Creating lasting opportunity through Greenville Literacy Association
Impact starts with opportunity—and for AlecZondra, that opportunity changed everything.
After more than a decade away from school, she returned with a goal: earn her GED and build a better future for herself and her son. Her journey began years earlier when a move across state lines forced her to leave high school just months before graduating. When her credits did not transfer, she walked away. Life brought additional challenges, including becoming a young mother and overcoming addiction, putting education even further out of reach.
Through Greenville Literacy Association’s GED™ Fast Track—supported through Power:Ed’s Navigating Futures grant—AlecZondra found more than instruction. She found structure, encouragement, and a community that believed in her. She showed up consistently, retook classes when needed, and refused to give up. Earning her GED was more than an academic milestone—it was a turning point.
Today, AlecZondra is enrolled at Greenville Technical College studying Culinary Arts while building her own catering business. She has come full circle, returning to GLA as both a speaker and a judge for a B.U.I.L.D. Your Future entrepreneurship pitch competition and as a caterer for the Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale.
B.U.I.L.D. Your Future—also funded through the Navigating Futures grant—prepares participants to earn the U.S. Entrepreneurship Certification and take steps toward launching their own businesses.
Her story reflects the broader impact of Power:Ed’s partnership with Greenville Literacy Association. Since 2019, through multiple investments totaling more than $250,000, Power:Ed has helped expand programs that address the root challenge facing many adults: lack of access to education, credentials, and clear career pathways.
Programs like GED Bootcamp Fast Track and the B.U.I.L.D. Your Future Entrepreneurship Certification program—both supported through Navigating Futures—are designed to solve this by accelerating learning, connecting students to college and careers, and opening doors to entrepreneurship. As a result, more learners are earning GEDs, industry-recognized certifications, transitioning into postsecondary education and training, and building sustainable futures.
For AlecZondra and so many others, this investment does more than fund programs—it restores confidence, strengthens families, and creates lasting opportunity.