An Evans resident has been named Augusta Technical College's 2008 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership winner.
The recipient, Charlene Hardy, is an occupational therapy assistant student.
"She represents, in my opinion, the newer image of technical education," said John Richardson, the Augusta Tech dean of students and GOAL coordinator. "She could have enrolled anywhere, but she chose technical education specifically."
Hardy's instructor, Cindy Loar, nominated the 1993 Lakeside High School graduate for the honor, and the Optimist Club of Augusta, which sponsors the GOAL program, selected her as the winner.
GOAL, a statewide initiative of the Technical College System of Georgia, recognizes students who exhibit academic excellence and leadership. Each of the state's 33 technical colleges and the four Board of Regents colleges with technical education divisions select a GOAL winner.
Hardy said she was drawn to technical education for many reasons.
"It was the most economical way for me to get the education I needed," she said.
The 34-year-old also said she was attracted to Augusta Tech because of its small class size and because she thought she would feel more at home there as a nontraditional student.
Hardy attended Georgia Military College after she graduated from high school. She previously worked as a flight attendant based in Washington, D.C., and she also was a dancer at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
She said she became interested in occupational therapy after her late grandfather, Anderson Morgan, suffered numerous strokes.
She said she would like to work with geriatric patients or with injured soldiers.
Hardy will represent Augusta Tech at the four-day statewide competition beginning Monday in Atlanta, where she will vie for statewide GOAL honors and a new car. The overall winner also will spend a year serving as an ambassador of technical education throughout the state.
The GOAL winners will give a three-minute speech about the benefits of technical education to a panel of judges who will narrow the field of competitors each day.
"I think of technical education as your base. It prepares you for other things that you can pursue later in life," Hardy said. "My focus is to represent not only Augusta, but the technical education system as a whole."
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