Chancellor Awarded SGTC Student of Excellence Title for February
Amber Chancellor of Ellaville, an Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) student at South Georgia Technical College, was named the SGTC Student of Excellence for Febraury during the college’s recent student recognition ceremony held in the John M. Pope Industrial Technology Center on SGTC’s Americus campus.
Chancellor was nominated for the award by her instructor Jaye Cripe, and was introduced and presented with her nomination certificate by ECCE adjunct instructor Victoria Kelley.
“There is a quote that I have on the board in my classroom that reads, ‘Teachers who love teaching will teach children to love learning,’ and I completely think that Amber is going to be one of those teachers,” Kelley said of her student to a room full of the nominees’ classmates, family and friends. “I’m excited for Amber’s future in the field of education – the sky is the limit for her.”
Chancellor comes to the Early Childhood Care and Education degree program after having already received her Associates degree from SGTC in Medical Assisting. Upon graduation, she realized that her heart wasn’t with the medical field and decided to pursue her true passion – teaching.
“I remember when I was a little girl playing school with my niece – she was the student and I was the teacher. And even though I am grown and have children of my own, I still love playing school,” Chancellor said in her nomination speech. “The Early Childhood program is where my heart is. It is the best decision I have ever made.”
Chancellor thanked her family, her instructors and everyone who was a part of her “long journey.”
She was selected as the winner based on a list of criteria, which includes work ethics, grades, participation in clubs and organizations, and amount of program completed. Chancellor is a member of the National Technical Honor Society at South Georgia Tech, where she serves as the historian. Additionally, she is a practicum student in the program, which allows her to travel to Schley County Elementary School to student-teach under 2nd grade teacher Mandi Mailhot.
She was awarded with a plaque of recognition and a financial award from SGTC for his accomplishments. Furthermore, her name will be displayed on SGTC’s digital marquee as well as inscribed on a plaque in Hicks Hall among previous Student of Excellence winners. As a bonus and for bragging rights, a Student of Excellence banner will hang in her program area until the next student is named.
Each month, students from certain divisions selected for that month are nominated for the Student of Excellence award by their instructors. This month’s ceremony recognized students in health and personal services programs at SGTC. Each nominee is presented with a certificate and a South Georgia Technical College Student of Excellence T-shirt.
Other nominees included: Timothy Payne of Americus, Barbering; Merleen Cortez of Leesburg, Cosmetology; Shaketia Tyson of Americus, Criminal Justice Technology; Aleshia Curinton of Broxton, Ga., Culinary Arts; Valorie P. Rikard of Preston, Medical Assisting; and Brittany Mutcherson of Americus, Practical Nursing. Additional nominating instructors included Xavier Jackson, Dorothea Lusane-Mckenzie, Teresa McCook, Ricky Watzlowick, Dianna Skipper and Jennifer Childs.
Student of Excellence nominees and nominating instructors pose for a picture with their certificates. Seated left to right: SGTC Student of Excellence nominees Timothy Payne, Merleen Cortez, Shaketia Tyson, Aleshia Curinton, Valorie P. Rikard and Brittany Mutcherson. Standing left to right: Nominating Instructors Xavier Jackson, Dorothea Lusane-Mckenzie, Ricky Watzlowick, Victoria Kelley, Diana Skipper and Jennifer Childs. Teresa McCook is not pictured.
Photo Gallery: Student of Excellence, February 2018