(Media release from Georgia Northwestern Technical College):
A special reception was held recently to honor and congratulate Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) 2024 GOAL and EAGLE award winners, as well as students who were medalists at SkillsUSA and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) state competitions in Atlanta.
The program, held at the Gordon County Campus in Calhoun, also recognized faculty and staff who provided support and mentorship for FBLA, SkillsUSA and the Student Government Association (SGA).
Erika Ambrocio Greenwell was recognized as winner of GNTC’s EAGLE Award for 2024, represented GNTC at the Dinah Culbreath Wayne EAGLE Leadership Institute and was selected as a regional finalist for the state’s EAGLE Award by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG).
EAGLE is the first statewide program in the nation that recognizes and rewards excellence among students enrolled in adult education programs. This student recognition program is designed to create greater awareness of educational opportunities that are available in local communities across the state and to foster greater involvement in lifelong learning pursuits.
Jacquelyn Beck, a Health Care Assistant student, was recognized as GNTC’s 2024 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner. If chosen as a regional GOAL winner, Beck will compete at the state level against regional winners from the other regions of Georgia at the GOAL and Rick Perkins State Conference April 29 through May 2 in Atlanta.
GOAL is the only statewide program in the nation to honor excellence among technical college students.
GNTC students had an outstanding performance at the 2024 Georgia Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate State Leadership Conference in Atlanta. The ceremony recognized the six students who represented GNTC in 12 competitions at the event where five students placed in a total of eight competitions.
Nancy Johnson placed first in the Foundations of Entrepreneurship and second in the Organizational Behavior and Leadership competitions; Brandon Wishon placed first in the Future Business Executive and fourth in the Foundations of Communication competitions.
Anna Cantrell placed second in the Retail Management competition; Josue Lopez placed third in both the Entrepreneurship Pitch and Business Presentation competitions; and Esther Johnson placed fourth in the Public Speaking competition. Morisca Smith also competed at the FBLA state competition.
Brandon Wishon and Nancy Johnson were also recognized for serving as GNTC’s FBLA Collegiate chapter’s president and vice president, respectively.
Future Business Leaders of America is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association helping more than 230,000 students to prepare for careers in business and business-related fields. FBLA is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and organized on local, state and national levels.
The ceremony recognized GNTC students who competed in 21 categories against students from other TCSG colleges at the 2024 SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership and Skills in Atlanta. The competition allowed students to take the skills, knowledge and experience that they have gained in their program of study and apply it to a real-world project based on industry standards.
GNTC students earned eight gold medals (reflecting eight individual competitions), five silver medals (reflecting one individual competition and one team competition) and eight bronze medals (reflecting four individual competitions and one team competition).
GNTC’s gold medal winners from the SkillsUSA Georgia competition will compete in the 2024 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference competition June 24-28 in Atlanta.
SkillsUSA medalists are listed with their category of competition. Team competitions are listed with the competition name first.
SkillsUSA state gold medalists were Lorianna Beech, Carpentry; Chase Campbell, Welding; Easton Childs, Masonry; Susan Davis, Medical Assisting; Luis Garcia, Technical Drafting; Jose Leal, Internet of Things; Connor Rowell, Electrical Construction Wiring; and Jack Showalter, Telecommunications Cabling.
Silver medalists are Jeshua Freeman, CNC 3-Axis Milling Programmer; and TeamWorks (team competition): Alexis Bautista, Johncarlos Guerrero, Brenden Harrison and Christopher Herrera.
Bronze medalists are Kelly Jones, Medical Assisting; Josue Lopez, Masonry; Hannah Peterson, Job Skills Demonstration Open; TeamWorks (team competition): Jackson Flanagan, Brandon Guzman, Devon Heroch and Brody Mobbs; and Marc-Taylor Wright, Cabinetmaking.
The following students were also recognized for representing GNTC at the state SkillsUSA competition: Stephanie Follins, Baking and Pastry Arts; Eva Cruz-Figueroa, Carpentry; Kayla Crabbe, Culinary Arts; Cristian Tirador Cervantes, Diesel Equipment Technology; Franklin Ramirez, Industrial Motor Control; Kelly Williams, Job Skills Demonstration A; Jessica Motes, Medical Assisting; Makensie Leachman, Medical Math; Jacquelyn Beck, Prepared Speech; Welding Fabrication (team competition): Chelsea Holland, Omar Morales and Juan Guzman; and Madison Gasho, Welding Sculpture.
Victoria Landry and Ana Stringer were recognized for participation as GNTC’s Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president, respectively. SGA is a volunteer organization made up of volunteer representatives from all occupational programs at GNTC; SGA works on projects throughout the year to benefit the college and its students; and SGA officers participate in the student conventions held each fall and winter.
For the second year, Student Life awarded Bobcat Bucks points to students who participated in events and organizations sponsored by Student Life. Students redeem these points for prizes throughout the year. The following students were the top earners for the current academic year: Austin Gentner, Miguel Lopez, Daniel Martinez, Cristian Ramirez and Brandon Wishon.
GNTC faculty who were recognized during the event for their contribution to GNTC’s SkillsUSA program included Cory Allen, Susan Bowman, Billy Brown, Scott Carter, Jeremiah Cooper, Shawn Daniel, Tayler Davidson, Sal Gonzalez, Donny Holmes, Brandon Johnson, Tracey Mercado, Melissa Mitchell, Jennifer Stephenson and Jonathan Ward. Missy McLain was recognized as GNTC’s advisor for SkillsUSA.
GNTC faculty members Mark Upton and Larry Blanchard were recognized for their advisor roles for FBLA and the Student Government Association, respectively.
Photo caption –
(From left) Stuart Phillips, vice president of Student Affairs at GNTC, Nancy Johnson and Brandon Wishon who served as FBLA officers and represented the college at the 2024 Georgia Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate State Leadership Conference. Johnson placed first in the Foundations of Entrepreneurship and second in the Organizational Behavior and Leadership competitions, and Wishon placed first in the Future Business Executive and fourth in the Foundations of Communication competitions.
