GMC News
National Award presented to Georgia Military College Main Campus Executive Director
Georgia Military College Main Campus Executive Director Receives National Award
Georgia Military College is proud to announce that GMC Main Campus Executive Director, Colonel Nelson Kraft, has been selected by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) as a 2022 Paragon President Award winner.
This national award recognizes those who have supported student success initiatives, leading to stronger pathways to completion, transfer, and employment. They have taken an active interest in supporting high-achieving students and developing student leaders on campus. Recipients are nominated for this award by students and are only eligible to receive it once. Out of 425 college presidents, chancellors, and CEOs/Campus Directors, only 20 were selected to receive the Phi Theta Kappa Paragon President Award, including Kraft.
“GMC is a special place with the most special students,” Kraft said. “To be nominated by our students is one of the greatest honors I have ever had, and then to actually be selected as an award winner – I am beyond words. Students come to GMC to follow their dreams and based on the success of our graduates, they chose the right place. State Representatives, U.S. Attorneys, General Officers, and even professional athletes in the NFL are alumni of GMC. I spent my adult life serving our country through leading soldiers, much of that time in combat. I wasn’t sure how I could ever top my time in the military until I came to GMC. Now I serve our country leading students to success, and I’m happy to report that it feels just as good!”
Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them grow as scholars and leaders. At GMC’s Main Campus in Milledgeville, PTK is a robust organization with 80 student scholars on average.
“We are incredibly proud of Colonel Kraft for receiving this prestigious national award,” said President of Georgia Military College, Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV, USA (Ret.) “Young men and women from nearly every state attend GMC each year to compete on the national stage of athletics, earn an early commission as an officer in the U.S. Army, prepare for an appointment to a U.S. Service Academy, or to further themselves in their careers. Character and leadership development are woven into every class taught at GMC and Colonel Kraft is helping develop that within each student. We’re grateful to have Colonel Kraft on our team, helping contribute to our GMC mission of student success.”
Colonel Kraft is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He began his military career as an Infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he also commanded an Infantry Battalion from the 3rd Infantry Division. Colonel Kraft retired from the Army in 2018 as a Brigade Commander stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia.
