A North Georgia Technical College culinary arts student from Cleveland was named this year’s runner-up in the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) competition. Teresa Burton was selected for the honor over hundreds of technical college students nominated statewide.
GOAL is a statewide award program of the Technical College System of Georgia. It began at North Georgia Tech in Clarkesville in the early 1970s and continues to honor excellence in academics and leadership among the state’s technical college students.
GOAL candidates are nominated by an instructor and must maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher and demonstrate strong work ethics and leadership skills. Local GOAL winners are selected at each of the state’s 22 technical colleges.
NGTC named Burton its GOAL winner this academic year. Her culinary arts instructors Alex Bladowski and Chris Bladowski nominated her for the award. She competed for the title against 25 other NGTC students.
After winning at the local level, Burton went on to compete at the regional, and state levels. TCSG named her first runner-up during the recent annual GOAL and Rick Perkins Awards Banquet held in Atlanta.
Burton said she was honored to compete and called winning state runner-up one of her greatest personal achievements.
“It is amazing to see how far I’ve come because of the support I received at North Georgia Technical College,” said Burton. “I have felt an overwhelming sense of pride since I was selected to represent the college.”
NGTC President John Wilkinson acknowledged Burton’s achievement saying he and the school are “exceedingly proud” of her.
“She has an incredible story of hard work and perseverance and is an inspiration to all,” Wilkinson said. “Teresa did a tremendous job representing our college and community, and I know she will continue to advocate for technical education in all that she does.”
