Suspense mounted as the evening progressed at the gala to name this year's student of the year and teacher of the year among Georgia's technical colleges and divisions.

The competition — called Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL), for students, and Rick Perkins Award, for teachers — featured nominees from around the state and culminated in a May 30 banquet in Atlanta with some 900 attendees.

After a well-received keynote address by state Sen. Charles Walker, Dr. Ken Breeden announced the finalists and then the winners. Johnathan Haley, a nursing student at Athens Technical College, won the 2002 GOAL and a new Chevrolet Cavalier. Michelle Earley, a business office technology instructor at Coosa Valley Technical College, took home the 2002 Rick Perkins Award and a check for $1,000.

AIMING FOR GOALS
Scoring the GOAL was not the first award for Haley, whose achievements include Who's Who Among College Students and Phi Theta Kappa. Already armed with an associate arts degree from Truett-McConnell College, Haley will continue his education after earning his associate degree at Athens Tech. He plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing and postgraduate degree in anesthesia before launching his anesthesia business.

Haley's educational and career paths have evolved considerably since he graduated from high school in 1991. He lost his father at an early age and grew up in a single-parent home with four younger brothers, so attending college full-time was not an option for him. He went to work as a salesperson at DuPont Corp., and through tuition reimbursement attended Truett-McConnell, which was his first stepping-stone to higher education.

"I decided on healthcare as a career so I could give something back," Haley explained, adding that his mother's nurturing ways likely influenced him. Nursing appealed to him also because of the variety of options available within the profession.

Poised and well-spoken, Haley emphasized education as a fundamental life process, and thanked the faculty of Athens Technical College in his acceptance speech. "Surround yourself with good people," he said, "and good things will happen to you."

LEARNING BY TEACHING
Earley, too, has several notable achievements, including the Lighthouse Award for teaching in 2000. She also won the Chairman's Award for excellence in customer service and leadership from Proffitt's Department Store in 1993 while working her way through school.

Her local activities include service with the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce, the March of Dimes WalkAmerica, the Gordon County Leadership Program and numerous educational committees. She currently chairs the DTAE's Northwest Consortium.

Committed to a life-long career as an instructor, Earley said her driving motivation is the learning aspect of teaching: "As I teach, I learn. I will always consider myself to be a student each day I teach. I love the diversity of students — that is what makes teaching so exciting for me."

Earley's work with local businesses to provide student internships, as well as her work with Shaw Industries to implement a group orientation training program, has instilled a strong belief in the tie between technical colleges and their communities.

"Each technical college in Georgia has an obligation to its local community and surrounding counties," she said. "The colleges' involvement and collaboration with our communities is what has made technical education what it is today."

'WINNERS, NOT WHINERS'
Walker, the Georgia Senate majority leader, boomed his pro-education, pro-bootstrap message in a resounding voice that filled the Crowne Plaza Ravinia grand ballroom. "I like the atmosphere in this room. I like the atmosphere of working people — people who make a difference," he said, making frequent references to his 13 siblings and his hard-working sharecropper father. "Life may not give you all that you expect. But if you whine about what is not, you will never achieve your objective — because America loves winners, not whiners."

Also appearing on stage were the 2001 award recipients. GOAL winner Earnest Dixon Jr., an electronics technology graduate from Heart of Georgia Technical College, reflected on his year traveling all over the state as an ambassador for technical education. Rick Perkins Award winner Barbara Jo Cook, an English teacher at Griffin Technical College, recalled her address to the General Assembly, where she told legislators, "When you appropriate funds for technical education, you reap tremendous benefits. We improve not only the quality of our workforce but also the quality of life."

Now in its 31st year, GOAL recognizes outstanding students from among the more than 78,000 students currently enrolled in Georgia's technical colleges and divisions. The Rick Perkins Award began in 1991 as the Commissioner's Award of Excellence. The award was changed to its current name in memory of West Central Tech's Thomas "Rick" Perkins, the 1996 recipient of the award.

In both competitions, nominees are judged on communication skills, knowledge of technical education in Georgia, leadership, community involvement, presence and a positive attitude.

Students are also judged on their career goals and knowledge of their chosen occupation, while teachers are evaluated on innovative teaching methods and enthusiasm as an educator who reflects the new image of Georgia's technical colleges.

Event sponsors included DeVry Institute of Technology, FOX5 Atlanta and Bill Heard Chevrolet, which provided the car for the GOAL winner. FOX5 news anchor Cory Thompson served as emcee.