Fast Facts
Alumni Success
Greg Flanders
Greg Flanders is employed by Flowers Foods, Inc. as a Help Desk Technical Support Analyst II. He earned his first degree from Southwest Georgia Technical College in 1999. “I received my Associates of Applied Technology Degree, and then I re-enrolled and earned a Microcomputer Specialist Diploma and also CISCO Certificate,” Flanders said. He just completed the Computer information Systems program and has graduated with an associate’s degree as a network specialist.
“I love computers and find them fascinating, so I knew that is the career path I needed to take. I chose Southwest Georgia Technical College because a friend recommended it and my mother had gone to school here. It was a great experience, the faculty and staff here are excellent and always very helpful. They really care about you and your success and I recommend technical education 100% to anyone who wants to get the training and hands on experience they need to hit the ground running in the career of their choice. I know it worked great for me!”
Flanders graduated from Thomasville High School in 1997 and immediately enrolled at Southwest Georgia Technical College. “I had taken basic keyboarding concepts in the 11th and 12th grades and was so excited to use a computer for the first time.”
An enthusiastic student, Flanders no sooner completed one program than he had enrolled in another. “I love learning more and more about computers. I have enrolled at Valdosta State University and am finishing up my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems there.”
“I was very nervous and afraid when I first enrolled at Southwest Georgia Technical College,” he said. “I knew it was going to be more difficult than high school and that I would soon be facing the real world. At the same time I was very excited to learn more about computers and all the technical components of the IT industry. I soon became very confident and determined that I was going to make a career out of IT and make myself as marketable and knowledgeable as possible. SWGTC prepared me to be a great employee.”
Flanders now has a very successful career in the IT field and credits SWGTC with giving him the tools he needed to offer his employer the expertise and skills they demanded. “The instructors at SWGTC provided me with lots of individual attention and helped me master the skills necessary to be competitive in today’s job market. SWGTC is the reason I am where I am today. It is a phenomenal place to gain the experience and skills that you can apply in your career the day you graduate.”
“I am employed by a Fortune 100 company and look forward to going to work every day. What more can you ask for? SWGTC helped me get where I am today and I am better of as a person because I enrolled there.”
Debbie Griffiths
Debbie Griffiths, who graduated from SWGTC in 1975 from the Practical Nursing program, has published her autobiography. Titled, Little Lady, BIG DREAM, the book is meant to serve as inspiration to others and to encourage them to follow their own dreams.
A licensed practical nurse by the time she was 18, Griffiths was also the youngest GOAL (Georgia Occupational Leadership Award) winner in SWGTC history. “I graduated from the College when it was Thomas Area Vocational School and had attended classes there while I was still enrolled at Thomasville High School,” Griffiths explains.
Griffiths knew at a very young age that she wanted to become a nurse. “I just always knew that being a nurse is what I wanted to do, and I worked very hard to achieve that goal. I later graduated from Georgia Southwestern State College in 1979 as a Registered Nurse.”
Little Lady, BIG DREAM is the story of how Griffiths overcame obstacles in her life to achieve great success as a nurse and as the founder of Southern Pines Retirement Inn, one of the premier senior living facilities in the state of Georgia. She has since sold Southern Pines and retired at the young age of 48.
“I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks,” she says. “I was shy and quiet and had parents who drank. I had a lot to overcome and I talk about all of that in the book. I sincerely hope that it will inspire others to pick themselves up and not let life get them down.”
Griffiths credits her education from SWGTC with much of her success. “I got off to a great start in my career as a nurse as a result of my experience with technical education. I consider myself lucky, too, that I had the opportunity to earn my practical nursing degree while still in high school. It gave me a solid foundation for continuing my education in nursing.”
Little Lady, BIG DREAM is available at local bookstores and will soon be available in paperback and on tape as well. “I am very excited about all of this,” Griffiths says. “Writing the book was very cathartic for me and joyful at the same time. We all have wounds; we all hate to admit it and denial runs bone deep. So often we put on the armor and trudge the battlefield of life looking strong, not daring to show weaknesses.”
“My book proves that we all have trials and tribulations. It is how you meet those challenges that matters and I want others to see that you can overcome anything in your life, fulfill your dreams, and be successful.”