Project Purpose

Eighteen recent high school graduates filed into a lecture room at the Georgia Northwestern Technical College's Dalton campus. Any first-day jitters were quickly alleviated by a round of icebreaker bingo, facilitated by Ali Harp, Joint Development Authority project manager for economic development and Dr. Stephani Womack, the director of education and workforce development for Believe Greater Dalton and the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce.

"Project Purpose is put on by Ali Harp and Stephani Womack, and they've done so much work to make this an incredible week for the kids. Shout out to them for all that they've done day and night to get ready for this. We hope that this is a valuable week in the lives of the kids, and from what we've learned from the children that did it last year, it will be," said Carl Campbell, Executive Director of the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority.

The 9-day program kicked off with introductions and presentations from the chamber, Believe Greater Dalton, and the Dalton-Whitfield JDA. Then, an overview of everything the students will learn - curriculum ranging from understanding your personal strengths and interests, preparing for interviews, learning more about local industries, budgeting, and much more.

"It includes real world skills, kind of 'adulting 101' for high school students that don't have a plan yet. We're going to help them get that plan developed and then put it into action," Campbell adds.

Ali Harp gives a rundown of the action-packed time alloted for each day of the program: "The cohort completed a personality assessment called the Six Types of Working Genius to help them understand where they find joy and frustrations at work. Day two covered quality control, spearheaded by two of our local employers, and a session on the importance of voting and being civically involved. We are proud that 7 of our students registered to vote that day! On day 3, students participated in a Snap-On multi-metering certification course led by Georgia Northwestern Technical College. 16 of 18 students passed the final certification exam. Day 4 was financial literacy day, consisting of sessions on banking and budgeting, understanding credit and debt, understanding health insurance and how to choose the right plan for you, and future financial investments planning. It was exciting to see the students learn these topics facilitated by leaders in our community! On Friday, students toured newly opened apartments, went shopping for interview clothing, and had mock interviews with business leaders across the community. Throughout the entire first week, students worked on writing their resume and ensuring it was ready to hand out to prospective employers."

One thing that makes Project Purpose so effective is the involvement and sponsorship from local industries and partners. Sponsors for this year's program included Qcells, Shaw Industries, Engineered Floors, Essentia Protein Solutions, GEDIA, Georgia Power, Mohawk Industries, among others. Leaders from several of those local industries present throughout the week, describing their companies, and available job opportunities.

All of this leads up to one big finale - at the end of the week, the well-prepared students step into real interviews with those companies, in hopes of landing a job in their community. At the end of the program, Project Purpose and its sponsors host a "signing day," just like in major sports, where students can accept their job offer, and celebrate their victory.

This year marks the second annual cohort of students, and the JDA and Dalton Chamber expect it to grow as the word spreads about its success.

If this recent class is any indicator, they're absolutely correct - every one of the 18 graduates have accepted full-time positions with local industries.