Last updated on January 20th, 2026 at 10:01 am

It took a bit of encouragement, but eventually Austin Chambley came around.

Rolling wire on spools and taking classes inside a factory might sound like a strange combination, but now, as a senior at Villa Rica High School, Chambley is a firm believer in the opportunities offered by the innovative 12 for Life program in Carrollton.

“At first I heard about it and wasn’t interested. … At the time I was doing bad in school, failing, and I heard about 12 for Life (again) and what it had to offer. I was like, ‘I’ll give it a shot,’” said Chambley, who now works as a second quality clerk at the manufacturing facility operated by Southwire.

The program allows students to split their days between the classroom and the factory floor, earning above minimum wage while gaining real-world experience.

“It’s helped me out a bunch,” Chambley said. “I’m actually able to graduate now.”

A Path to a Career

Graduating students is one of the main reasons Southwire launched the program in 2006. At the time, said 12 for Life site leader Cameron Searcy, Carroll County Schools’ graduation rate hovered around 65 percent. Southwire also saw that the local labor pool often lacked some of the basic skills needed to work at its facilities.

It was a twofold challenge — one that linked education, workforce development, and community vitality.

Partnering with Carroll County Schools, Southwire renovated a nearby commercial space to house both classrooms and a production area for packaging and shipping wire products. The idea, Searcy said, was to help students get back on track to graduate while equipping them with valuable job skills.

“Since that point, we have improved the graduation rate … to 97 percent in 2024,” Searcy said. “And some of the impact it has is not just in the graduation rate but also giving students real-life work experience and skills to set them up for the remainder of their life.”

Graduates may go on to work at Southwire or other local businesses. The goal, Searcy added, is to intervene before a student drops out, show them options for life after graduation, and guide them to the next step.

More Than Job Skills

That’s exactly what happened for Jennifer Perez, a 12 for Life graduate who is now an environmental health and safety specialist at Southwire.

As a high school student, Perez thought she might go into nursing. But she was quiet and shy, and her grades were slipping. Still, she took a chance and applied for the program.

Searcy said 12 for Life works to identify students’ interests and place them in jobs that align with those goals. Perez was placed as a safety clerk, where she gained firsthand experience working with OSHA audits and compliance.

After graduating, she joined Southwire’s environmental health and safety team full time.

“This program, it’s a life-changing program,” Perez said. “I have built my confidence. I can look at you and talk without being nervous.”

Building Stronger Communities

The impact of 12 for Life goes well beyond individual students. Fernando Esquivel, Southwire’s vice president of people and culture, said the partnership between the school system and the private sector has ripple effects throughout the region.

“When the school system, the private sector, and the public sector come together, we make things happen,” Esquivel said. He noted that Southwire tracks two “P&Ls” — people and lives first, then profit and losses.

“This is a site where we have over 100 students, and we support some of the largest customers in the nation,” he said. “Their standard for products and delivery is extremely high. And we meet that standard with high school students, teachers, managers, executives, and shareholders working together.”

Both Esquivel and Searcy emphasized that the goal isn’t to train future Southwire employees, but to help students discover any career path that excites them. About 44 percent of 12 for Life graduates go directly into the workforce, 40 percent pursue college, and 15 percent join the military.

Students also participate in field trips, mentorship programs, and professional certification training such as OSHA 10, giving them both technical and soft skills that prepare them for life after high school.

“Now the larger community has a workforce that’s more apt for the workplace once they graduate,” Searcy said. “They’re leaving high school with certifications and a better work ethic.”

The program’s success and community partnerships were highlighted during Georgia AIM Week, which spotlighted workforce and technology initiatives across the state.

And for Chambley, the lessons go far beyond the classroom.

“Manufacturing is a big deal,” he said. “Everything now is manufactured by machines, and they need people to run the machines. It’s hard work, but the reward is really good. It’s a good job and you learn a lot. It’s helped me come out of my shell. … It’s helped me a lot.”