Around 25 students took advantage of a college success workshop organized and led by Georgia Highlands College President Don Green. The four-week workshop took place at the beginning of the semester. Dean of Natural Science and Physical Education Greg Ford and Dean of Health Sciences Michelle Boyce also worked with the students.

The pilot workshop set out with four specific goals for the students to achieve by taking part. Those goals were: define your vision, set short term and long-term goals (personal and professional), learn how to achieve those goals, and introduce effective learning skills and strategies.

President Green said learning these fundamentals early on in college can make a huge difference in a student’s life.

“When I was 17, I left high school a year early and went off to Michigan State University to start my college education,” Green said. “I left one year early because I was supposed to be gifted. What I was not gifted with was maturity, an understanding of how to study, nor a clearly defined career path.”

Green explained that college was very new to him and his attention was not on his studies the way it should have been, preferring more to play basketball than read or do his assignments. Later, he was even put on academic probation.

Green stated he immediately shifted gears and took his college work more seriously, taking more notes, reading his books, and doing more work than was assigned. On top of all that, he made regular visits to the tutorial center.

“My mistakes may seem obvious, and my solutions even more so,” he said. “But every day, we see students at GHC, like every other college, who are learning the same lessons. At GHC, we care about student success. We understand our mission of access and success. We help students take charge. And we continue to pursue new strategies to enhance that mission.”

Dean Boyce said the four weeks really made an impact on the students who participated. The group discussed ways to effectively network and how to create a strong support system.

“This was an outstanding opportunity for our students,” Boyce said. “We would love to continue this each year and get more faculty and staff involved.”

Dean Ford also did a neuroscience/brain biology presentation to demonstrate how to improve the retention of information.

“Our goal is to share our knowledge and experience to give students the tools to create an individualized learning strategy to improve success,” he said.

Director of Academic Success Jennifer Hicks, Douglasville Site Director Julia Areh, and Campus Dean Leslie Johnson were also key in organizing the workshop and look forward to expanding and getting more students involved in the future.