Tuesday, January 11, 2011 11:00 am

From left, are student Adam LeRoy, internship coordinator Dunning, TVA’s Mitchell, academy director Yeates, and student Cole Fields.

Tennessee Valley Authority’s Valley Relations Director Nancy Mitchell presented a $3,000 check to Graves County High School’s LEAD Academy. LEAD stands for Leaders Excelling through Apprenticeships and Determination. The focus of the LEAD Academy is to help its students prepare for life after high school through concrete, “hands-on” experiences such as conferences and internships. To meet those needs, the students focus on developing life skills such as communication, leadership, collaboration, and traditional values of resourcefulness, responsibility, and respect.

The TVA grant will help fund transportation of students to their internships throughout the community and other learning opportunities. "Opportunities for job experience and career interaction through the internship and community mentoring programs are essential to the overall success of the LEAD Academy and its students," said director Stacey Yeates. “We are grateful to TVA for seeing the value of our curriculum and supporting it. We also thank Lyndon Dunning for his work in applying for the grant”