The Walters State Community College Education Department has started kicked off a new year of its Student Tennessee Education Association.

Officers elected for this year include Triniti Dalton as President; Gabi Catron as Vice President; and Kynzie Turnmire as Secretary. Co-Advisors are Assistant Professor of Education and Early Childhood Misty Hayes; and Assistant Professor and Department Head of Education Jessica Mills.

STEA focuses on the four core values of Educator Quality, Community Outreach, Political Action & Racial/Social Justice. While the four core values guide the work of the organization, it is a student-led organization with leadership structures at the campus, state, and national levels.

Club members and Co-Advisors have monthly meetings at the WSCC Morristown Campus. Their next meeting is on March 3 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Members are actively preparing the spring STEA conference to be held in Nashville. The club has also adopted Hillcrest Elementary and were recently recognized at the Hamblen County Board of Education monthly meeting.

The Student Tennessee Association (STEA) is a pre-professional organization for those aspiring to become educators. Through its affiliation with the Tennessee Education Association and the National Education Association, STEA is the largest collegiate program for Aspiring Educators, with more than 45,000 members nationally on more than 1,100 campuses.

In Tennessee, there are more than 2,200 members on 42 campuses, including community colleges and four-year colleges and universities around the state.