Savannah Hill did not expect a part-time opportunity at Wallins Elementary School to change the way she thought about her future. But after stepping into the classroom through Prosper Appalachia, the Harlan County High School student found more than work experience. She found a career path.
“I heard about Prosper Appalachia through the school and a lot of my friends were talking about doing it because it’d be a great way to not only make money, but maybe go into what you’re wanting to do in the future,” Hill said. “So I thought that I’d try it for myself.”
That decision led Hill to a work-based learning opportunity at Wallins Elementary School, where she has been able to gain hands-on experience in a field that quickly became her top career interest: education.
Prosper Appalachia helps high school students across Eastern Kentucky explore career options, especially those close to home in Eastern Kentucky. For Hill, that meant getting the chance to step into a classroom, support teachers and students, and see what a future in education could look like.
“I went to Wallins Elementary School and I have absolutely loved it,” Hill said. “I help teachers grade papers, work one-on-one with the students, help set up for events, and it’s just a great community and I’m so thankful for that opportunity.”
Hill said teaching was not always at the front of her mind before the program.
“It is my top pick right now,” she said. “And before I started the program, I wasn’t even really thinking about going into education, but I’m so glad I did because I see firsthand what the teachers do on a daily basis and just the impact that they make. And I would like to make that same impact.”
That impact is something Hill has seen up close for years. Her mother is a teacher at Wallins, and Hill said being able to work in the same school has given her a new appreciation for the profession.
“I just really admire all the work that she does and she puts into it,” Hill said. “And I think I would want to do that myself because I see how she treats the kids and the benefit that they get from it.”
Through Prosper Appalachia, Hill has also learned that students do not have to leave Eastern Kentucky to find meaningful career opportunities. Her internship helped her see that education could be more than a career interest. It could be a path that allows her to give back to the same community that helped shape her.
The process of choosing an internship was also simple, Hill said. Working with Rhett Alred, the career development specialist at Harlan County Community Action, she was able to review her options and quickly identify the placement that felt right.
“He gave me all the options, kind of laid it out for me, told me where I’d be at, what I’d be doing, and I narrowed it down pretty easy because I just felt like Wallins was where I needed to go,” she said.
Hill said she would encourage other students to take advantage of the opportunity, even if they are unsure about adding something else to their schedule.
“I would just tell anybody that is interested, just do it,” Hill said. “Even if it makes a busy schedule, it’s gonna pay off in the end what you’ve learned more than anything.”
Prosper Appalachia is funded in part through support from the Kentucky General Assembly, but private donations help EKCEP expand critical work experience opportunities for students across Eastern Kentucky. To invest in the future of our region’s young people, donate directly at ekcep.org/donate.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations, and is a proud partner in the American Job Center network.