Stronger Future Spotlight: Jordan Atkins
Growing up on Spartanburg’s Southside, Jordan Atkins learned early that when a community shows up for its young people, it can open pathways that reshape what the future looks like. What mattered were the people who showed up, neighbors who looked out for him, teachers who pushed him and programs that helped him see beyond the limits others expected. Surrounded by a community invested in his success, Jordan began to imagine a different kind of future for himself and the place he calls home.
Now, as he prepares to graduate with both his high school diploma and an associate degree, Jordan is charting a path toward a career in finance and a future dedicated to giving back to his neighborhood. His journey shows what becomes possible when a place-based partnership helps its community provide young people with the guidance, resources and relationships they need to thrive.
Building a Pathway of Support
Across the country, postsecondary education is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong earnings and stability. By 2031, nearly three quarters of jobs will require a credential beyond high school. Communities like Spartanburg are working to ensure that young people can navigate a changing economy with the support they need to succeed.
Leading this work in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) a place-based partnership in the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network. SAM brings together partners from education, business and the community to create a connected system of support for students and families. Through Movement 2030, a $96 million cradle-to-career initiative, Spartanburg is uniting partners around bold goals: advancing early childhood outcomes, raising postsecondary enrollment and improving school readiness and academic progress.
This shared work moves forward under the leadership of Dr. Russell W. Booker, president and CEO of the Spartanburg Academic Movement. A longtime educator and former superintendent of Spartanburg County School District Seven, Dr. Booker also previously served as the chair of the StriveTogether board of directors. His leadership guides the county’s cradle-to-career vision and the Movement 2030 plan, bringing together partners across education, business and community development around a common purpose: ensuring every young person in Spartanburg has the support, opportunity and social capital they need to thrive beyond high school.
“Here at the Spartanburg Academic Movement, we envision a community where our high school students have every opportunity ahead of them as they are pursuing life beyond high school — that they have social capital, the resources and the support they need to realize their life aspirations,” Dr. Booker shares.
That vision comes to life in Jordan’s journey. For Jordan, this coordinated system became real through Viking Early College (VEC), the four-year accelerated pathway he joined in ninth grade. VEC is a partnership between Spartanburg Community College and District 7 that allows students to earn an associate degree alongside their high school diploma. In the first two years, students blend high school and college coursework. By junior year, they transition fully to the college environment and gain academic preparation, confidence and early exposure to life beyond high school.
Viking Early College focuses on helping students earn credits while becoming well-read, well-spoken and well-connected, preparing them to navigate college and contribute to their communities with confidence. For Jordan, that design mattered. “It really gives me a preview of college before I have to go to college. And it really helps prepare me, especially with the support I have around me with the early college program and my sports. This year, I’m going to graduate with my high school diploma and my associate degree in arts.”
Through VEC, Jordan accessed leadership camps, a Washington, D.C. experience, Boys State and enrichment opportunities that would otherwise have been financially out of reach. The program also ensured he had trusted adults to turn to when challenges arose. That blend of opportunity and support is at the heart of how Spartanburg is redesigning its cradle-to-career system. SAM’s investment in postsecondary navigation extends this approach, recognizing that young people need both access and guidance to succeed. In a recent pilot, 85% of students working with a College Success Navigator enrolled in postsecondary education, reinforcing the impact of coordinated, relationship-driven support.
Rooted in Community, Powered by Opportunity
Jordan’s story is also shaped by the strength and challenges of the Southside. When his family faced housing instability in elementary school, the district stepped in, helping them secure a place to live and providing what they needed to get back on their feet. He remembers a school leader dropping off shoes and clothes, small acts with lasting impact. Support like this made him feel seen and helped steady the path ahead.
These experiences deepened Jordan’s commitment to give back. Through VEC, he became involved in the Southside Promise Neighborhood, a place-based effort focused on strengthening outcomes across education, housing, health and economic mobility. Jordan offered his perspective as a youth voice, helping leaders understand what the community needed most. When the Promise Neighborhood applied for a major federal grant, Jordan wrote a letter describing his experience growing up on the Southside, a letter that helped strengthen the application. “It felt amazing to be able to help my community, especially with a grant that I see can really help us achieve the goals we have for the Southside,” he said.
Jordan also mentors elementary students through Big Brothers Big Sisters. His “Little,” Christian, has seven siblings. Supporting him has become a meaningful part of Jordan’s week. “I get to be the big brother I never had,” he said. “Helping guide him and giving him opportunities feels like giving back to everything the community gave me.”
These connections with mentors, peers, younger children and neighborhood leaders are exactly the kinds of relationships SAM and its partners are working to strengthen across Spartanburg. Through expanded dual enrollment, FAFSA support, paid internships and neighborhood-centered initiatives, the county is creating a system where every young person can build the confidence, skills and networks they need to succeed.
I want young students to know that anything is possible. The boundaries that are placed on you from where you live don’t make you. You can always have a bright future.
Jordan Atkins
A Stronger Future for the Next Generation
As Jordan looks ahead, he carries with him the resilience of the Southside, the relationships built through VEC and a deep commitment to the community that shaped him. His story shows what happens when young people are surrounded by belief, opportunity and systems designed to lift barriers rather than reinforce them.
He also knows that his journey is part of something bigger. Jordan wants younger students in his neighborhood to see themselves in his story because of what is possible. “I want young students to know that anything is possible,” he said. “The boundaries that are placed on you from where you live don’t make you. You can always have a bright future.”
Jordan’s voice carries the very message Spartanburg’s cradle-to-career system is working toward: a future where zip codes don’t define aspirations and every young person has the support, social capital and opportunity they need to thrive.
As Jordan moves forward, he does so with the backing of a community, a united cradle-to-career system and with the knowledge that his journey is helping make the path clearer for the next generation.
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