A Georgia Northwestern Technical College graduate says a workforce assistance program helped her overcome financial challenges, earn her college degree and begin a career helping children and families in Northwest Georgia.
Shannon Taylor, a Chickamauga resident and first-generation college graduate, credits the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program, commonly known as WIOA, with providing financial and personal support while she attended GNTC.
Taylor entered GNTC in 2023 as a low-income single parent searching for resources to help cover the cost of her education. At the time, she was balancing a full-time job, college courses and raising her family.
“I recall being overwhelmed because I was working full-time, parenting full-time and attending college full-time,” Taylor said. “Had WIOA not provided me with financial and emotional support, I am positive I would not have completed my degree in the same timeframe.”
Taylor earned certificates in Domestic and Family Violence Specialist and Addiction Specialist in 2024 before earning her associate degree in Social Work in 2025.
WIOA is a federally funded program designed to help eligible students obtain the education, skills and training necessary to enter or advance in the workforce. Assistance can include eligible tuition, fees, books and supplies, along with support for transportation and childcare expenses for qualifying students.
Taylor attended GNTC’s Walker County Campus in Rock Spring. While enrolled, she completed an internship with the Children’s Advocacy Center – Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, an organization that provides services to children and families impacted by abuse and works with agencies involved in the intervention process.
The center hired Taylor full-time in November 2024 following her internship. She now serves as the agency’s executive assistant.
“I’ve come full circle after confronting my own issues stemming from childhood abuse,” Taylor said. “WIOA helped me not only with financial support, gas money, money for books and other costs, but also connected me with other resources like the clothing closet and food pantry.”
Taylor said the support went beyond financial assistance.
“WIOA staff treated me as an individual with hopes and dreams that I could accomplish,” she said. “I wasn’t a number or statistic to them, and they have followed up with me since I graduated to make sure everything is going well.”
Taylor specifically credited GNTC WIOA Coordinator Gena Williams and WIOA Assistant Freda Hartman with encouraging her throughout her education.
Williams said the program helps remove some of the financial barriers that can prevent students from completing technical education and entering the workforce.
“WIOA can help to alleviate the financial strain sometimes associated with the cost of pursuing a technical education,” Williams said. “It collaborates with federal and state financial assistance to ensure that students focus on completing their education and enter or reenter the workforce, likely increasing their wages.”
For Taylor, WIOA staff first developed a plan that would allow her to continue working while completing her education.
The program is available at all six GNTC campuses and selected vendor locations. Applications are accepted throughout the year, and staff work to process them so eligible students can begin receiving assistance as quickly as possible.
WIOA services in the region are administered through the Technical College System of Georgia’s Department of WorkSource Georgia and the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission.
Williams said the program can be particularly valuable for people facing barriers to education and employment, including low-income students, single parents, dislocated workers, transitioning veterans, people who have experienced homelessness, individuals with disabilities and justice-involved individuals.
“WIOA is an amazing program that has helped participants realize a life that was once only imaginable,” Williams said. “WIOA staff members are committed to student success, and each one of us has a passion for helping others; we will guide participants through the process from start to finish.”
Applicants are generally expected to be enrolled full-time and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA, good attendance and satisfactory work ethics grades. Requirements can vary depending on a student’s program of study.
Taylor, who is now married and a mother of two, encourages others who may believe college is financially out of reach to seek assistance and learn what resources are available.
For more information about the WIOA program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, call 706-516-5494.