By Joan Garrett
Staff Writer
When Charlotte Smith was 13 years old, living with her mother in a small apartment in Atlanta, the most glamorous and stimulating life she could image laid behind the gates at Baylor School.
It was an idea she had gotten from a library book about boarding schools, but it was a life her mother could not have afforded, she said.
"On paper we were frighteningly poor," she said. "The cost of tuition was more than my mother made in a year."
Yet, even at 13, Ms. Smith was not going to let money stand in the way of her education. She called Baylor and got a full scholarship to the high school.
Now 29, Ms. Smith, the executive director of the nonprofit College Access Center, is just as passionate about placing high schoolers into college, said Candy Kruesi, chairwoman of the center.
On Saturday, Ms. Smith was recognized by the Young Professional's Association of Chattanooga as the winner of the 2007 Young Professional of the Year Award for her work with students.
"I can't tell you how many kids would have slipped through the cracks if she hadn't had stewardship of this program," Ms. Kruesi said.
The College Access Center hired Ms. Smith in August 2005 as executive director.
The group has a staff of 16 college advisers who work part time in Hamilton County high schools to place students at colleges and universities and help them find financial aid.
"Education is what changed my life. The scholarships I received ... I know education can change people's life for the better," she said.
Ms. Smith manages and hires counselors for group and oversees fundraising. She also runs the Passport Scholars program, which grants scholarships to high school girls for study abroad.
In her spare time, Ms. Smith is working toward a masters degree in public administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
She works in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and serves on several boards, including the alumni boards for Baylor School and Leadership Chattanooga.
Before Ms. Smith came to work for the access center, she did fundraising for the Chattanooga nonprofit Students Taking a Right Stand and worked as an admission counselor for Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.
After graduating from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., with a degree in history, Ms. Smith took an assignment in Germany as a nanny.
Ms. Smith was one of 10 finalists for the award which were chosen by a selections panel of established professionals who looked at individuals' professional development, achievement and community involvement, said Kate West, president of the young professionals group.
E-mail Joan Garrett at jgarrett@timesfreepress.com
