Welcome And Sponsor Message

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Yavonka and your guests discuss everything from life, love, and business with the Tennessee player. Always relatable, always relevant, and always a good time. This is Tolkien, Tennessee, and now your host, Yavonka.

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This episode is brought to you by the Landis Team, your go-to real estate family in East Tennessee. If you are looking to buy or sell, we are the ones you should call. Give us a call at 865-660-1186 or check out our website at yavonka salesrealestate.com. That's Yavonka Y V-O-N-N-C-A Sales Real Estate.com.

Why Dr. Lundy Matters Here

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Welcome back to Talking Tennessee with Yavonka. I am your host, and I am here with my friend and sister, Dr. Deja Lundy, CEO and president of Knoxville College. Welcome.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

I'm so happy to be here with you today.

SPEAKER_04 1:05

Thank you. Welcome back. I love it. Okay, so for the viewers that don't know, Deja was on my podcast a year and a half ago, and the downloads was downloading. Okay. And so many people wanted to hear her voice and what she had to say. So this is a good time in East Tennessee that I felt like bringing a strong leader to the conference room to talk about serious matters, life, lifestyle, and what her legacy, she what she envisions her legacy to be. So, Deja, thank you for coming and accepting the invitation and just be so being so transparent on everything you do. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

Thank you for inviting me.

SPEAKER_04 1:57

Most definitely. I'll tell you, um, before me and Deja knew each other, I always knew her from afar. We would see each other in different events. We would always speak to each other. But I truly believe that God really brought this friendship and sisterhood together. I can honestly say publicly that there's a lot of times that maybe I'm not in the best spirit or I had a hard day. I always know I can call uh Deja my friend and she's gonna give me great advice. And then I can even call the president of Knoxville College, and she's gonna tell me, you know, how things run in our city, you know, what I should look for. And that is to me, Deja, is a full-package friendship. Because I just love that you are just down to earth. You're always, you will lend your ear to somebody, and you always will be transparent, and you don't care who it is. I don't care. You don't care. So let's get into this.

The Call To Come Back

SPEAKER_04 3:07

So, how in the world did it happen that you came back to Knoxville College?

SPEAKER_03 3:12

Oh my goodness gracious. I knew it was gonna be a question like that. The simple answer is God. Um people watched the podcast before, I think it came across that I am officially a whistleblower. Yes. And all over the news, been in a national magazine. So when you become a whistleblower, you are a bad person.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

But I trust God. So after I left the school in 2023, uh, then my term as a county commissioner ended in 2024. I went back to what I love and sitting on my porch. And she does. And then I have my dog Naya Luna and then just went back to work, minding my business. But God was still speaking to me about NASA College, and people didn't know that. So I was actually still planning stuff for the school with not being in position. Then I received a phone call September 2025, and the board asked me to come back. What was that? I was very nervous.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

I was about to say, what was your feeling when you first when you got that call?

SPEAKER_03 4:28

I think it was well because God told me I was coming back.

SPEAKER_04 4:34

Really?

SPEAKER_03 4:35

I never said it out loud because that makes you crazy. Okay. I knew I understand it. I knew I was coming back, I didn't know how. Even watching how they went through another president search before me, I did not apply. God did not tell me to apply for that. Um he just told me I was gonna come back and I didn't know how. So that president left, and then the school was without a president for a couple of months, and so the board just came back because somebody recommended me that knew my character and my integrity, because they said she should have stayed before. Y'all need to reach out to her.

SPEAKER_04 5:15

So let's go back, son. So, what was your position and title when you were there in 2023?

SPEAKER_03 5:21

I was the executive vice president, COO of Knoxville College.

SPEAKER_04 5:26

So you're telling me that you were the COO and you left in 2023. May 23. God told you that you were gonna be coming back. You didn't know in what capacity, and now you're sitting there in a higher title and position. What does that feel like as a black woman in East Tennessee?

SPEAKER_03 5:53

What does it feel like? Um It looks heavy from the outside, but one of my, and I think I've talked to you about this before, my prayer is to be a leader that leads from a being of rest.

