They can't all be rock stars or celebrities, but Hamilton County students can go to college - and around here, that'll get your face on a billboard.
Seventeen Hamilton County high school graduates - one from each local high school - have been blown up larger-than-life and will be featured on the giant advertisements around the county for the next three months.
Designed to promote post-secondary success, the graduates each are featured in college garb, proclaiming the name of their new school.
"We just want to make the community aware of how many of our students are going to college," Public Education Foundation President Dan Challener said at a news conference Monday. The foundation is partnering with the school system and local Bi-Lo grocery stores, each of which has a smaller version of the billboards on display inside.
The College Bound campaign also features a college survival guide on the foundation's website and a Facebook page where the featured graduates post about life as college freshmen.
Superintendent Jim Scales said the school system decided to increase the number of billboards it bought this year from 11 to 17 because of all the positive feedback officials received.
"It grew, and it's good to emphasize that all our high schools in Hamilton County would have a graduate on a billboard," he said.
Jessica Zackery, a 2010 graduate of Howard School of Academics and Technology and a freshman at Austin Peay State University, said she always knew she wanted to go to college, but she wasn't sure it would happen. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood presented extra challenges, she said.
But after persevering and graduating from Howard, she's happy to let her community know about her success.
"Who wouldn't want their face to be on a billboard so everyone can see their accomplishments?" she said Monday.
TO LEARN MORE
For more information on the College Bound campaign, visit pefmap2college.org or the Facebook page for Grads of Hamilton County.