GMC News

High School Principals and Counselors sign in as they arrive to the MOWR Summit.

After hosting a successful Move On When Ready (MOWR) Summit last year, Georgia Military College (GMC) has decided to make this an annual event. GMC held their 2nd annual MOWR Summit on June 14-15 at their Milledgeville campus. The purpose of the MOWR Summit is to gather high school principals and counselors from schools across the state to educate them about the MOWR program that GMC provides to high school students who want to take college courses. Jody Yearwood, who organized the event, says the great feedback from last year’s summit prompted them to make this an annual event.

“What we want to do is make it an annual event to where the school’s partners and our future partners can come together and just talk about the past year, learn from one another’s experiences, and share ideas about how to move forward,” said Jody Yearwood, GMC’s Vice President of Information Technology & Online Campus.

Educators attended several breakout sessions to educate them on the structure and execution of GMC’s MOWR program.

75 educators attended a series of six breakout sessions to help educate them on the structure and execution of GMC’s MOWR program. Jessica Van Beers, a school counselor at Union County High School in Blairsville, Georgia, praises the MOWR program and her school’s partnership with GMC. “The program is very good,” said Jessica Van Beers. “Everybody has had a good experience with it.” A representative from Union County High School attended the summit last year and decided to return this year as they are looking to learn ways to improve through the MOWR program.

However, most of the representatives that arrived early to the summit were new and wanted to learn more about the MOWR program, such as Dr. Rick Tatum, a graduation coach at Lee Arrendale Women’s Correctional Facility. By attending the summit, Dr. Tatum hopes to have the MOWR program implemented at the women’s correctional facility by September.

“It is just a logical step for our students who are in a correctional facility, after they get their diploma, to go ahead and have some college credit because it will encourage them to move on and help them in their future endeavors,” said Dr. Rick Tatum.

Below are the award recipients from this year’s MOWR Summit reception:

(Jody Yearwood, Mahi Patel, and Caroline McDade)

Student of the Year-Mahi Patel

The student of the year award is an honor for a student who strives for academic excellence, and continuously displays the traits that GMC holds dear…Character above all! Mahi Patel is a rising 10th grader from John Hancock Academy. She strives for excellence while maintaining a high level of academic rigor in all of her endeavors at GMC. She began her career at GMC by taking 3 college classes at once, while in the 9th grade and has not only maintained that level of rigor throughout the year, but also a 4.0 GPA. She is an exceptional student and approaches all of her classes with careful thought and consideration, and shows the upmost respect for her peers, professors and staff in all of her interactions. She stands out in her demeanor and eagerness to learn. This student will be attending Westfield High School next year, and will remain with Georgia Military College Online for MOWR.

(Rock Springs Christian Academy Counselor Wanda Lee; Jody Yearwood, and Rock Springs Christian Academy Headmaster Darrell Jeffcoat)

Partner School of the Year- Rock Springs Christian Academy 

Our Partner School of the Year Award is presented to the school that exemplifies a model partnership. This award goes to a school that consistently meets deadlines, promotes GMC to its students, schedules testing dates and orientations to ensure students are prepared for success with Georgia Military College, and works hard with GMC staff to advise and register students. Their team has used GMC as a tool to meet the needs of their students and provided them with another fantastic opportunity at their school. These traits combined have ensured that their team is an extension of ours, available to their students on a daily basis. We are pleased with this school’s performance and excited to begin another year with them on our team.

(Jody Yearwood, Social Circle High School Principal Carrie Booher, and Jeffery Wells, GMC’s Academic Dean of the Online Campus)

Rookie Partner of the Year- Social Circle High School

Our Rookie Partner of the Year is presented to the school that has successfully maneuvered their first year with Georgia Military College with ease. As all of you know, learning the admissions procedures for a new school is no easy feat and this group has successfully done so and become one of our largest partnerships. This award goes to one of our first time partners for this academic year, who appreciate the value of our MOWR program at Georgia Military College and have rooted a successful program at their school. This team is always available to us, and has promoted GMC to its students at the High School level with enthusiasm. They ensure families are aware of the great opportunities GMC offers through their school.

(Jody Yearwood, Jasper County High School Counselor Amy Cox, and Brooke Bruton, GMC’s Assistant Dean for the Online Campus)

Counselors of the Year-Jasper County High School (Amy Cox and Jessica Sanders)

The Counselor of the Year Award goes to counselors at one of our partner schools who have gone above and beyond for their students. Their extreme organization has been an asset to GMC, their schools and their students. They know all of their students on a personal level and take strong consideration of each student when they work with GMC while advising a student. Their professional demeanor and strong work ethic ensures each student they send to us are set up for successful learning experience. They are involved in all aspects of being a partner school with Georgia Military College and utilize all resources provided to the student’s advantage.