Leading From Rest Under Pressure

SPEAKER_03 6:10

Okay. I don't want to carry all that stress that I did before and stress as a former county commissioner. I just want to be a leader that is just simply authentic to who I am in my belief system and walk this journey out. And I always say, and I tell the board and I tell people, because you know my faith. Yes. So I hope you know I hope you know it's gonna be a lot of faith talk.

SPEAKER_04 6:36

It's fine. You cannot. God is always welcome in here.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

I have learned, and even in this position, because people know Nasma College is an institution that lost his accreditation 30 years ago, blighted buildings, 52 acres of blighted buildings. Uh a lot of stuff goes on at land that uh we won't talk about here. Uh finances are the math ain't mathing. Yes. And you're trying to pay bills and and and the stress of that. I see you can't.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

There's a lot of layers.

SPEAKER_03 7:03

It's a lot of layers that people don't understand. But if I didn't have the word of God, if I didn't have my Bible, I wouldn't survive this position.

SPEAKER_04 7:11

I believe that.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

Uh so I'm definitely being guided by something spiritual.

SPEAKER_04 7:16

Well, let me say this. And I'm speaking outside, looking in. Not as her friend, okay, at this moment. Most people that left would have never looked back. That's how I know God is involved. Because what because I know that when you left, it was a stinger. It hurt. It you know, and nobody goes back to hurt. Right. You know what I'm saying? Nobody goes back to something you get, you know, you you get stung by me, you're not gonna go to that same bee. And so now let me speak as a friend. I know through this journey, the different conversations that me and Deja has uh had, the biggest thing that sticks out to me to this day, you said to me, Yavonka, I want to go in good order. I'm gonna listen to God, and what God wants me to do in this position, I'm going to allow it to lie in front of me and let God guide me. And so Deja also said is that, you know, the burden is not mine. I'll carry it and I will work on it, but the burden is not mine because the thing she can't, the burden was not the things that happened in the past. That has nothing to do with Deja Lundy. And I want my viewers to understand that there is a lot of things pertaining to Knoxville College that Dr. Lundy knows about that has happened, but a lot of it was when you were a kid. I mean, if you really think about it, you know what I'm saying? When she had no knowledge of it. So for you to come in and then leave and come back, it had to be God to say, hey, I need you to clean up this house. So we're gonna talk about that, is just from day one, you've said to me, Yvonne, I want to get in there and I want to make a difference, and I want people to see that Knoxville College is a great institution. There may be some bad decision making, there may have been some bad things that happen, but the institution is a great institution, and how can we make this institution be successful and be respected again? Am I wrong? No, I'm not missing.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

No, you're not missing anything, but the the the greatest thing is how do we serve?

SPEAKER_04 9:57

How do we serve? Explain that.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

So it's bigger than education. So I know everybody wants Knoxville College to come back as an HBCU campus, all that. Higher ed is changing a lot. The business model is not not what we need. So I'm I want to make that clear. Knoxville College will not come back of how it looked in the 60s and 70s when it was thriving. We can't do that right now. Now, 50 years from now, because the way I lead, I'm looking at that president 50 years from now. Right. And that's one of my prayers. I was like, God, I want to see who it is because I want to see him. Because 50 years ago, I mean, 50 years from now, I'll be in my

Change, Support, And Community Trust

SPEAKER_03 10:36

90s, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 10:37

And I think a lot of times, let's go back a little bit. Uh let me speak on something. We're in a climate right now that in our culture, first of all, I can honestly say this is just my opinion. Our culture doesn't like change. And sometimes we need change to be able to grow. Okay. And it doesn't take away, and I want everybody to hear this, and I had to learn this myself, is change has to come because sometimes it needs to erase things that may have been taught to us in in those times that it was detrimental, but it's not detrimental now. And so sometimes things need to change because we're in a different climate. And so if we want to grow, that doesn't mean we give up our memories. It doesn't mean that we give up all the things that people have paid for us. Now, let me give you a little history. My grandfather and all of his brothers all graduated from Knoxville College. Y'all know I'm from Herman, Tennessee, but my grandfather, to the day he died, always donated to Knoxville College, and all of his brothers did. Okay. And my grandfather believed in the mission. He believed in HBCU, and he felt like doing his part because one thing he always taught me this: he said, you can labor, you can get your hands dirty, but there has to be money involved because money helps move the needle for where you need to be. And so I think with Knoxville College, with my grandfather think teaching me that way, I'm like, okay, we all know the stories. Okay. And this podcast is not about disputing what has happened. Right. Okay. But where do we go from there? So when you get a new president put in place to help move the needle and bring things together and change some things, how do you support her? I want to talk about that first. How do you support someone that goes in a position that used to be the COO and now she's the head? How do you support her and know that this person is the right person? Well, I think the first thing of support is getting to know the person. Getting to know who she is. So let's talk about it. She used to be county commissioner of which district? District one. District one. And she also, I'm asking her that. I knew that, but I wanted her to say it. Before somebody said, you didn't know what district. No, I knew what district. Um she's also in health care. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

