Destiny O’Rourke, college and career readiness coach at Bowling Green High School, said the $15,000 Aspire Grant from AT&T announced Monday will help her prepare students for the future.

“This grant ensures that our students don’t have boundaries to stop them from achieving their goals,” O’Rourke said.

Hood Harris, president of AT&T Kentucky, said AT&T was proud to give back to the community.

The money provides an opportunity for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce to expand its successful The Leader in Me program by continuing leadership training through career immersion in all area high schools. The chamber will collaborate with schools as they work to integrate a career academy model with Stephen Covey leadership principles. Covey’s 7 Habits are currently implemented in each elementary and middle school in Warren County, both in the Bowling Green Independent School District and the Warren County Public Schools. They are also found in area school districts.

The “first in the nation education model” of The Leader in Me will now be expanded, said Ron Bunch, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.

Warren County was the first in the nation to fully adopt The Leader in Me program offered by Franklin Covey in both of its public school districts, beginning the initiative in 2011.

“We are marrying the principles of the 7 Habits with the career academy,” Bunch said. Students will earn a nationally portable industry certification under the planned programming.

“We are changing the face of the community one certificate at a time,” O’Rourke said.

Bowling Green Mayor Pro Tem Melinda Hill said national statistics show young people ages 16 to 24 not currently enrolled in school cost America $93 billion annually.

“AT&T Aspire will help every high school student to be career and college ready at graduation,” Hill said. “The chamber is creating a pipeline of employees.”

AT&T Aspire is the company’s signature philanthropic initiative and more than $250 million in funds have already been contributed in the AT&T plan to invest $350 million in education from 2008 to 2017.

“These kids are impressive,” said Harris, who has visited several local schools during The Leader in Me programs. “This is not just about the schools and the kids but it’s about the community. This is an investment in the future.”

Warren County Judge Executive Mike Buchanon said the program “will change the culture of our community.”

Harris said in addition to its Aspire grant awards, AT&T has launched a six-year rural broadband initiative in Kentucky. “The next six years we are going to have 84,000 new broadband customers in the rural areas of Kentucky,” he said. “We’re putting up a lot of cell towers out there.”

— Follow business reporter Charles A. Mason on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.