Kyle Leinart, a civil engineering student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is dreaming bigger these days. The sophomore from Anderson County, Tenn., a former coal-mine region where poverty is rampant and career options are few, is one of 32 local students who have realized the dream of college. It's all thanks to a project that geotechnical engineer Barry Thacker, president of Knoxville-based GeoEnvironmental Associates Inc., began 12 years ago to address water quality in the region.
Thacker's Coal Creek Watershed Foundation (CCWF) started out with a goal to improve the trout habitat where he liked to fish. It has since become a life-changer for Leinart, his peers and the local community. The non-profit group has awarded more than $250,000 in college scholarships to date. Its real value has come in connecting students to the region's environment and their career potential.