What do you do in healthcare? I'm a physical therapist. I have my doctor's degree in physical therapy, 21 years in the game.

SPEAKER_04 13:39

21 years in the game. Okay. She also believes in she believes in high education. She believes in people furthering from high school to college to wherever they want to be. So there are so many different lever uh levels to Deja Lundy. And so before you can support somebody, you have to know who you're dealing with. And I can honestly say publicly, I trust Deja. I trust Deja with my money. I trust her with the vision. And I trust Deja, she's gonna do the right thing. So, how has it been since you went in there? Has people trusted you? Has people come forward and tried to help?

SPEAKER_03 14:27

I think I'm still in the midst of proving myself to people, which I'm not, I'm trying to make sure. I'm being me. Okay. So God made me. I don't submit to mankind. I submit to God because I know what God wants for me. Okay. So the ultimate goal is to make sure that people know when this school goes to its next level, it was not cost of me.

unknown 15:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:03

We're gonna all say look. That's a big statement. They say look, they gonna they need to say look at God.

SPEAKER_04 15:09

So she's basically saying, whatever you see, I might be sitting in the chair, but it's God that's moving that needle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

Because when I walk that campus, and people don't, and people get mad at me when I'm out the campus, when I do my videos and I walk the campus, they're like, you can't do that by yourself. Well, I don't live in fear. But anyway, I get it. I have wisdom, but there's people there. My security guards always roaming around in the background for people that are concerned. But I walk that campus and I look at it and I say, God, are you sure? Is this possible? Okay. Because I have navigated so many things since October 25. If I didn't have the word of God, I would say, you know what, we just need to close down and walk away from this.

SPEAKER_04 15:59

And you would have gave up.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

And you would have gave up.

SPEAKER_04 16:02

Yeah. And I think that that's saying something because a lot of times when people have the obstacles that they have, especially what what Knoxville College has right now, I think a lot of people would have walked away. Oh, yeah. A lot of people would have thought about their image and they would have thought about, okay, I don't want it to tarnish me. I don't want this or whatever. But when God assigns something, you can't walk away from what God assigns. And I think that is the biggest thing that I see is that you're you're on assignment.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

I'm on assignment. And we don't know. I know a vision. I have a personal vision, but I had to let go of stuff because of course I want to go in and bring an HBCU back and have a traditional college. And I I had to let that go. God's like, no, that's not it.

SPEAKER_04 16:50

Because now I'm gonna say, Knoxville College, when it was the it, it was the it. Okay. We had so many great times, but we still can have great times. That's my biggest thing is that Knoxville College can still exist and we still can build memories that is lasting for the this generation, the next generation to come. So tell

Knoxville College History And Legacy

SPEAKER_04 17:16

me this. Knoxville College is is has such a uh rich history. Why is preserving the historical part of black colleges and universities so important is so important today?

SPEAKER_03 17:29

It's because of where we come from. Okay. Knoxville College, people don't know, even though we were founded in Knoxville in 1875. Our history goes back to 1863.

unknown 17:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:41

Right when ancestors were free. And we started in Nashville, Tennessee. So Mr. McKee is the one that was a missionary from the Presbyterian Church that started that school. A white man in 1863. 1863. This is his vision that God given him that's still alive. It might be on life support. But when you think about legacy and our journey, NASA College does not belong to that person. It belongs to God. God sends the people to finish the word. So when I talk about it, the mission that was in 1863 is the same mission now.

