Realtor Brenda B. Purcell Mentoring With TnAchieves

  • Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Brenda Purcell, broker, Re/Max Renaissance Realtors and Kisha L.
Caldwell, director, Welcome Center & Recruiting, Chattanooga State Community College
Brenda Purcell, broker, Re/Max Renaissance Realtors and Kisha L. Caldwell, director, Welcome Center & Recruiting, Chattanooga State Community College

Brenda B. Purcell, a licensed real estate broker with Re/Max Renaissance Realtors, attended the TnAchieves Mentor Breakfast held at Chattanooga State Community College on Nov 4. Ms. Purcell is among a group of professionals and citizens statewide volunteering to mentor high school seniors who have applied for the Tennessee Promise Scholarships to be awarded in 2015. Ms. Purcell, a resident of Falling Water, hopes to be assigned to five students either from Red Bank or Hixson High School. 

Ms. Purcell an active realtor since 2002 and licensed to sell real estate in Tennessee and Georgia understands the value of a college education and the importance of getting good advice and mentoring throughout the process.  She attended Tennessee Technological University for three years and transferred to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduating with a B.S. degree in Consumer Science and a Minor in Business in 1983. She is also a 1993 graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and has served on the Board of Governors for the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Alumni Board.  Prior to entering the real estate field, Ms. Purcell worked for over 25 years corporately at McKee Foods and Provident Companies, Inc.  Later, she served as the first director of the Southeast Career Center.

In her real estate career, Ms. Purcell continues to forge relationships mentoring students from Chattanooga State and UTC and has provided work experiences for area students.  As an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, ABR, with over 12 years of experience in the real estate industry, Ms. Purcell now understands more than ever the need to have a trained workforce to further boost economic development.  

Additionally, she sees firsthand the disappointment of young first time homebuyers who graduated or completed some college but dropped out and became burdened with student debt because they took out student loans.  At mortgage pre-qualification time, they discover a low credit score often caused by missing a few monthly payments on their student loans or factors that affected their income to debt ratios. 

Her goal is to see more students graduate from college.  A “tuition-free” associate degree will allow many students a chance for a better pathway to transfer later and obtain a four-year degree.  Along the way if students do change their minds about their careers, there should be many other options for them to pursue from technical training to specialized courses and diplomas. 

Ms. Purcell said, “What really excites me, the students can often find meaningful, higher paying part-time jobs while pursuing their education at technical schools…and the beauty is maybe NO student loan debt or limited debt will be the outcome.” This gives graduates who want to become first-time homebuyers a much healthier financial jumpstart.

She welcomed the opportunity to sign up as a mentor after reading a news release and receiving an email from the Chamber of Commerce. "I pro-actively support any educational experience that offers co-ops, internships, apprentice training or simply classes that allow you to work while completing your education in today’s world," she said.  

Ms. Purcell can be contacted at Re/Max Renaissance Realtors at 423- 756-5700 or by cell at 423-322-0011. Her direct email address is brenda.purcell@comcast.net.  

 

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