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Earning his GED helps EAGLE Award delegate build a future
As a child, Markey Walker didn’t harbor much hope for his future, but after completing his GED through the Athens Technical College Adult
Education program last year, Mr. Walker exudes optimism for fulfilling his dream of becoming a dental hygienist.
Mr. Walker, who finished his GED last summer, was named Athens Technical College’s delegate for the annual Technical College System of
Georgia Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education (EAGLE) Award on November 22. He now is enrolled in his second semester at Athens
Technical College and is working on his Dental Assisting diploma. Mr. Walker recorded a video and wrote an essay that he entered for the EAGLE
Award competition, and those submissions will face regional judging January 24.
Adult Education programs around the state submit individual EAGLE delegates whose videos and essays then are judged in several different
regional contests that narrow the field down to about eight finalists. The statewide EAGLE Award winner is selected from among those finalists.
A group of judges comprising Athens Technical College faculty and staff members as well as community leaders chose Mr. Walker from among
five nominees to represent the college for the EAGLE Award. Mr. Walker’s determination to change his life by completing his GED, enabling him to
enroll in Athens Technical College to work toward a Dental Assistant diploma helped earn him the EAGLE delegate selection for the college.
“My first goal is to become a dental assistant to get the resources to provide for my family,” Mr. Walker said.
His youthful experience with corrective braces on his teeth sparked his interest in the dental field, he said.
“When I was young, I had braces, and because of them, I no longer had to hide my smile behind my hand,” he recalled. “I thought I wanted to do
that for others.”
As a teenager, though, Mr. Walker detoured from his dream of working in the dental profession.
He dropped out of high school when he was 17 and continued a downhill spiral that included bad decisions leading to a three-year stint in prison.
He has been out of jail for four and a half years now and has “totally changed” his life, he said.
Athens Technical College’s Adult Education program served as a bridge that provided Mr. Walker the opportunity to change “from a young man
in prison to a young man in college,” he explained.
“The Adult Education people who have believed in me have helped me so that I now believe in myself,” Mr. Walker said. “Getting my GED
was the second chance to get a real education.”
Mr. Walker recently told an audience of Athens Technical College faculty and staff that he now realizes whatever he puts his mind to, he can
achieve, and that he would like to set an example for young people.
“I want to encourage young people everywhere to get their lives on track, and I believe Adult Education is a pathway to accomplish that,” he
stated.
He also is looking to the future.
“I wanted to pave the way for my kids to have a future,” said Mr. Walker, who was one of six children raised by a single mother. “I didn’t have
much when I was young, but one day when I have children, I want them to succeed and see that their daddy has succeeded. I want to be an example
to them.”
The last several years, Mr. Walker has worked in a variety of jobs. He also has served in the ministry at Victory Chapel, mentored three young
members of his church, volunteered to clean up around Sanford Stadium after University of Georgia football games, pursued an interest in rap music,
and has worked with local dentist Dr. Herman Elder in the hope of finding a connection to a dental job after he completes his program.
Mr. Walker is an exemplary delegate for the EAGLE Award, said Gwenn Evans,executivedirectoroftheAthensTechnicalCollegeAdult
Educationprogram.
http://www.athenstech.edu/Spotlight.cfm?i=491
2/10/2014
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“The Adult Education program's positive and life-changing effect on our students is our primary focus of EAGLE,” Evanssaid.“I am thrilled
Markey will represent Athens Technical College after seeing his outstanding results as a student in Kimberly Wentworth's class. He already is
showing great strides in his path to college.”
Selection criteria for EAGLE nominees include student character, attitude, attendance, leadership, and community involvement and activities.
From this group, one student is selected to represent the local program at the state EAGLE Leadership Institute. Every EAGLE delegate is considered
an ambassador and spokesperson for literacy serving local communities and the state by promoting lifelong learning.
Don Nelson
706 355-5011
Athens Technical College * 800 US Hwy 29 North * Athens, Ga * 30601 * 706-355-5000 * A Unit of the Technical College System of Georgia
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As set forth in its student catalog, Athens Technical College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, political affiliation
or belief, genetic information, veteran status, or citizenship status (except in those special circumstances permitted or mandated by law). The following individuals have been designated to
coordinate the college's implementation of nondiscrimination policies: Keli Fewox, Director of Student Support, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator, Office H748, 706/355-5081, [email protected], Dr. Leslie Crickenberger, Executive Director of Human Resources, Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX Coordinator (Employees), Office J-211B,
706/355-5140, [email protected], and Andrea Daniel, Vice President of Student Affairs, Title IX Coordinator (Students), Office H-774, 706/355-5029, [email protected],
800 U.S. Highway 29 North, Athens, GA 30601.
http://www.athenstech.edu/Spotlight.cfm?i=491
2/10/2014
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