Americus Rotary Club presents South Georgia Tech’s 2025 outstanding student with stipend
Published 9:16 am Thursday, January 30, 2025
- Americus Rotary Club member and Past President Angela Smith (l) is shown above presenting a check from the Rotary Club to Barbara Chestnut (r), who was selected as the SGTC 2025 GOAL student of the year.
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South Georgia Technical College
Americus Rotary Club member and Past President Angela Smith presented South Georgia Technical College Criminal Justice student Barbara Chestnut of Mauk with a stipend recently on behalf of the Americus Rotary Club. Chestnut was recognized as the college’s 2025 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner by SGTC President Dr. John Watford at the college’s GOAL luncheon recently.
“It was my honor to present Barbara Chestnut with this stipend on behalf of the Americus Rotary Club,” said Angela Smith. “I have been involved with the GOAL program at South Georgia Technical College as a judge or sponsor for many years. Celebrating leadership is a key component of the Americus Rotary Club and it is my pleasure to recognize you and your accomplishments today. Congratulations!”
The Americus Rotary Club and the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce have been premier sponsors of the South Georgia Technical College Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) program for many years. “We are appreciative of both organizations for their sponsorship of this event and for their support of our students,” said South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford. “This Americus Rotary Club stipend is a wonderful way to honor our top student, but their support of our students and their leadership development also means a great deal to the college and this community.”
Chestnut was selected for this honor by a panel of local community leaders. An internal committee interviewed all of the college nominees and narrowed the selection to three GOAL finalists. Chestnut was selected to represent the Criminal Justice program and she was competing against finalists Dakedra Rasberry of Vienna, a practical nursing student, and Tera Parker of Montezuma, a Culinary Arts student.
Criminal Justice instructor Teresa McCook nominated Chestnut for this honor. She will now represent South Georgia Technical College at regional and state competitions in an effort to be selected as the top student within the Technical College System of Georgia.