As freshmen enter and other students return for the 21-22 school year, familiar faces greet them in new roles. Christi Kirk, GRAD College/Career Access Team Leader Fulton High School, has been with the GRAD team in various positions of responsibility for 17 years. Her experience includes service as an AmeriCorps Fellow with Knoxville’s Promise Alliance […]

When Project GRAD Knoxville began recruiting students and employers in the fall of 2020 for GRAD’s 4th annual Hands on the Future™ 2021 employer paid summer internships for Austin-East and Fulton GRAD Scholars, it was not known if summer internships could go forward due to the COVID19 pandemic. Ever hopeful, GRAD planned forward with several contingency […]

Seventeen Austin-East and Fulton Project GRAD Knoxville Scholars are spending the summer glimpsing the world of work in a professional, employer-paid internship with: Asheville Highway Animal Clinic Centro Hispano Knox County Criminal Court Several departments in Knox County Government: Community Development, Engineering, Finance, Health Department, Human Resources, Library, Mayor’s Office, Procurement Greater Knoxville Chamber of […]

2021 GRAD Scholarship Recipients will be acknowledged April 18 The challenges of COVID-19 continue to impact large gatherings, including many graduation traditions, yet creative thinking has produced new ideas. This month we will celebrate the 17th cohort of Austin-East and Fulton high school graduates who are on track* to earn the Project GRAD Knoxville $4,000 […]

While there is a place for gloom philanthropy, you will not see pictures of lack as we ask for your support for the brilliant kids K-16 (elementary through postsecondary) served by Project GRAD Knoxville attending 14 public Knox County Schools. Many must daily navigate concentrated challenges in their home communities or even their household. Yet […]

Social media feeds are like a highlight reel but not every day is a Facebook post. These are overwhelming times. For those of us directly serving young people, some of the work is messy and heart wrenching. Periodically, the need for GRAD’s K through 16 (elementary through postsecondary) continuum of college/career access & success support […]

An extended blog post by Vrondelia Chandler, Project GRAD Knoxville Executive Director Over in Tennessee, in the City of Knoxville/County of Knox, in the midst of a historic COVID19 pandemic, an explosion was heard. It was the sound of uncontainable love and support for young people from two inner city Knox County Schools public high […]

Better is Coming! GRAD “2019 Yearbook” and Celebrating the Class of 2020 2020 has certainly taken an unusual turn for us all but better days will come again! We know this because the work we do together has a positive impact on the lives of amazing young people and on the world. An army of […]

As our campus partners made the very difficult decision to extend online-only instruction through the summer in anticipation of moving toward the return of a more normal, healthy fall semester, the on-campus Project GRAD Summer Institutes (commuter and residential) have also been impacted. On campus summer group activities, institutes and camps will not be held […]