Daphne Joslyn, a Physical Therapist Assistant major at Athens Technical College, was selected to represent the college in the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership, GOAL a statewide program that recognizes academic excellence among students enrolled at the member institutions of the Technical College System of Georgia.

Ms. Joslyn states that she chose to attend Athens Technical College because of the specificity of the education.

"Technical colleges provide an opportunity for students to gain real-work experience in a specific career track," she said. "The small class size of the Physical Therapist Assistant program allows me to get one-on-one instruction and plenty of practical lab time to best learn the art of physical therapy."

Ms. Joslyn added, "Our small class size allows us to really get to know each other as students and we are a family that learns together every day. We see each other through tough exams, as well as through triumphs."

She stated that her career objective is to help people with injuries or disabilities achieve their goals of mobility and activity. Her ultimate goal is to establish a wellness and rehabilitation program for senior citizens in assisted living or skilled nursing settings that focuses on horticulture as therapy thus allowing her patients to literally play in the dirt as part of their therapy.

Ms. Joslyn earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and a master's degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia. She has worked as a pharmacy technician at CVS Pharmacy, a landscape designer at the Ginn Company, and a physics tutor at SCAD. She volunteered for Habitat for Humanity while at SCAD.

The state GOAL competition will be held in May in Atlanta. Twelve regional finalists from around the state will be interviewed by a panel of judges in order to select the 2010 state GOAL student. The state winner will receive a new car and will serve as the student ambassador for the Technical College System of Georgia.

The other GOAL finalists from Athens Technical College included Miranda Carter, Physical Therapist Assistant; Stefanie Mataski, Dental Hygiene; and Rob Van Eman, Networking Specialist.

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Rattanaporn "Koy" Lloyd, a student in the Biotechnology program at Athens Technical College, won a statewide library photo contest in the category for Best Photo of Students Reading. She submitted the photograph as part of the Georgia Library Day celebration on March 10.

Ms. Lloyd titled her picture Fun, Friends, and Forever Full of Knowledge.

"The picture shows that everyone is allowed access to the library regardless of age, race, or nationality," she said. "Students in the library can connect with friends, while making new ones. Because of the library, they are able to enjoy each other's company studying together and gaining knowledge they will retain for the rest of their lives."

Included from left to right in the picture are Athens Technical College students Koy Lloyd, Justin Fields, John Seymour, and Joseph Thomas.

New Student Orientation and Registration will be held on the Athens Campus on Friday, March 12, at the following times:

• 8 a.m. for Regular Admission students (i.e., those students who are not required to complete learning support coursework)

• 10:30 a.m. for Provisional Admission students (i.e., those students who are required to complete learning support coursework in one content area (English, reading, mathematics))

• 1:30 p.m. for Learning Support Admission students (i.e., those students who are required to complete learning support coursework in two or more content areas (English, reading, mathematics))

Students need to refer to their acceptance letter to determine the time they are to participate in New Student Orientation and Registration at the Athens Campus. Students also need to bring their acceptance letter to the orientation and registration session. All sessions will begin at the Kenneth C. Easom Building on the Athens Campus.

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Elbert County Campus

New Student Orientation and Registration will be held on the Elbert County Campus on Friday, March 12, at the following times:

• 9 a.m. for Regular Admission students

• 1:30 p.m. for Provisional Admission and Learning Support Admission students.

Students need to refer to their acceptance letter to determine the time they are to participate in New Student Orientation and Registration at the Elbert County Campus. Students also need to bring their letter to the orientation and registration sessions, which will be held in the Yeargin Academic Building on the Elbert County Campus.

Students can access orientation and registration materials by clicking on the link below.

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March 11, 2010, has been designated as Census Counts 2010 day as a way to promote the need to complete and return census questionnaires. The U.S. Census Bureau will mail census forms to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico in March 2010.

The census will include only 10 questions -- names and ages of the people in your household; how many of them live there -- the fewest since the agency started counting the population 220 years ago.

The 2010 Census will help communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year for things like hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, emergency services, bridges, tunnels, and other public works projects. Each uncounted person in a community means a loss of $1,400 in federal funding to the community.

All students, faculty, and staff of Athens Technical College are urged to complete and return their census forms this year. To encourage participation, the following activities are planned at Athens Technical College:

• Census awareness displays will be set up in the library, academic support center, and student center.
• Census awareness information will be available for distribution in all Adult Education Centers in the 10-county area served by Athens Technical College.
• Census awareness stickers will be attached to letters being sent from the college and census awareness posters will be placed throughout campus.
• Group email contact will be made to partners in economic development in order to promote census awareness.
• Faculty will incorporate, when appropriate, census awareness as a topic for discussion, assignments, or projects.

Additional information is available at the following websites:

• U.S. Census Bureau Census on Campus
• U.S. Census Bureau Multimedia Center
• Athens-Clarke County website about 50 Ways Census Data Are Used
• Asian Complete Count Committee of Georgia
• Georgia Latino Compete Count Committee

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