Georgia Northwestern GED graduate Chance Coulombe, right, receives his GED diploma from Georgia Northwestern President C. Pete McDonald.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) saw the first group of its GED graduating class cross the stage Thursday night at the Colonnade in Ringgold. The June 12 ceremony was the first of two to take place in Northwest Georgia honoring the 677 GED graduates that have earned their diplomas this past year.
The graduates recognized on stage were Lisa Barker, Kristen Blackmon, Alicia Brown, Adrienne Buchanan, Josh Burk, Summer Burrage, Julia Cano, Chance Coulombe, Josh Cummings, Linsey Dean, Robert Deel, Angel Dingus, Anthony Epperson, Joshua Faires, Darryl Finley, Sandra Foster, Jeremy Fredrick, Jacqueline Galvan, Joshua Gervin, Christopher Gladden, Juanita Goforth, Ana Gonzalez, Alana Graham, Jessica Halsrud, James Harding, Viola Harmon, Jennifer Harrison, Sommer Hennessee, Juan Hernandez, Charles Hicks, Kristi Hill, Jeffery Jacobs, Montea Johnson, Krista Keith, Cristino Lara, Kathy Lewis, Dylan Long, Christina Mabe, Amee Mangum, Tara Matthews, Tammy McDevitt, Joshua McGraw, Mallory McGraw, Ariana Mendez, Marilyn Miller, Destini Mitchell, Ana Morazan, Crislyn Neal, Natasha Norton, Justin Patterson, Jonathan Pavon, Heather Pemberton, Barbara Ramirez, Evonnia Rhodes, Jason Rhodes, Kimberly Riddle, Connie Robinson, Isabel Shields, Sonya Stargel, Joshua Stonebreaker, Delilah Veach, Terry Wallin, Rachel Wayman, Doris White, and Ashley Young.
GNTC’s 2014 EAGLE Award winner Ru Zhen Zou delivered the commencement speech to the graduates and family and friends in attendance at the Catoosa County facility in sign language. Zou came to the United States from China less than a decade ago as a hearing-impaired young woman who could not speak English. She has since learned English and American Sign Language. She earned her GED diploma with the help of GNTC.
The second of two GED commencement ceremonies for Georgia Northwestern will be held June 26 at 7 p.m. at The Forum in Rome. Graduates have been contacted by letter with instructions regarding the event. Any graduate who did not receive information should call 706/272-2909 for information about their participation in the ceremony.