Screening Committee Named for South Georgia Technical College GOAL Program

Cynthia Carter, the coordinator for the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) program at South Georgia Technical College, has announced the members of the screening committee that will interview students who are nominated for the college’s annual GOAL title. The objective of the GOAL program is to recognize and reward excellence among the more than 133,455 students attending the colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia. GOAL, which is now in its 46th year, was the first statewide program in the nation to honor outstanding students in technical education. Slated to serve on the five-member screening committee are Dr. Deborah Jones, Assistant VP of Student Navigation and Institutional Support; Mark Brooks, Director of Administrative Services; Sammy Stone, Director of Campus Safety and Dorms; Dianne Trueblood, Information System Director; and Julie Partain, Dean of Enrollment Management. "To be considered for the GOAL title, a student must be nominated by his or her instructor," explained Carter.  "The purpose of the screening committee is to interview and evaluate the nominated students to determine who qualifies to move to the next level of the competition.” In making their choices, the screening committee members consider each student’s grades, attendance and class performance along with their character, leadership potential, personal goals and enthusiasm for technical education. The students who make it through the screening committee will then be interviewed and evaluated by another GOAL committee – the selection committee – which is comprised of leaders from local business and industry.  The selection committee chooses one winner from SGTC to compete at the regional level with students from other colleges within the Southern region. "All of these students are exceptional individuals or they would not have been nominated,” said Dr. Deborah Jones, a member of the selection committee.  “The GOAL program is an excellent means of recognizing the outstanding students enrolled in the state's technical colleges, and I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the selec tion process." In April, all of the college winners will take part in the technical college system’s annual statewide GOAL conference in Atlanta.  The nine finalists from the regional competitions (three students from the three regions) will be announced in Atlanta and will go on to compete for the state title.  Then, one student will be named as the state’s GOAL winner and earn the recognition as the system’s 2018 student of the year. The state winner will also take home the grand prize of a new automobile from KIA Motors, the statewide corporate sponsor for the GOAL program.