AMERICUS — Four South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) students have been selected as the college’s semifinalists for the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL), according to Cynthia Carter, coordinator for the South Georgia Technical College GOAL program.
Chosen as semifinalists are Ashley E. Rodgers of Oglethorpe, marketing management; Monica Castaneda Parrra of Ellaville, accounting; Calli S. Buttrey of Americus, criminal justice technology; and Ricardo Rivera of Vienna, air conditioning technology.
Additional nominees for the SGTC GOAL award included Douglas T. Jones of Perry, air conditioning technology; Destiny K.S. Walker of Oglethorpe, criminal justice technology; Tramarvious D. Hosley of Montezuma, culinary arts; Jennifer L. Rix of Americus, horticulture; and Danny O. Williams of Cordele, welding and joining technology.
GOAL, a statewide program of the Technical College System of Georgia, honors excellence in academics and leadership among the state’s technical college students. GOAL winners are selected at each of the state’s 22 technical colleges as well as one Board of Regent college with technical education division.
All the college GOAL winners will compete in regional judging, which will include students from the other 21 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia as well as the one Board of Regents college with technical education divisions.
GOAL winners from each college will compete in regional judging in February. In April, all college winners will come to Atlanta where the nine regional finalists, three finalists from each of the three regions, will be announced and compete at the state-level in April and one student will be named as the statewide GOAL winner.
“The purpose of the GOAL program is to spotlight the outstanding achievement by students in Georgia’s technical colleges and to emphasize the importance of technical education in today’s global workforce,” said Carter.
According to Carter, a screening committee of administrators at SGTC selected the four semifinalists from a list of students nominated by their instructors. That screening committee consisted of SGTC staff members Deborah Jones, Ed.D., assistant vice president for Student Navigation; Mark Brooks, director of Administrative Services; Julie Partain, registrar; Sammy Stone, director of Campus Safety; and Dianne Trueblood, Media specialist.
“The next step is for a panel of business, civic and industry leaders from the community to interview and evaluate these four students and select one to be the college’s 2016 GOAL winner,” explained Carter.
The selection committee consists of Victoria Harris, associate superintendent of Sumter County Schools; Jay Roberts, 2016 chairman of the Americus-Sumter County Chamber of Commerce; Jackie Bryce, owner of Star Racing; Daron Butler, assistant administrator at Magnolia Manor Nursing Center; Barbara Grogan, executive director of the Americus-Sumter County Payroll Development Authority; and Don Smith, assistant to the president at SGTC.
“The GOAL nominee judged most outstanding will compete in the southwest regional judging,” Carter said. “Three finalists from the southwest region will be named and will compete in the state GOAL competition in Atlanta in April, and vie to be named as the 2016 statewide GOAL winner.”
The state GOAL winner becomes the student ambassador for the Technical College System of Georgia and receives a grand prize of a new car.