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HGTC Wilkinson County Adult Education Center

Students Achieve State Benchmarks

FY 2009 is approaching an end at the Heart of Georgia Technical College Adult Education Center in Wilkinson County.  We, at the center, choose to look at it as a “new beginning” for our students. We will have those that will graduate with their GED, those who have earned Work Ready Certificates through continuing education, as well as other students that are making great strides in their education -working toward that GED with level completions. 

The mission of the adult education program is to enable every adult learner in Georgia to acquire the necessary basic skills in reading, writing, computation, speaking and listening to compete successfully in today’s workplace, strengthen family foundations, and exercise full citizenship. The Technical College System of Georgia Office of Adult Education has established procedures in achieving this mission. The National Reporting System (NRS) requires that local eligible programs assess and place all adult learners from the initial assessments (pre-test) into an educational functioning level at intake.  Educational gain is a key outcome in the NRS and provides a measure of student literacy gains resulting from instruction. After a predetermined amount of instruction or time period the program conducts follow-up assessments (post tests) of students in the same skill areas and uses test scores aligned to the educational functioning levels to determine whether the adult learners have advanced one or more levels or are progressing within the same level.  

According to Angie Jones, HGTC Wilkinson County instructor, “Several  students in the HGTC/ Wilkinson County program accomplished  this important state bench mark by demonstrating improvements in literacy skill levels in reading and writing, numeracy problem-solving, , and/or other literacy skills based on post testing.  They were presented a certificate for framing, signed by Dr. Randall Peters, president of Heart of Georgia Technical College and Dahlia Allen, HGTC dean of adult education”.  

If anyone is interested in enrolling in the free GED classes, please call Angie Jones at 478-946-1080 for more information. Summer Quarter will start July 13, 2009.  Sign Up Today!

Students pictured are (left to right) :  Hunter McNeal, Adrienne Brantley, Waylon Simpson, Lavonia Whipple,  Terrence Knight, Samantha Dixon.

Those achieving this accomplishment and not available for photo are:  Tyler Parker, Steven Smith, William Sargent, John Smith, Orlando Todd and Darrin Langley.

HGTC Foundation Awards Karen Core CNA Scholarships

     Five Heart of Georgia Technical College students received the Karen Core CNA Scholarship for spring quarter.

     The scholarship was established by the Heart of Georgia Technical College Foundation to assist certified nursing assistant students.

    The Foundation chose Karen Core to honor with the scholarship because of her life-long service to health care as a registered nurse and her past membership on the HGTC Foundation and HGTC nursing advisory committee.

     The following students received the scholarship for spring quarter:  Althea Anderson (Eastman); Calandra Steward (East Dublin); Rebecca Hefner (Dublin); Judy Peacock (Milan); and Cherie Morton (Glenwood). 

     Scholarships create opportunities to change lives. Those interested in establishing a scholarship or donating to an existing scholarship, please contact Jenny Shuman at (478) 296-6117 or jshuman@heartofgatech.edu.  The HGTC Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Wendi Morris, director of library services at Heart of Georgia Technical College, was the speaker at the HGTC Student Government Association Meeting.  Mrs. Morris presented an overview of the library and encouraged students to utilize the facility.  

Horadan Scholarship Awarded at HGTC

DUBLIN—The Heart of Georgia Technical College Foundation awarded the Horadan Scholarship to Elaine Norsworthy of Dublin. Norsworthy is an early childhood care and education student.

According to Norsworthy’s instructor, Gail Clark, “she has great leadership skills, compassion for others, especially children, and excellent work ethics.”

Dr. Lloyd Horadan established the scholarship in memory of his mother, Joyce Horadan. The $500 Horadan Scholarship will be awarded annually to an early childhood care and education student. To be eligible for the scholarship a student must be enrolled in the HGTC early childhood care and education associate degree program, successfully completed 12 credit hours, and have a minimum grade point average of 2.5.

Dr. Horadan is currently the president for Sandersville Technical College. Prior to becoming president of Sandersville Tech, Dr. Horadan worked for Heart of Georgia Technical College for 11 years.

