Elizabeth (Liz) Jablonski got her start in education as a certified counselor in K-12 before moving to South Carolina’s Commission on Higher Education as a program manager. During her time there, she worked on the federal GEAR UP Grant which helps introduce students and their families to college and career opportunities. Since starting her career with readySC, she has continued to connect South Carolinians to career opportunities as an area director and as the moderator of our “Live with Liz” Facebook Live events.

 

Liz achieved a dream she’d had since high school in May 2023 when she received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Charleston Southern University. Now that she’s officially a doctor, we wondered if it would be necessary to update the title of our Facebook event accordingly. “Live with Doctor Liz” certainly has a nice ring to it, but when asked, Liz laughed and insisted on keeping the title as is.

Fast Facts

Year started: 2018

 

readySC Mentor: Howard White, Project Director with readySC

 

Current cool readySC project: Redwood Materials

One on One with Liz

Name a highlight from a recent discovery trip:

I went to Carson City, Nevada, to the headquarters of Redwood Materials, which is probably my coolest project right now. They are going to be recycling lithium-ion batteries of all sizes -- everything from smart watches, power toothbrushes and iPads to car batteries. They’re still in the early stages, but seeing the whole process and the training that they’re putting together was exciting. It’s all new information, but they do a really great job of planning. The Redwood staff are just good people, down to earth and easy to talk to. And I don’t know if it counts as an official highlight, but I had a bulgogi bowl (Korean beef BBQ) out there that was just amazing.

What do you like most about working with companies?

I think it’s exciting working with a startup and watching a company evolve over time, like with W International, where they do metal fabrication for submarines. I worked with them for 5 years and saw the company go from 3 people to 500 people. I really enjoy being able to go out into the community and share when those jobs are available.

 

What’s your favorite part of doing “Live with Liz?”

I have a lot of fun going all around the state with the Communications girls and meeting new people, seeing how different things are made. It allows me to interact with companies I wouldn’t see otherwise. I also enjoy getting to spend time with my fellow area directors from other regions.

 

Best thing about being a readySC Area Director: 

My favorite part is definitely the people, locally and across the state, and that’s top-down. I get to work with so many individuals on different partnerships. And I'm very fortunate that all my coworkers and colleagues are super supportive. When I was working on my dissertation, they would check on me and ask how it was going. They knew I was up against a tight timeframe and wanted to see if there was anything they could do to help. And when I finished, they all celebrated with me, and Howard White (mentor and BFF) even went to my graduation. I got such an outpouring of congratulations from people all over the state that I really appreciated.

 

I also appreciate that readySC is always trying to be innovative. We all have the same mission, and our VP tells us that whatever we do, we should always ask questions: “Why do we do it this way?” and “Is there a better way to do it?” It’s a fun and supportive group, and we work well together. I think that definitely comes across when we’re working with companies.

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