Kanna Suzuki awarded Student of Excellence for month of October

Kanna Suzuki of Hamamatsu, Japan, a Sports and Fitness Management major at South Georgia Technical College, was named the SGTC Student of Excellence during the college’s recent student recognition ceremony held in the John M. Pope Industrial Technology Center on SGTC’s Americus campus. Suzuki, who is also a member of the Lady Jets basketball team, was nominated for the award by her coach and Sports and Fitness Management instructor James Frey. Jets basketball coach Travis Garrett presented Suzuki with the nomination certificate and spoke to the audience about her dedication on the court and in the classroom. “She is an outstanding student, but one of the greatest qualities about her is that she is very quiet, reserved, motivated and focused on her task at hand,” Garrett said. “She is extremely diligent on everything she does… she is here for one reason, and one reason only – to be the best student she can possibly be.” On the basketball court, Suzuki has flourished with the Lady Jets. In her freshman year, she was named the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association freshman of the year and helped the team earn a spot in the sweet sixteen round of the NJCAA national tournament. Off the court, Suzuki has also excelled in her academics during her time at South Georgia Tech. “It is an honor to be nominated,” she said. “I like to study, so it has never been a problem for me to do the assignments. But sometimes I need help…because my English isn’t that great – so I appreciate everyone who has helped me to get here.” Suzuki was awarded with a plaque of recognition, a personal letter of recommendation from SGTC President Dr. John Watford and a $50 check for her accomplishments. Additionally, her name will be displayed on SGTC’s digital marquee as well as inscribed on a plaque in Hicks Hall among previous Student of Excellence winners. As a bonus and for bragging rights, a Student of Excellence banner will hang in her program area until the next student is named on November 16. Each month, students from certain divisions selected for that month are nominated for the Student of Excellence award by their instructors. This month’s ceremony recognized students in business and computer programs at SGTC. The winner is selected based on a number of criteria, including grades, work ethics, participation in clubs and organizations, and amount of program completion. Each nominee is presented with a certificate and a South Georgia Technical College Student of Excellence T-shirt. Other nominees included: Hope Griggs of Americus, Accounting; Adrienne Clayton of Americus, Business Technology; Angelica Sims of Americus, Computer Information Systems; and Kayla Bowens of Americus, Marketing Management. Additional nominating instructors included Brenda Hudson Boone, Accounting; Donna Lawrence, Business Technology; Andrea Ingram, Computer Information Systems; and Mary Cross, Marketing Management. Sitting from left to right are Student of Excellence nominees Hope Griggs, Adrienne Clayton, Angelica Sims, Kayla Bowens, and winner Kanna Suzuki. Standing from left to right are nominating instructors: Brenda Hudson Boone, Donna Lawrence, Andrea Ingram, Mary Cross and Travis Garrett.