At Scale Newsletter: January 2026
Welcome to the latest edition of the At Scale Newsletter, where we highlight the impactful programs and initiatives falling into one of our three priorities — all designed to drive our mission to Build Tennessee’s Future Workforce.
Click to read each section!
Fall Job Shadow Days
In 2026, we are still working hard to Build Tennessee’s Future Workforce! This marks the first year of Workforce Mentors for our students, as they take their next steps from college to career.
This year, we’ll also continue our job shadow days to make sure students gain meaningful career experience and perspective. Thank you to our community partners who opened their doors for job shadowing in fall 2025!
We partnered with businesses across the state for 15 job shadowing events. Nearly 250 students joined us to get a first-hand look at the day-to-day realities of careers at these businesses. In turn, these employers also got a chance to meet and interact with potential future employees. Afterward, 80 percent of students indicated to us that their event gave them career clarity and 84 percent say it gave them a strong sense of the skills needed for workforce success. 99 percent of participants say they also left with at least one networking contact they can follow up with! That’s a big win in our book!
Students register to explore a variety of career paths and get an inside look at leading local employers across the state. Thank you to the businesses who welcomed students this fall:
Arconic
Axle Logistics
Ballad Health, Greenville Community Hospital
Clayton Homes
Cumberland University
Dollywood
First Horizon Bank
Maury Regional Medical Center
Pfizer
River and Rail Theater
Tennessee Department of Health
Tennessee Department of Transportation
UT Medical Center
West Tennessee Healthcare
If your business would like to host a tnAchieves Job Shadow Day in 2026, please reach out to our Vice President of Workforce, Tyler Ford (tyler@tnAchieves.org). You can learn more about job shadowing here.
TN PRomise Meetings
New year, same mission. It’s TN Promise Meeting season! What could signify a new beginning more than blitzing high schools across the state to make sure seniors are excited about going to college? Nothing demonstrates the work we do, at scale, quite like these TN Promise meetings!
Each year, the tnAchieves team visits than 300+ Tennessee high schools (326 to be exact) in the span of six to eight weeks to meet with TN Promise applicants. This year, 67,000+ seniors applied for TN Promise. That’s one of the largest classes to date! Our team hands out student handbooks, talks about TN Promise requirements and deadlines and makes sure EVERY student knows they are college material. We believe college is for EVERYONE!
Thank you to all of the high school counselors who help us coordinate these meetings and welcome us to their schools; we could not do this without you!
Take a look at some of these meetings across the state!
Giving Tuesday
Here at tnAchieves, gratitude is a year-round principle; it’s not limited to the holiday season! We want to express a heartfelt thank you to each one of our partners and stakeholders who donated to tnAchieves for Giving Tuesday and through end-of-year giving in 2025. tnAchieves is a public/private partnership. Each year, we privately raise funds to help us best support students. These donations help us continue to break down barriers so every Tennessee student can access and complete a post-secondary pathway leading to a rewarding career.
Many gifts came in the form of $83. Why $83? tnAchieves supports students through proactive coaching and administrative support at just $83 per student per year. Peer organizations often spend more than $2,000 per year per student.
If generosity is one of your New Year’s resolutions, you can still give!
🎓 From Student to COMPLETE Coach
Abby Creekmore knows firsthand the power of community support. Once a tnAchieves student, Abby now serves as a COMPLETE Coach—helping the next generation of Tennessee students overcome obstacles and achieve their college goals. This Giving Tuesday, your support makes stories like Abby’s possible.
