GNTC student receives associate degree before high school diploma
Miette Craig of Rossville had to leave classes at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) early on Thursday in order to go to Rome and make it to Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) 2017 Spring Commencement Ceremony at 7 p.m. to receive her associate degree in Business Management.
In a little over a week she will attend another graduation ceremony to receive her high school diploma.
“It just feels so good to get that much of a head start and save so much time,” said Craig.
Through the Move On When Ready program at GNTC, Craig was able to complete her associate degree while still in high school and begin attending classes at a four year college at the age of 17.
“I am going to be the youngest person at UTC this semester, which is awesome, and I will have my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration when I am 20,” said Craig. “After that I am going straight for my MBA.”
According to Craig, completing her associate degree while in high school meant a lot of hard work, staying focused, and planning ahead.
“At first I didn’t think I would have time to complete my associate degree,” said Craig. “Then when we planned out the schedule and realized that I could complete my degree if I went to school during the summer and I was like ‘I’m going to go for it.’”
Craig’s mother, Bre LaMountain, said she knew that Craig would make it once she set her mind to it.
“Miette took 15 credit hours per semester, sometimes every summer, and she went constantly and did it on her own,” said LaMountain. “She took no breaks and she just plugged away.”
Georgia’s Move On When Ready (MOWR) Dual Enrollment Program allows qualified high school students to maximize their education and career training by taking courses that earn college and high school credit at the same time.
For three consecutive years, GNTC has had the largest number of MOWR students out of all of the technical colleges in the state of Georgia according to the “High School Collaborative Enrollment: Academic Year 2016” report issued by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG).
Craig attended classes at GNTC’s Walker County Campus, Catoosa County Campus, and online.
“I love the new Catoosa Campus, it is so beautiful, and it is much closer to me and it made everything easier,” said Craig.
In addition to her associate degree in Business Management, Craig also earned a Human Resource Management Specialist Certificate, Supervisor/Management Specialist Certificate, and Technical Management Specialist Certificate through the Move On When Ready program at GNTC.
“Miette is one of those driven students that has personal goals and doesn’t like wasting time getting there,” said Gerald McFry, director of the Business Management program at GNTC.
Craig’s interest in business and entrepreneurship stems from the fact that since she was 15, she has owned her own small business of hand-made jewelry that she creates.Craig says that she ships to 25 different countries.
“I make jewelry, and I am an artist, but I really like the business side of it,” said Craig. “I work for myself, which is really nice because it allows me to focus more on school.”
Georgia Northwestern Technical College provides quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma, or a certificate in business, health, industrial, or public service career paths. This past year, 14,151 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 7,956 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 6,195 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start. For more information about GNTC, visit us at GNTC.edu or contact a Student Help Center on any one of our six campus locations at 866-983-4682. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.
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