SPEAKER_04 18:23

Because it's God is signed.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

It's God assigned. I have a book from 1900 that was printed at Knoxville College about the beginnings of Knoxville College. Those presidents were ministers. Wow. They read their Bible. There was, it was a talk of a fire that everything burnt down except the president's Bible. That was in the 1800s, late 1800s. So that's what people didn't understand. That I wanted people to understand when I was there. Because people were criticized. Why tell you making us look bad? No, because you can't come back when you don't have integrity. You can't come back when you're out of alignment. So when you see 30 years of nothing, that's because you're not aligned. And when I tell people, God ain't left not so college. The people left God.

SPEAKER_04 19:26

I can feel that, y'all.

SPEAKER_03 19:27

And that's where we are. So my assignment is alignment.

SPEAKER_04 19:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

And that's where we're going to be able to do that. Go back into the alignment. Go back to alignment, which God told me when I started, you're going back to 1863 and you're going to walk that out.

SPEAKER_04 19:43

So throughout the years, that makes sense because throughout the years, certain uh decisions that have been made that was not favorable to Knoxville College, that would explain. If you're out of alignment, if they were making it more about them and what they wanted, not so much about what God wanted for Knoxville College. Is that what you're saying?

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Yeah, because if you're going to be a leader, you need to surrender. You need to submit to God. If you feel like you call by God. Because your leadership is has nothing to do with you or your bank account, your house, your family. That's not leadership.

SPEAKER_04 20:21

It's not.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

And people think that.

SPEAKER_04 20:23

They do.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

But that's not how Dr. Lundy lives.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

Those things, those things can come to play in what is in front of you. But I think being a leader, your heart has to be right.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

In your heart, in your mind.

SPEAKER_04 20:38

It starts with your mindset. I truly believe a lot of people need to pray to God and ask God, change my mindset against Knoxville College. Because I think some of the people that can help Knoxville College, they have such a negative thought. And I am not here to say that you're wrong to think that way. Okay. Because there have been things that is questionable. But I think until you look at Knoxville College in a positive manner and look at it as God assigned, you will never help this HBCU grow because you're stuck in the past, not the future or the present. And so I think if the biggest thing that the takeaway is you have to be in alignment.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

You have to be in alignment.

SPEAKER_04 21:29

And the people that are carrying the mission has to know that they're assigned and it's not about them, what you just said. You said you want in the future that the present 50 years from now that people see that it wasn't about you. And it wasn't what you did, it's what God did. Is that what I'm hearing?

SPEAKER_03 21:47

That's what you hear, yeah. That is what you're hearing.

SPEAKER_04 21:49

So why do you think HBCUs across the country? I'm not talking about just not so college. Why do you think that they're struggling so bad?

SPEAKER_03 22:00

It's the identity of being alignment um with the

HBCU Identity In A Political Era

SPEAKER_03 22:04

politics of the nation. It's not new. Nothing's new under the sun. That's Bible. Okay. So you know what happened in 1863? This our people was enslavery and going through all that. That was all political. Okay. So we're in a political moment now.

SPEAKER_04 22:17

We are.

SPEAKER_03 22:18

You have to get back to God. Sometimes schools, HBCUs, are trying to compete with, can I say the PWIs? Okay. So we were never supposed to be like a PWI.

SPEAKER_05 22:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:35

We were supposed to carry our legacy, our culture, our blackness, our history, everything to help our people. Yeah. That is the HBCU. It's not racist. It's not being separate. It's just that you hanger like you have your family. Yes. You set your family's rules. Y'all have your own culture. You may do this dance. Another family do this dance. Yes. We we get the we HBC is just the identity that we need to be okay with and not try to be anybody else. Oh. So say that one more time, please. Be okay with your identity and not be like anybody else. I'm not trying to bring Knox of College to be Johnson University, University of Tennessee, wrong TK. That's not our assignment.

SPEAKER_04 23:24

Let's speak on that. Not in the position that you're in. Okay. Deja has come to University of Tennessee when Turner Knox is doing events, and she watches the event, and you can always tell. I can look at you and tell when your mind is churning and you're thinking of, you know, we could do this too.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

We can do it too.

SPEAKER_04 23:51

She doesn't knock University of Tennessee at all. If anything, I went there for summer school. If anything, it looks like it inspires you in certain areas. That you'll look at the events and the different things that the University of Tennessee does for the students. And I can always look at you, Deja, and you can tell what you're thinking is we could do this. Oh my gosh, wouldn't this be so great if we could bring this to Knoxville College? So back to what you were just saying. It's not about pitting white and black against each other.

