They went over each parent’s allocation. For some, such as Susan Lin, it was easy enough, as she wanted to be a homemaker, and so she would take on more responsibilities within the complex, and she would take some outside workshops on finances, child development, and whatever extracurricular activities in which she expressed an interest. Her husband, David, on the other hand, would be entering the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to receive his doctorate of education in the K–12 track, and the project would entirely fund his education, including textbooks and supplies.
Jeremy and Callie Gipson, who had primarily chosen to join the project because they had lost the family farm that had been in Jeremy’s family for five generations, were going to take over several acres of the grounds and begin to build an organic farm and sell their food to local restaurants, which meant that the project would be funding all the equipment and training necessary to expand their allegiance to organic farming beyond the small gardens already located within the complex.
Link and Julie Howser were interesting because they were already established within their fields and mostly just wanted the time and space to pursue their own work. Link was a fairly accomplished session musician and had toured for years with various bands; he wanted to stop touring and focus on his own music while also becoming a stay-at-home father, while Julie was a writer who had published her first novel two years earlier to some critical acclaim and was working on her second. Beyond room and board, and perhaps funds to create a studio for Link within the complex, they required no additional funding.
Harris and Ellen Tilton, who had lost their coffee shop to bankruptcy, were going to be taking classes in finance and management at a local community college and would look into starting another business later, once they had established a business model that met with Gerdie and Dr. Grind’s approval.
Kenny Floyd would finish pursuing a degree in auto technology at a technical institute in Nashville and then open his own garage, while his wife, Carmen Rivera, would start nursing school.
Asean Watts was going back to college to get a degree in physical therapy and his wife, Nikisha, who had already finished college, would be starting a graduate program in library science at MTSU in Murfreesboro. Gerdie was constantly pleased to remind Dr. Grind that both Asean and Nikisha would be fully funded by scholarships and financial aid, costing the project almost nothing beyond room and board.
Carlos, who had received his GED while at the complex, and Nina Torres, both only twenty-two, would be pursuing undergraduate degrees at MTSU.
Benjamin and Alyssa Raymond, who had lost their jobs at a car dealership in Georgia, simply wanted to return to the workforce and, aside from additional job training, would require almost no funding.
Paul Brock and Mary Hubbard had been living on government aid since Paul lost his job as a grocery store clerk and Mary had not been able to find a job. Both of them would be going to community college to get degrees in business administration and looking for part-time work.
Finally, Izzy Poole would be going to MTSU, no idea of a major yet; thanks to the encouragement of Chef Nicole, who believed Izzy was uniquely gifted, she would also become Nicole’s assistant in the complex’s kitchen.