, 26, who joined the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from Ooltewah High School in 2002. He worked at McKee Foods before starting school this semester.
James Holder, an English major graduate and restaurant waiter, started the breakfast tradition when he brought his waffle maker to school. Another classmate shared homemade bread.
Since then, seven to 10 students, depending on the day, bring coffee, doughnuts, eggs and sausage to share.
Speal said the nuclear industry looks like “job security.”
The Tennessee Valley Authority is reviewing a plan to idle up to one-third of its coal-fired plants and build up to a half-dozen nuclear reactors.
NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTSStudents 25 years and older* 2009: 9,431* 2008: 8,485* 2007: 8,108* 2006: 8,060* 2005: 7,836Source: Chattanooga State Community College
“The way everything is shifting from like coal-fired plants, trying to cut on emissions, and nuclear power is cleaner technology. They are trying to grow the industry,” Speal said.
Rob Marshall, 26, got a music education degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2008 but couldn’t find a job in the area. He eventually decided to change careers.
“I wanted to stay in the area around my friends and family and there’s more security in this field,” Marshall said.
Other members of the breakfast club are Marty Aaron, 38, who drove trucks for five years; Kristie Clark, 28, who worked for eight years at a furniture factory before her job was outsourced to Mexico; Dan Platt, 25, who has a degree in business but was laid off in August 2009 from a sales job; and Brandon Fine, 29, an ironworker.
Michelle Olson, director of educational outreach programs and retention, said the college supports nontraditional students through mentoring programs and a center where people over age 40 can go for help with things such as computer literacy.
And college officials encourage students to do exactly what the nuclear engineering group is doing — get together and help each other out.