On a recent school day, Emily Gunderson's biotechnology students at Empower College and Career Center in Jackson County were in the middle of something most high schoolers never touch. They had spent the previous day cutting DNA with restriction enzymes, and now they were running gel electrophoresis, sending electricity through a gel to separate DNA fragments by size. They…

Before a single drone is powered on, Lydia Prince's students are already working. They're on the practice field behind the old gym at Academy of Richmond County, building mazes by hand, thinking through the course their aircraft will eventually need to navigate. The flying comes later. First comes the planning.  That sequence brings perspective. Prince, a Computer Science teacher at the Augusta high school, cofounded…

Ashton Ziegler knew the Atlanta Hawks ran on more than basketball. But standing inside State Farm Arena on Feb. 26, hearing directly from the people who handle marketing, sales, culinary operations, and fan experience, made it real.   "It showed me how much goes into behind the scenes and how they all play a big part," he said.  Ziegler…

They're the real thing.  That was the message from Cindy Jones as she presented Mark and Anne Lackey, co-founders of HireSmart Cares, with the Nonprofit of the Year award at the Madison County Chamber of Commerce's annual banquet Feb. 12.  "When you first meet this dynamic duo, you might honestly wonder if a couple this generous and genuine…

Two hundred forty-five dollars was the difference between getting certified and staying on the sidelines for Robert Hambrick.  The Madison County High School senior wanted to follow his dad into forklift work, but the cost of training stood in the way, then HireSmart Cares covered the $245 fee for a one-day certification class at Athens Technical College. …

Madico Flex Participants Prepare for Competition with Local Entrepreneurs  Picture yourself walking into a room with twenty-five other entrepreneurs, all competing for the same $10,000 prize. You have ten minutes to convince a panel of judges that your business deserves their investment over everyone else’s. Your heart is racing. What do you say?  That was the challenge Mark…