Pictured:  Jenny Shuman, HGTC director of institutional development and marketing, presenting the check to Elaine Norsworthy.

The Student Government Association at Heart of Georgia Technical College recently raised $1,030 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.  A raffle for a 22” Visio flat screen TV was held, with Trey Cottle of Montrose Auction being named the winner.  Pictured is Shirley Hultquist (accepting the prize for Mr. Cottle) and Walter Jones, HGTC SGA president.

Two-hundred Dodge County High School seniors visited Heart of Georgia Technical College on May 7th to receive their Georgia Work Ready scores and experience campus tours.  They were also involved in open forums with current HGTC instructors where they discussed program options and the instructors fielded student questions.  Forty of the seniors completed Instant Admission applications for HGTC and sixteen received Work Ready Visa gift cards for earning a GOLD Work Ready Certification.  Pictured:  Heart of Georgia Work Ready Project Manager, Bob Dixon, welcoming students to campus and the group receiving their Work Ready Visa gift cards.

HGTC Employee’s Journey Comes Full Circle

Donna McMiller’s Heart of Georgia Technical College journey came full circle four years ago when the former student turned working professional as the college’s human resource specialist.

Now, some of her former instructors are co-workers.

For McMiller, her transcendence began when, as an unemployed single mother of three, she enrolled in HGTC’s information office technology program. With three small children, ages 5, 8 and 11 at the time, she’d initially put her education dreams on hold.

“Because of my children, I had put off my education,” McMiller recalled. 

Upon enrolling, she quickly found support in the form of her family, her church and her instructors, that enabled her to succeed.

At the time she had no car and no means of transportation to and from class, but her church family helped out.

“They were there for me,” said McMiller, “and helped me in a lot of ways.”

She found helpful resources in the classroom as well. Instructors such as Jacqueline Copenny and Becky Carroll provided just the right guidance along the way.

Said McMiller of Carroll: “I hated English in high school, and I was afraid of it when I got here. She made it so much easier for me.”

It certainly wasn’t all easy, but with support from family, church and her instructors, McMiller persevered, making president’s list each quarter she attended HGTC. She graduated in June 1991 and landed a job as a secretary at a loan processing company. Soon, she began her work with the state at Pulaski State Prison, where she was employed for eight years before moving on to work at the Department of Family and Children’s Services. She began working at HGTC in personnel before being promoted to her present position.

As the college’s human resource specialist, McMiller handles the paperwork process for new employees, human resources and payroll benefits. Most importantly, however, her job enables her to do one thing she enjoys above and beyond most others — interact with people.

“I love people,” she said. “I love what I do.”

At the end of the day, she says knowing that she’s been able to help someone is frequently the highlight of her day.

Now, as she looks back on her journey to HGTC and back again, she’s amazed at just how much the college has grown. When she was a student, classes were housed in the Stewart Building. Today, she has an office in the newly completed Livingston Hall. That fact, coupled with the hard work and commitment that has brought her here is something McMiller certainly doesn’t take for granted.

“God took me off food stamps and put me in a place where I would be working and assisting others [on food stamps],” she said of her work at DFCS.

Now married and a grandmother with one daughter who’s herself an educator, she often shares her story with others, particularly single mothers, to serve as inspiration to further their education.

“It is possible. With God, all things are possible. It can be done.”

HGTC Experience Prepares Student to Venture Out on his Own

Scott Lamb was working with a nearby company when he realized the potential for fulfilling a lifelong dream.

When faced with the decision of whether to relocate when his job moved out of state, he made the choice to return to school, holding on to his ambitions of one day starting his own business.

“All my life I’d wanted to start my own business,” said Lamb, “and I figured it was now or never.”

Through his job he’d realized the potential for government contract work in the machine industry, so he established a game plan of his own, even as job possibilities were calling.

“After the company I was working for announced they were closing and moving their operations to North Carolina, they offered me a job but I would have to move with them,” Lamb recalled. “I had to decide whether I wanted to move to North Carolina with them or go back to school.”

“I decided to go back to school so that I could get the skills I needed to pursue my lifelong dream, which was to start my own precision part manufacturing business.”

