CLARKESVILLE - Honoring high achieving students at North Georgia Technical College is a long standing tradition. In fact, the Georgia Award for Occupational Leadership (GOAL) competition originated at the school more than 40 years ago. <br />
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The GOAL Program is designed to spotlight outstanding achievement by students in the Georgia Technical College System and to emphasize the importance of technical education in today's global workplace. Local GOAL winners are selected at each of the state's technical colleges. Through a series of competitive interviews, the top student of the system is identified. <br />
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""We are proud of all the nominees," said Dean for Student Affairs Dr. Fran Chastain. "Each one did an outstanding job presenting their story and reasons for choosing technical education." GOAL candidates are nominated by an instructor and must carry at least a 3.0 GPA. <br />
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The first round of interviews with faculty and staff has been completed, and the semi-finalists will be interviewed again by the Vice Presidents and Directors at the college. Four finalists will be announced at the GOAL Breakfast on Tuesday, January 14, 2014. Those four will then be interviewed by members of the community who will choose the winner for the college.<br />
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Named as a semi-finalist this year were David Morris of Dahlonega in Photography, nominated by Jeff Gulle; Nikolaus Adams of Eastanollee in Welding and Joining Technology, nominated by Ronnie Ayers; Nicole Holt of Alto in Environmental Technology, nominated by Kevin Peyton; Stephanie Defoor of Demorest in Medical Assisting, nominated by Stacie Bohannon; Charla Brown of Clayton in Pharmacy Technology, nominated by Christy Bivins; Georgia Zumwalt of Jefferson in Photography, nominated by Jeff Gulle; Brittaney Dyer of Blairsville in Criminal Justice, nominated by Dorothy Hansen; Beverly Edwards of Martin in Industrial Systems Technology, nominated by Chris Haley; Shawna Pendergrass of Blairsville in Applied Business Technology, nominated by Karen Jordan; Ashley Jordan of Martin in Machine Tool/CNC, nominated by Shannon Gary; Caitlin Svoboda of Gainesville in Clinical Laboratory Technology, nominated by Lauren Strader; Dawn Hutchins of Cleveland in Clinical Laboratory Technology, nominated by Lauren Strader; Joshua Holcomb of Rabun Gap in Associate of Science in Nursing, nominated by Nancy Morris; Kevin Cyr of Gainesville in Welding and Joining Technology, nominated by Jason Smith, and Shannon Garrett of Dahlonega in Horticulture, nominated by Craig Thurmond.<br />
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These semi-finalists are also eligible to be the recipient of the Marlowe-Evans GOAL Scholarship. The Scholarship, founded in 2005 by Jim Marlowe and Bob Evans, is given to one of the GOAL finalists at NGTC who exemplifies the spirit of Bob Evans and Jim Marlowe through their community service and willingness to help others. <br />
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For more information on programs of study at North Georgia Technical College, visit www.northgatech.edu or call 706-754-7700.<br />