SPEAKER_05 24:26

Okay?

SPEAKER_04 24:27

It's about, okay, how can we all be aligned to God's word? Because in God's eyes, we're all the same. We're all the same. Okay. The world has made us think that we're supposed to be separated. But in God's eyes, we're all the same. And so HBCUs right now, I see that are struggling. I just wondered, I was like, what is it? Why, why now? And I do think the political climate has a lot to do with it. But can you tell us what is one thing that you think that HBCU should all do?

SPEAKER_03 25:06

Is there any certain thing?

Funding Gaps And Alumni Giving

SPEAKER_03 25:08

I think the moment now for HBCUs is that partnership. We probably have to partner with each other. And I and I want to correct this because I don't want to say that, you know, there's political, there's spiritual, but also even the financial part. When you think about HBCUs, we're not producing those millionaires and billionaires like other schools like PWIs have that. So a lot of people give back. We don't give back our net worth. If you look at studies, the net worth of the black community, they say is going to be zero in a few years. So we not we not as giving. So HBCUs have to depend on other people to do it. But they might have those other people are probably giving to other institutions. So you we don't we don't get the same finances, especially if you're a private HBCU and National College is private. So we don't get state funding like TSU, Tennessee State University, or public schools.

SPEAKER_04 26:10

Um so it's a lot of I'm glad you're speaking on this because I think some people haven't educated themselves to understand that all schools don't get the same grants, all the same funding, that type thing. And it's like, okay, you're you're putting them all in this basket and saying everybody's getting X amount of millions. That's not true. Okay. And so I think you speaking on that and saying, okay, so we don't give as much. Well, I can even say, you know, I always, even with my family, anything we do, Deja, this is our rule, Landis Rule. Anything we do, we never ask anybody to donate money before we donate first.

SPEAKER_05 27:00

Right.

SPEAKER_04 27:01

And I'm gonna tell you the reason why I started that years back because I needed to know I was not asking people to do something that I don't do myself. Even down our blood drive, y'all know we're the largest non-corporate blood drive in Tennessee. Okay. We're a family blood drive, we bring our friends together, everybody in the community that we know, and even strangers, we bring them all together and we throw this blood drive. And we give away so many gift cards and everything. But Deja, I don't make the first phone call until we the Lannis has put money in it. And so the reason why I'm saying I'm not saying it to glorify the Lannis family, not at all, okay? Because we're learning how we can do better things too, okay? But I think when you're saying giving, you have to realize is if we don't give to our HBCUs, okay, if we don't go labor in helping push whatever the initiative is, the vision is, the mission is, that type thing, how do you think these schools are going to be in the next five years? Yeah, it's it's it's not gonna work, unfortunately. What do you see in the next five to ten years? What do you think

Partnerships And The Future Of Higher Ed

SPEAKER_04 28:26

because I want this to go on record, okay? Oh goodness. I want to know what do you see for HBCUs if changes, major changes do not happen. What do you see for it?

SPEAKER_03 28:41

Well, in the next five years, I hope that all of us are thriving and not begging Peter to pay Paul. Um, I hope that we as leaders are sitting at the table together, not in competition and not who can get the glory because I'm the president of this and my school is better than yours. That's not what God has called us to do. God has called us to work together and figure out the new strategy for higher ed. Because higher education is changing rapidly. I don't think anybody knows what's going on. So this is not an HBCU or a PWI or any other school conversation. This is a higher ed conversation. Yes. So how do we become leaders that we are leading the way to how that looks? Uh I I looked at uh the president of UT President Boyd of how they are changing, hopefully, I guess changing the curriculum that it would take three years to graduate. Yes. Instead of four years. Yes, he just announced that. Yes. People are making these changes because financially people can't afford to go to school.

SPEAKER_04 29:45

Yeah. And then for people to see value in going to college.

SPEAKER_03 29:51

Right, because it's a lot of money.

SPEAKER_04 29:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Now people are into I'm gonna go travel. Let me just take this class. I'm gonna travel, get a work-from-home job. Yes. It's a whole different world we're living in. So now we have to innovate for this new world.

