tnAchieves is more than programs. We represent a student-centered continuum, driving economic prosperity for Tennessee students by Building Tennessee’s Future Workforce.
This week, colleges and universities across the country are celebrating National Transfer Student Week. The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students recognizes it each October to honor transfer students and the professionals who support them.
Tennessee ranks first in the nation for FAFSA completion. Bill DeBaun of the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), who created the national FAFSA Tracker, joins Ben Sterling and Tyler Ford to talk about what Tennessee gets right, how data can act as a flashlight for communities and what it will take to reach 60 by 2030. Listen now.
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee is best known for its stores, but the stores are only the start. On this episode of At Scale, Chief Mission Officer Cindy Varner joins hosts Ben Sterling and Graham Thomas to talk about how retail revenue funds education, training and employment services across 48 counties. She walks through Goodwill’s new Opportunity Center in Nashville, short-term training in construction, welding, IT and healthcare built with employers and the tools Goodwill uses to reach rural communities. Cindy also shares plans for an Excel Center adult high school in Nashville and what employers say people need to succeed on the job.
tnAchieves' October newsletter covers a lot of ground: a 2026 Prosperity Tour that reached 67 counties over 5,498 miles, 17 inductees in the 2026 Mentor Hall of Fame and a celebration of National Transfer Student Week.