He enrolled at Heart of Georgia Technical College in spring 2006 as a double major focusing on machine tool technology and electronics, where classes in such areas as milling and surface grinding prepared him to branch out on his on as an entrepreneur.

And to help establish that foundation he needed to venture solo out into the business world, Lamb became a GOAL (Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership) nominee and received HGTC TOOLS honors, earning him several of the actual tools he would need to get started. The TOOLS awards, for nearly a decade now have honored HGTC students nominated by their instructors. The program is made possible through the HGTC Foundation, Morris State Bank and the Louie and Evelyn Livingston Foundation.

The items he received as a TOOLS recipient such as his own micrometer set, tool box, tap and dye set and drill bit set have helped tremendously, said Lamb.

“They have come in very handy,” he said. “That helped me out a lot.”

That support, coupled with direction from his instructors aided him significantly, he said.

“My instructor David Hall helped me to achieve my goals. He was very supportive and goes over and beyond what is required to help his students,” said Lamb of Hall, whom he calls a mentor and friend. “He goes above and beyond to help his students out.”

Lamb earned his degree in June 2008 and the following August, he opened his own business, MIL-STD Machine Inc., located in Dudley, fulfilling a long-time dream. His business specializes in precision machining, fabrication welding, tooling and fixtures, doing government contract work as well as an expanding local customer base in the area.

“My long term goals are to get involved in government contracting and subcontracting opportunities, but my immediate goal is to find local businesses and industries that are wanting to save money on their out of house machining costs,” Lamb explained. “I’m a small business and I don’t have as much overhead as a lot of the other larger companies out there, so I can save people money, and that means a lot in this bad economy.”

His company offers milling capabilities, in addition to surface grinding and welding, creating manufacturer precision parts out of metal.

“I’m on call at all times and can be contacted at 478-676-2700,” said Lamb.

He said his HGTC experience prepared him to branch out on his own, fulfilling his dream of starting his own business.

“If you want to increase your income and better your life,” said Lamb, “there’s really no other option other than going to school.”

Cody Ryan Woodard receives Howard Scholarship

     Cody Woodard of Dublin is the recipient of the Johnny B. Howard Scholarship offered through the Heart of Georgia Technical College Foundation.  The scholarship is awarded annually to a student who plans to attend HGTC or is attending HGTC and studying the welding and joining program.

Woodard graduated from West Laurens High School this year and attended HGTC as a dual-enrolled student in the welding program.  He plans to continue his education at HGTC and complete his program of study.

     The scholarship is given in memory of Johnny Buford Howard, a life-long resident of Laurens County and the welding and joining technology instructor at Heart of Georgia Tech for nine years. Howard died in July 2007.

      “The Heart of Georgia Tech employees established the scholarship with the Foundation,” said Jenny Shuman, director of institutional development and marketing. “Members of the community have also supported the scholarship and have embraced the opportunity to honor Johnny and help students in the welding program.”

     “Johnny would have been very proud to know there is a scholarship to help educate future welders, and Cody is an excellent choice to receive the scholarship,” commented Shuman.

     For more information on the Johnny B. Howard Scholarship or to make a contribution, visit the Heart of Georgia Technical College website, www.heartofgatech.edu or call 478-296-6117. The HGTC Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization.

HGTC Alumni to hold Annual Meeting

                  Dublin—The Heart of Georgia Technical College (HGTC) Alumni Association will hold its Annual Meeting Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in the Porter Center located on the HGTC campus.       

                  The Alumni Association will announce the 2009 Alumnus of the Year at the meeting.

                   This will be a great time for alumni to visit, reminisce, and build a foundation for the future of the alumni association.

Customer Service Class held at HGTC

Congratulations to Mary Jackson, Chandra Jones, Marcus Hamilton and Latevia Mitchell for participating in a Customer Service Class provided by the Heart of Georgia Technical College Community Education Division for Telamon.   Pictured:  Alex Pezon (Student Coordinator with Telamon), Mary Jackson, Chandra Jones, Marcus Hamilton, Latevia Mitchell, and Sherry Lewis (HGTC instructor).

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