Lawrenceville Students Named to GSU's President's List

Sixteen students from Lawrenceville, Ga. received Georgia Southern's academic honor this past semester.

Georgia Southern University recently recognized 1,107 students for excellence in academics on the 2012 fall semester President's List. To be eligible, a student must have at least a 4.0 grade point average and carry a minimum of 12 hours for the semester. The following students from Lawrenceville, GA achieved this accomplishment: Patrick Bradley , majoring in Pre-Business from Lawrenceville, GA Steven Gilland , majoring in Mechanical Engineering from Lawrenceville, GA Gerrod Gracia , majoring in Pre-Nursing/Nursing from Lawrenceville, GA Branden Green , majoring in International Trade from Lawrenceville, GA Ashley Hamilton , majoring in Pre-Business from Lawrenceville, GA Shelby Hickman , majoring in Marketing from Lawrenceville, GA Kaylee…

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Lawrenceville Boys & Girls Club Members Star in Music Video

Teens help write theme song encouraging other students to go to college.

Victor Nkwocha, 17, always has new ideas and tunes spinning in his head. He's found a home at the teen center of the Lawrenceville Boys & Girls Club. You can often find him after school in the studio there working on a project. So, when he and three other LBGC members were tapped to help write a song and star in a music video, he drew from experiene. The opportunity came through a Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta program designed to help high school students prepare for college and BGCMA alumnus, Mike Twum. The College Bound program helps students, ages 14-18, through the college preparation and application process. Participants get one-on-one academic guidance. "89% of students who go through the College Bound program not only graduate …

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Parent Patch

College Freshman 101

Here are a few things you should share with your teen before they go to college this fall.

  A number of Lawrenceville teens will be their first year of college this fall. One of the many dreams that teens have is starting college and embarking upon a new chapter in their life. For most parents, this transition bring mixed emotions, but overall going away to college can be a good thing for both parties. In order to help your teen make the right decisions during their first year of college make sure you discuss the following: Academic Probation is Real: One of the many mistakes many freshmen make during that first semester of school is failing their fall semester courses. If you party too much throughout your first few months of school, you will either be placed on academic probation or be sent home. Academic probation usually …

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Seen on the Scene

GGC Class of 2012

Georgia Gwinnett College graduates received their diplomas today.

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GGC Welcomes Thousands of New Students, Adds New Faculty

3,600 new students began classes Wednesday as the college also welcomed 180 new faculty members.

Some 3,600 new students were officially welcomed to Georgia Gwinnett College Tuesday before beginning classes on Wednesday. During the annual "March Through the Arch" ceremony, GGC's student government lead the new students through the "Arch of Knowledge" on the college's campus. GGC's 2011 fall enrollment is now more than 8,400 students. The college also added 180 new full- and part-time faculty. This is up 32 percent from Fall 2010 with a total of 500 faculty members.  “With current enrollment surpassing 8,400 students, Georgia Gwinnett College finds itself in the fortunate position of creating more jobs. It is astounding when you compare our current numbers to our original 118 students and 10 charter faculty members when GGC opened its …

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Money Matters

Use Time and Consistency When Saving for Your Kids Education

Time is a great friend of investment growth, but you must invest on a regular schedule to build wealth. Consistency and time is the fuel that makes your investment grow exponentially.

Last week I wrote about the different college savings plans available to fund your kid’s education. This week I want to emphasize why it’s important to start saving early. Someone once said the only two things life gives you are opportunity and time. Time, combined with two other important elements, rate of return and consistency, is a powerful key to helping you attain the financial gains you’re seeking. Don’t Pay the High Cost of Waiting If you’re like most people, you don’t have a lot of money. That’s why time is so critical. When your kids are young, you can save small amounts towards their college fund or “kiddie” IRA and still end up with thousands of dollars. If you wait to begin saving, you must save much more. If you want to help …

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Parent Patch

Maximizing Athletic Potential

Maximize the potential of your child by getting them involved in community sports.

For many students starting college this year, it can be a financial nightmare to fit the bill. But in order to make your child competitive with other students, parents have to start early training their child to be not only a star student, but also a star athlete. Many of the sports stars of today started at a very young age. Serena Williams started playing tennis at the age of 5. Tiger Woods was introduced to golf before the age of 2 and Kobe Bryant started playing basketball at the age of 3. The overall athletic success of each player shows the importance of starting children off early in sports. Not to say there is no way for a child to succeed otherwise, but I do believe it is very important. My 3-year-old son recently started playing …

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Katha Blackwell

3:48 pm on Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Is your child involved in any community sports?   more ›

GGC Additions Help School Plan for Growth

The college recently acquired two pieces of land to help the campus expand.

Georgia Gwinnett College recently acquired two pieces of property to help the school expand and eventually accommodate more students and staff. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted to accept both properties at this month's meeting. One of the properties an old car dealership sitting opposite GGC on Highway 316. It sits on 7.7 acres and the building itself is more than 38,000 square feet. Last year, the Georgia Department of Transportation acquired the property in advance of construction of a new interchange at 316 and Collins Hill. GDOT no longer needed the land and transferred it to GGC. “GGC is very appreciative of the DOT’s consideration of the college’s need for additional property, and for the GGC Foundation’s …

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Parent Patch

No Plans After Graduation

Many high school seniors are not going to college and don't have a plan B.

This is such an exciting time of year! Not only is summer about to be in full swing, but children (young and old) are graduating from school. From elementary school to college, everyone is celebrating the completion of another milestone. High school seniors across Lawrenceville are eagerly awaiting that great day of independence.  Although many seniors have plans on attending college in the fall, there are some who have no plans at all. What does a parent do when their 18-year-old child has absolutely no plans and no job? It's obvious they won't have enough money to move out. And in this economy where will they work? It's bitter sweet to have such a grand celebration only for a sad reality to hit the next day. I don't believe any high …

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Katha Blackwell

6:11 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011

LOL! Parents have to do some reality checks to help the babies understand that play time is over. I like your idea of picking up a few applications for them. That's an eye-opening experience as well.   more ›

197 Students at Lawrenceville High Schools Named AP Scholars

More than 2,200 Gwinnett County Public School students honored overall.

Nearly 200 students at high schools throughout Lawrenceville were named AP Scholars. In all, more than 2,200 students at Gwinnett County Public Schools received the honor. According to the 2010 College Board AP Scholar report, 2,263 GCPS students earned the honor. That's up from 1,883 last year.  These students are part of the top 18 percent of 1.8 million peers who took AP exams across the globe. There are four different levels of achievement the College Board recognizes based on how well a student does on the AP Exams: National AP Scholar: A student earns an average of 4 or higher on a scale of 5 on all AP exams taken or 4 or higher on eight or more exams. State Scholar: This award is presented to one male and one female student in each …

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