NW Georgia Pros Place at Nationals, Top 10 Finishes

Byron Campos Gomez of Calhoun, Georgia led the way for the Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) Bobcats as they found the awards stage four different times Tuesday night in Baltimore, Maryland. Gomez’ sixth-place finish at the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Competition highlighted the night for GNTC at the career expertise showcase.

Facing the best qualifiers from universities and colleges from across the country, Gomez finished sixth in the “Social Media Challenge” category. Gomez would return to the stage in the team category, “Integrated Marketing Campaign.” Gomez, along with Thomas Scott of Adairsville, Georgia and Kelly Cook of Rome, Georgia, took home an eighth-place finish.

Thirteen Georgia Northwestern Technical College Bobcats competed nationally at the Phi Beta Lambda Pro Career Competition at the organization’s National Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Maryland this week. Shown here on Awards Night Tuesday are, front row from left, are Marvin Tomas Gaspar, Byron Campos Gomez, Jesse Gonzalez, Sprite Dyer, Kimberly Glover, Kelly Cook, and Bradley Ramirez. Shown in the back row, from left, are Thomas Scott, Bryan Tapia, Alejandro Cruz, Carlos Miranda, Cynthia Kirk, and Allie Long.

Scott and Cook would each take home a top 10 national finish in two individual competitions. Cook placed ninth in the “Small Business Management Plan” category, while Scott came in 10^th in the “Entrepreneurship Concepts” category.

Bradley Ramirez of Dalton, Georgia and Carlos Miranda of Ringgold, Georgia earned a Top 15 finish in the “Human Resource Management” category. GNTC qualified 13 total students for the national competition; qualifying 30 total students over the past three years.

Bobcats who also competed in nationals this week were Alejandro Cruz-Gutierrez of Chatsworth, Georgia; Jesanyelis Gonzalez of Dalton, Georgia; Bryan Tapia of Rome, Georgia; Marvin Tomas Gaspar of Rome, Georgia;  Sprite Dyer of LaFayette, Georgia; Cynthia Kirk of Rockmart, Georgia; Allie Long of Ringgold, Georgia; and Kimberly Glover of Rocky Face, Georgia.

Advisors for the award-winning PBL squad are GNTC’s Dione Waddington, Patty Hart, and Mark Upton. PBL, along with the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), is the largest and oldest student business organization in the nation. Students will participate in more than 55 business and business-related competitive events at the NLC. This year marks the 76^th anniversary of the professional skills organizations.

The national competition takes place during PBL’s National Leadership Conference every year. For more information on Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Phi Beta Lambda program, you can call 866-983-4682. For information online, visit the college at GNTC.edu, as well as on GNTC’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, WordPress, and YouTube channels. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and an equal opportunity institute.

GNTC offers more than 200 programs online and on-campus. Campuses are located in Ringgold (Catoosa County Campus), Rome (Floyd County Campus), Calhoun (Gordon County Campus), Rockmart (Polk County Campus), Rock Spring (Walker County Campus), and Dalton (Whitfield Murray Campus).

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, 16,402 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 7,750 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 8,652 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start.  GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.

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Don Foley Assistant Director, Marketing and PR