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How WorkSmart Makes a Difference
What Makes WorkSmart Different?
What Makes WorkSmart Different?
What Makes WorkSmart Different?
WorkSmart combines career exploration, hands-on learning, mentorship, work-based learning, leadership development, and community partnerships into an engaging, gamified, career-connected system designed to help students actively explore future pathways.
Through Career Networks, projects, challenges, showcases, and real-world experiences, students move beyond passive career awareness and participate in meaningful opportunities that promote teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and career readiness.
By creating interactive experiences connected to real industries and workforce opportunities, WorkSmart helps students build confidence, direction, and stronger connections between education and future success.
Community Centered Work
What Makes WorkSmart Different?
What Makes WorkSmart Different?
WorkSmart believes career readiness is strongest when schools, families, civic leaders, industry professionals, mentors, and community organizations work together to support students.
Through partnerships and community engagement, we create meaningful opportunities that connect students with real-world experiences, workforce exposure, career-connected learning, mentorship, and service. These collaborative experiences help students build professional relationships, broaden their understanding of career possibilities, and see how classroom learning connects to future success.
By bringing education and the community together, WorkSmart strengthens local workforce connections while helping students gain confidence, develop workplace skills, and prepare for successful futures.
Our Future Vision
How WorkSmart Works
How WorkSmart Works
The WorkSmart Foundation continues expanding career-connected opportunities for students through Career Networks, internships, workplace learning, mentorship, project-based experiences, and community partnerships.
The initial WorkSmart pilot and regional growth have been supported through community grants and partnerships, including support from the Pine Belt Foundation and the United Way.
As WorkSmart grows, the Foundation plans to create engaging experiences that strengthen workforce readiness, expand career exploration, remove barriers, and help students build clear, meaningful pathways toward future education, training, employment, and long-term career success.
How WorkSmart Works
How WorkSmart Works
How WorkSmart Works
Students can participate in one or several WorkSmart opportunities based on their interests, needs, and future goals.
Career Networks connect students with mentors, employers, and career exploration activities. Project Competitions build teamwork, creativity, leadership, and real-world problem-solving. Career Scholarships help remove financial barriers to career preparation. Career Showcases allow students to present their work and connect with colleges, employers, and community partners.
Together, these experiences help students build confidence, workplace skills, professional relationships, and meaningful connections that prepare them for education, training, employment, and future career success.
About Our Founder
Mary Beth Buchanan is the Founder and Executive Director of the WorkSmart Foundation and a workforce education and career development consultant. She created WorkSmart to help students discover meaningful career pathways by connecting education, families, employers, and communities through practical, hands-on experiences.
With experience spanning public, private, homeschool, and higher education, as well as workforce development, career coaching, curriculum design, and nonprofit leadership, Mary Beth understands the challenges students face as they prepare for life after high school. Her work focuses on creating opportunities that help young people explore careers, build workplace skills, and confidently plan their futures.
After years of working with students in public schools, career coaching, higher education, and
homeschooling, Mary Beth saw the need for a more connected, hands-on approach to career exploration. That vision inspired the creation of the WorkSmart Foundation.
She believes students succeed when schools, families, employers, and communities work together to provide guidance, real-world experiences, and meaningful opportunities. Through the WorkSmart Foundation, she is committed to helping every student discover their potential and prepare for meaningful work and lifelong success.
You can contact her directly at MaryBeth@worksmartfoundation.org
