South Carolina teenager wins InnoVision Award for AI career startup
Grace Brusky, 17, received the Community Enrichment Award for her platform Pathly, which serves over 840 students across 24 states.
Grace Brusky, a 17-year-old entrepreneur from Lancaster, South Carolina, became the youngest recipient in the 28-year history of the South Carolina InnoVision Awards on November 5. Her artificial intelligence-powered startup, Pathly, won the Community Enrichment Award at a ceremony held at the Thornblade Club in Greer, according to the Times of India.
Co-founded by Brusky and her father, Alan Brusky, the platform uses AI to help students find educational and career opportunities based on their specific goals and strengths. The service is free for students, while schools and education consultants pay for tools to provide large-scale guidance.
Pathly provides access to almost 100,000 various training, certification, and college programmes from about 5,000 institutions. The platform currently serves more than 840 students in at least 24 states.
The startup also received a $25,000 grant from the South Carolina Research Authority earlier in 2026 to support its development. Brusky was also selected for the 2026 Harvard Business School Foundry Program.
A senior at the Cyber Academy of South Carolina, Brusky maintains a 4.6 GPA. She is also working towards a career in environmental science and serves as a Senior Statewide Ambassador for PalmettoPride.