Four Augusta Technical College students have been selected as the college's semi-finalists for the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL), according to John Richardson, coordinator for the Augusta Technical College GOAL program.

Chosen as semifinalists are:  Danita Etterling; Practical Nursing student, Bettina Harris-Reed; Medical Assisting student, Zachary Smith; Electronics & Computer Engineering, and Sandra Williams; Business Administration Technology.

GOAL, a statewide program of the Technical College System of Georgia, honors excellence in academics and leadership among the state's technical college students.  GOAL winners are selected at each of the state's 33 technical colleges as well as the four Board of Regents colleges with technical education divisions. 

All the college GOAL winners will compete in consortia preliminary judging, which will include students from the other 32 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia as well as the four Board of Regents colleges with technical education divisions.  Twelve finalists from consortia preliminary judging (two from each consortium) will attend the state GOAL competition in Atlanta during GOAL Week in May.   

GOAL winners from each campus will compete in consortia preliminary judging in March and April and two finalists from each consortium, 12 finalists, will arrive in Atlanta to compete at the state-level in May and one will be named as the statewide GOAL winner.

"The purpose of the GOAL program is to spotlight the outstanding achievement by students in Georgia's technical colleges and to emphasize the importance of technical education in today�s global workforce," said Richardson.

According to Richardson, a screening committee of administrators at Augusta Technical College selected the four semifinalists from a list of students nominated by their instructors. 

"The next step is for a panel of business, civic and industry leaders from the community to interview and evaluate these four students and select one to be the college�s 2009 GOAL winner," explained Richardson.  �The one judged most outstanding will compete in East Central consortium preliminary judging.  Two finalists from East Central will attend the state GOAL competition in Atlanta and vie to be named as the 2009 statewide GOAL winner.�

The state GOAL winner becomes the student ambassador for the Technical College System of Georgia and receives a grand prize of a new car.

Danita Etterling (left), GOAL finalist and Thomson campus administrator Julie Langham

Zachary Smith (right), GOAL finalist and nominating instructor Surekha Prasad

Sandra Williams, (right) GOAL finalist and nominating instructor Deborah Miller

Bettina Harris-Redd (right) GOAL finalist and nominating instructor Karon Walton