SPEAKER_04 30:06

Restoring an institution is not a small task. What do you what can you tell me that is right now on the table, the hard part of your job? What is that? And there's probably several different things. Oh, yes. Yeah, several different things. But can you speak on some of the things that is hard about restoring Knoxville College?

SPEAKER_03 30:33

People don't know I don't have a staff, a full-time staff. And I'm not full-time.

SPEAKER_04 30:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

Y'all hear that? That makes it hard because I'm balancing my personal life, my life as a physical therapist, and leading the institution that's in need.

SPEAKER_04 30:53

You just spoke on that. You said nowadays people will go get a job, have a job, they go travel, but they have a job, you know, uh, stay-at-home job, that type thing. So now you're saying, hey, I'm the president of Knoxville College, but at the same time, I'm part-time because I have it, I have a full-blown career in the healthcare. You know what I'm saying? So you're you're basically showing that's me. So how is, I mean, what is the the task at hand to get people to realize that things are changing? We have to change and how we can help make that change.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

When I think about the value in our future with education and how we pivot and how we change, I think I'm more concerned about that student or that person to become their authentic self. Yeah. So when we were going to school, getting a bachelor's, it was about that certificate. Yes. To me, in this hour, it's about who you are.

SPEAKER_04 32:06

And how we can help you find your way.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

Good way, because that is what's missing.

SPEAKER_04 32:13

People are chasing the thing, but they need to chase themselves of finding their way and who they really are.

SPEAKER_03 32:22

That's what makes the world a better place.

SPEAKER_04 32:25

It does. But I think that my generation still struggles

Restoring A Campus With Limited Staff

SPEAKER_04 32:35

with speaking into this generation about how we had to find our way. And I make a point when I'm doing speaking engagements, whatever, that I tell young people, you know, you see me now. You didn't see me when I was the same age as you, and I was trying to find my way. And it took mentors in the community, it took people in the church that I trusted, it took family members, though all those people together, that village. When they talk about a village, I, you know, I think people play off that word, but at the same time, a true village that is for you and your growth, you can't put a price on it. Because those people realize, you know what, you're not where you're supposed to be, but they're gonna help you get there. And I think my generation has forgot that people helped us.

SPEAKER_05 33:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:40

You can't speak down to this generation and tell them that my daughter talks about it all the time. She's like, Mom, she's like, all my friends, they all come to you because they can't go to their parents because their parents is like, you did this wrong, you did that wrong, you know, you didn't get into this and that or whatever. You know, even down to parents wanting their kids to be in certain, you know, social type things for their growth, not for the kids' growth.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Right.

SPEAKER_04 34:13

And so we have to be able to say, you know what, hey, let me help you find the way. Yeah. And value those those students.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

I think that's the missing link. I really do too. And and that's why I talked about um, I think when we had a pre-interview of being a transcendent leader. I hope that at Nasser College we can create more transcendent leaders. Yes. And I know it starts with high lead, and people are watching me how I lead.

SPEAKER_04 34:42

And speak let me say this. I'm so glad you just said that. Sorry to interrupt.

SPEAKER_05 34:46

No, go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 34:47

People are watching you more now than ever. Leaders have to realize you can make a move that a young person is looking at that could truly make a huge hit with that individual, or it could truly silence them. And so when you say people are watching me, then you have a duty to give them the show of we are in this together, we're gonna make it, and you gotta stay positive. And so the reason why I'm saying that is we've got to get the negative thought off of Knoxville College. Do you agree with that?

SPEAKER_03 35:36

Yes. I always feel like I have, if anybody ever read that book, The Scarlet Letter, I feel like I have the letter A right here when it comes to K C and they like, oh don't, we don't need to talk to her. We yeah, we can't trust them.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

You gotta take the negative off of Knoxville College. And that doesn't mean that those things did not happen. So I'm not saying race history, but let's make a new history. That's the biggest thing is, okay, we all say there was wrong things that happened, shouldn't have happened. Even now, and I know the big elephant in the room that people's gonna want me to address is the money. We all know that things were misused.

SPEAKER_03 36:18

And I can confirm.

