Boosted by a campaign for volunteers from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Hamilton County has exceeded the target of 387 mentors needed to work with students for the Tennessee Promise program.
As of Thursday, Hamilton County bested the number of mentors the state estimates will be required to work with students planning to soon apply for college. So far, only 15 of the state's 95 counties have met the state targets for mentors with the signup deadline scheduled for Sunday.
Statewide, the program was only at 79 percent of the targeted number for mentors going into the final days of the mentorship signup. Even in counties where the target has been surpassed, persons may still sign up and participate. officials said.
A record number of high school seniors applied this year for the Tennessee Promise scholarship program, which provides high school graduates two years of community or technical college free of tuition and fees.
More than 60,700 students applied this year, up from 58,286 in 2014 and 59,621 last year, according to state figures.
"With this record number of applicants and a number of other indicators, it's clear that Tennessee Promise is changing the conversation around going to college in Tennessee," Gov. Bill Haslam said earlier this year. "But we don't just want students to apply to college; we want them to succeed in college and graduate.
The state estimates it will need 9,001 mentors, but as of Thursday only 7,071 had applied for such roles. The deadline for being a mentor is Nov. 20.
Sybil Topel, vice president of marketing and communications for the Chattanooga Chamber, said the business organization has tried to rally support for Tennessee Promise and get mentors for the program to help encourage more students to go and succeed in college to upgrade the state's workforce.
"This is critical for workforce development so we took a lead role on this," she said.
Mentors are seen as critical to helping students who may not have had previous experience with college or filling out the FASFA grant applications due for the Tennessee Promise program by Jan. 17
To be a mentor, you must be at least 21 years old and willing to submit to a background check. Aside from those requirements, anyone can mentor, regardless of age or career stage.
Mentors invest 10-15 hours annually assisting five-10 high school seniors. tnAchieves trains mentors to work with our students. To register as a 2017 mentor, contact Graham Thomas at 615-604-1306 or graham@tnachieves.org or visit tnachieves.org