GNTC names SHS student Dual Enrollment Student of the Year

A Sonoraville High School student has been name the inaugural Dual Enrollment Student of the Year.

Wyatt Key is a Sonoraville senior who attends classes at both the high school and at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, working towards an associate degree in Applied Technical Management with a concentration in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.

At GNTC’s annual High School Appreciation Luncheon at their Gordon County campus, Key received his award and a $1,000 scholarship from the GNTC foundation.

“The GNTC Dual Enrollment Student of the Year award recognizes an outstanding high school senior who has participated in our Dual Enrollment program,” said Dr. Heidi Popham, GNTC president.

To qualify, the student must be a current high school senior in good standing with both GNTC and their high school, with a 2.0 grade average, who is planning to enroll at GNTC after high school to pursue an accredited program.

Applicants must also show achievement in one or more areas: community service and citizenship, extra-curricular activities, leadership, overcoming hardship and adversity, and securing gainful employment, especially in a field related to the applicant’s program of study. Applicants must write a short answer essay demonstrating their achievement in any of the award’s criteria.

The winner is then selected by a five-member Selection Committee, which consists of a business and industry partner or GNTC Foundation Trustee, a community member at large within GNTC’s nine-county service area, a GNTC Academic Affairs or Student Affairs representative who is not a GNTC faculty member, a GNTC Foundation representative, and a secondary partner without a scholarship applicant.

As of the 2024 school year, more than 3,000 dual enrollment students were enrolled in over 30,000 credit hours throughout GNTC,

according to Kristi Hart, GNTC’s director of High School initiatives. That amounts to over 40% of total enrollment.

The dual enrollment program lets qualified high school students take college-level courses that earn both college and high school credits at the same time. Degree-level core classes will transfer to any University System of Georgia (USG) or Technical College System of Georgia institution. They also count towards rigor requirements for high schools and HOPE Scholarships.

For more information about GNTC, visit us at GNTC.edu online.

Contributed (From left) Damon Raines, Walker County Schools superintendent and GNTC Foundation Trustee; Wyatt Key; Doris White, GNTC Foundation Trustee; Linda Case, GNTC Foundation Trustee; and Dr. Heidi Popham, president of GNTC, celebrate Key’s selection as GNTC’s first Dual Enrollment Student of the Year and recipient of a $1,000 scholarship.