SPEAKER_04 36:19

And she was one of the people that was a whistleblower that said, that's not right. You shouldn't be doing that. But even when she was blowing that whistle, some people didn't want you to blow that whistle. Some people wanted it to stay the way it's always been. And so you coming back, I think that's God's way of saying she was the whistleblower. But now, that same whistleblower, if y'all trust her and you allow her to

Helping Students Find Themselves

SPEAKER_04 36:53

show you how to make a new history of Knoxville College, this is truly what I believe is that we need to make a new history, but we have to take the negative off the name. And we have to put back trust there. And trust doesn't come overnight. Hear me, viewers, I am not telling you that it's supposed to change overnight, but when does it change? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:18

Well, when people have conversations like that, I like to take it a little deeper. Okay. We have, when I mean me, we, I'm talking about humans. Yes. Our life, our journey has not been perfect. Have you made a mistake in your life?

SPEAKER_04 37:37

Many.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Have I? I made a mistake today. Yes. So it's just the journey of life. Not so college is just the journey of life. It is, it was thriving. We fell off. Now we gotta pick ourselves up again. You have done the same 50 plus times.

SPEAKER_04 37:55

And wait a minute, and uh and all the colleges out there, let's be honest. Yeah, yeah. Every college has had good seasons and not so good seasons. Why is it magnified so much with Knoxville College? And like I said, we're not trying to say that it's not that it did not happen, but can we move the needle? Can we move the needle so much that we start trying to have a resolution and a solution instead of fighting?

SPEAKER_03 38:32

Right, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_04 38:33

We gotta quit fighting, we gotta quit rehashing.

SPEAKER_03 38:39

But the fight is really against light and dark to me, and it's uh it's about faith.

SPEAKER_04 38:45

It's about faith. Speak on it.

SPEAKER_03 38:47

Wow. You can't so when you don't have a solution, people don't have, it's always chaotic. Everybody's pulling at a straw. No one has time to sit with their God.

SPEAKER_04 38:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:00

God has to solve it.

SPEAKER_04 39:02

Because they're putting their self, their opinions first before God's word.

SPEAKER_03 39:07

And then you gotta get out your way because we're not building an institution for you. It's for the people in the future. Because we're thinking about thriving. We're not, I do not want to leave this institution. Whenever God says this assignment is over, I do not want to hand this to the next leader and it's broke and they're stressed because they don't know how they're gonna get the money. I hope that when I leave, it is a thriving place. That's only fair.

SPEAKER_04 39:36

You know what? I'm gonna say this. And I'm gonna say this on the record. A good friend of mine said this to me. Her name is Phyllis Nichols. Okay, and she has done great things in this community. She is a legend. Phyllis Nichols said to me that throughout her career she wanted to make the urban league the best it could be, and that when she left, she left it better than it was. And she, but at the same time, she wanted to make it better. She knew that it was an assignment on her life to make it better and and to leave promise to the urban league. And I feel like she did. And that's what it sounds like to me, what you're saying, is when you leave, you want to make sure you made it better, you want to make sure it's thriving, and that the next generation doesn't have to uh what is it?

SPEAKER_03 40:41

Um I guess struggle. The struggle tutorial for the video. Yes. I hope that we can lay the foundation. Yes. And remember, because I journal. So I want people to look at my journals. Remember that the foundation of this school is built on the word of God. It's about God and people and love, family, unity, community. It's so much bigger than an institution of higher learning.

Faith, New History, And Part Two

SPEAKER_03 41:06

When I tell people our calling is bigger than education, it's bigger than we're gonna follow God as long as God has me here. We're following God. We are gonna serve. And high where God says serve, that's what we're gonna do. So it's not gonna be just education.

SPEAKER_04 41:27

It's not gonna be just education. I love this conversation, and I truly believe it needs to continue. We're gonna do a part two of Dr. Deja Lundy, the president and CEO of Knoxville College. Her words, her vision, and her walk with God is impeccable, and I just want more of this conversation. Tune in next Friday. Bye, guys.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Thanks for listening to Talk in Tennessee with Yovanka. Watch out for our weekly episodes from the first family of real estate. And check us out on the web, www.yavanka stylesrealestate.com. See our videos on Yavonka's YouTube channel or find us on Facebook under YavonkaLanded and Twitter at YavonkaLandit. Don't forget to forget the left standard. Yavonka Let Standard.