Chattanooga Chamber Leads State In tnAchieves Mentor Recruitment

  • Monday, March 27, 2017
Pictured from left to right are Danny Villanueva, Chamber staffer Amanda Ellis, Maria Lopez, Ali Cope (students are Hamilton County High School seniors).
Pictured from left to right are Danny Villanueva, Chamber staffer Amanda Ellis, Maria Lopez, Ali Cope (students are Hamilton County High School seniors).
The Chattanooga Chamber's staff led Tennessee in the goal to recruit mentors for this year's tnAchieves mentoring program. In its third year, the program pairs high school seniors with professionals and other volunteers to ease the transition from high school to college. Mentors began meeting with their students this month. With a goal of 387 volunteers, Hamilton County signed up 456 mentors -- an increase of 18 percent.

"The Chattanooga Chamber staff and volunteers have been absolutely essential to our mentor recruitment efforts," said Graham Thomas, Deputy Director of Engagement and Partnerships for tnAchieves.

"They were out preaching it and selling it everywhere they go-on all their company visits, with all of their membership, putting it into newsletters.
We see that from a lot of chambers, but Chattanooga really took the lead this year."


Volunteers say they get as much out of the program as they give, even more. Employers with the most mentor volunteers included Chattanooga State Community College; BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; Unum; the Hamilton County Department of Education and Hamilton County employees together; and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce staff.

Jeana Lee, Community Relations Specialist at Unum, has served as a mentor since the program's inception. She has had different experiences with each class of mentees but recalls a success story that "definitely sold me on the program."

"I had this one mentee my first year who really, really needed me," Lee said. "She wasn't doing well in school. She was going to have to take remedial courses at Chattanooga State, and she was really stressed out about that whole process. Encouraging her along the way was really great, and we've stayed connected."

Today, Lee's mentee attends the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she is earning a marketing degree.

The tnAchieves mentoring program serves as an ideal stepping stone for students in Hamilton County who have participated in the Chattanooga Chamber's career and education readiness programs. Serving 22 high schools and 25 middle schools in the county, the Chamber administers six programs designed to engage members in fostering knowledge and skills that students will take with them into college and the workforce.

The Chamber released an annual report summarizing results of these programs entitled the "Career and Education Readiness 2016-17 12th Grade Longitudinal Survey." Measuring collective impact of the Chamber's readiness programs, the survey polled 579 seniors from nine schools.

According to the Chamber, its programs have resulted in the following:

*         88 percent of students said the activities were worthwhile and should be continued

*         85 percent will continue education/training after high school

*         79 percent set a career or work goal

*         79 percent feel better prepared to enter the workforce

*         61 percent changed their career/education plans to achieve more in life

Mattie Moran, Director of Workforce Development and Education, Chattanooga Chamber, said the more than 1,000 Chamber volunteers who interact with students through the readiness programs believe the benefits work both ways.

"It's rewarding for the volunteers and the students also," Moran said. "Once they volunteer, they usually come back again and again."

"Having businesses engaged in this process is crucial for the Drive to 55 initiative," Thomas said, referring to the statewide alliance to increase the number of Tennesseans with college degrees or certificates to 55 percent by the year 2025. "We need to provide as many opportunities as possible for our students."

The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce's mission is to champion member businesses and promote regional economic growth. Our area's leading business association, the Chattanooga Chamber was founded in 1887, one of the first 40 chambers established in the United States. The Chattanooga Chamber has won many national awards for recruitment, marketing and existing industry support and is accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with four stars for operational excellence. Established in 1969, the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation leads area economic development through a public-private partnership.

tnAchieves is a post-secondary access and success program with the mission of increasing higher education opportunities for Tennessee students by providing last-dollar scholarships with mentor guidance. The program has experienced substantial success working with volunteers in business and community-based organizations to guide students through the college access and success processes.

tnAchieves is a partner organization to Gov. Bill Haslam's TN Promise, administering the program in 84 counties across the state.  Since its inception in 2008, tnAchieves has worked with more than 200,000 scholarship applicants and has successfully placed almost 50,000 students into post-secondary institutions. The majority of the students served by tnAchieves come from low-income households and are the first in their family to attend college. The program aims to provide opportunity for students to break their family cycle and change the generational culture of low expectations across our state. tnAchieves is currently the largest college access and success program in the country.
Pictured from left to right are Maquala Sparks, Chamber staffer Yolonda Hayslett, Maria Martinez (students are Howard High School seniors).
Pictured from left to right are Maquala Sparks, Chamber staffer Yolonda Hayslett, Maria Martinez (students are Howard High School seniors).
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