Four Lanier Technical College students have been selected as semi-finalists for the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL), according to Jennifer Pulliam, coordinator for the GOAL program at Lanier Technical College.

Chosen as semifinalists are: Laura James of Dawsonville who is an Environmental Horticulture student at the Forsyth Campus, Kelsey Alsup of Cumming who is a Dental Assisting student at the Oakwood Campus, Yuliana Yebra of Gainesville who is a Business Administration Technology student at the Oakwood Campus and Valerie Dowdy of Monroe who is a Medical Assisting student at the Winder-Barrow Campus.

Laura James of Dawsonville, an Environmental Horticulture student at the Forsyth Campus, had always loved working in her yard and her neighbors’ yards. However, she has now started her own business with the knowledge she has acquired from her classes. She recounted that, after her house burned to the ground, her attitude about the goodness of people changed completely. Laura is deeply rooted in her community and also heads the Membership Committee for the Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce.

Kelsey Alsup of Cumming, a Dental Assisting student at the Oakwood Campus, said that, unlike many others, she has always like going to the dentist. After learning about the fears that her family and friends had about dental appointments, she decided that she wants to help patients relax in the dentist’s chair by providing the encouragement along with the many skills she has learned in her program of study.

The Gainesville Lions Club and the Lanier Technical College Student Government Association are sponsors of the GOAL Program. John Roslak, a Lions Club member, has served as a valuable member of the Selection Committee for many years.

GOAL, a statewide program of the Technical College System of Georgia, honors excellence in academics and leadership among the technical college students throughout Georgia as well as one Board of Regents college with a technical education division.

All of the college GOAL winners will compete in regional judging, which will include students from the other 25 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia as well as the one Board of Regents College with a technical education division. 

GOAL winners from each college will compete in regional judging in February. In April, all college winners will come to Atlanta where the nine regional finalists, three finalists from each of the three regions, will be announced and compete at the state-level in April and one student will be named as the statewide GOAL winner.

The purpose of the GOAL program is to spotlight the outstanding achievement by students in Georgia technical colleges and to emphasize the importance of technical education in the global workforce, said Pulliam.

According to Pulliam, a Screening Committee selected the four semi-finalists from a list of students nominated by their instructors. 

The next step is for a Selection Committee to interview and evaluate these four students and select one to be the 2013 GOAL winner for Lanier Tech, explained Pulliam. The one judged most outstanding will compete in the Northern Regional Judging. Three finalists from the northern region will be named and will compete in the state GOAL competition in Atlanta on April 24 and 25 where they will vie to be named as the 2013 statewide GOAL winner.

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