News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
An anonymous investor created a program to change the lives of students in Jackson and Putnam counties.
Highlands Economic Partnership Vice President of Workforce Development and Educational Programs Lillian Hartgrove said the investor will pay 75 percent of student’s salaries in a paid internship pilot program.
“And so through several meetings, scrambling between the end of June and the start of school, we identified at least 15 employers that would be willing to provide these opportunities, then the schools went about selecting the students they thought would be ideal candidates,” Hartgrove said.
The anonymous investor was born in Jackson County but now lives and works in Putnam County, Hartgrove said.
“We are incredibly thankful to him because he does have a passion for students and making sure that students who may not have equitable access or the same journey in life that would give them the opportunities that he’s willing to invest in, and it is this paid internship pilot,” Hartgrove said.
The Highlands Economic Partnership served as a coordinator for the program. Jackson and Putnam county schools are on board with the program, which is for high school seniors. Hartgrove said there will be about 23 participants split between the counties. The program will go on all year.
