Best in Class THRIVE Award Winner: Ebony

When working in Atlanta Public High School’s Ebony Martin was shocked by the number of her students who couldn’t read. They could read enough to communicate, but decoding three-plus syllable words was a struggle.

If those students continued, she realized they would not know how to read a contract or open a bank account.  

“I remember going to my principal,” Ebony recalled. “And saying ‘I wasn’t ready for this. I was not prepared for this.’ So that’s when I started pursuing other things outside of my school district so that I could be certified to be a reading tutor.”

Around this time, Ebony was also in search of her first home. Her mother is an Atlanta Habitat homeowner, so Ebony knew a teacher’s salary would not stop her from getting a home.

Unfortunately, her student loan debt would. With the advice of an Atlanta Habitat staff member, Ebony used her tutoring certificate to start her tutoring business.  

“When I initially started my business, it was called ‘A.L.L., Absolute Language and Literacy Tutoring Services’, because all kids deserve to learn how to read,” Ebony said. “Then I changes it to ‘Lib Through Lit,’ which is liberation through literacy, because I truly feel like educating students is liberating.”

Once she saw some success with her tutoring business, Ebony reapplied to the homebuyer program and was accepted.  

After moving into her new home, Ebony began to look at more ways to elevate. Shortly after, we launched our Vision. Goals. Action. Scholarship program.  

“I just kind of got really hungry for another degree,” Ebony recalled already obtaining a master’s in education.  “Right on time, after I got accepted for a specialist program, I applied for the VGA scholarship and received in a portion of that.”

Recently, Ebony also competed in our VGA Launch! Business Pitch competition with her floral arrangement company, 12nintey&Co – named after her mother’s Atlanta Habitat address.  

At the THRIVE Awards, Ebony was awarded the Best in Class Award for achieving growth and success in her educational and professional journey.