Georgia Perimeter College Newsroom

GPC Decatur students and faculty were honored for their efforts to beautify the county during the DeKalb Clean and Beautiful award ceremony Nov. 20. From left are GPC students Shaquille Smith and Kayla Sims, GPC faculty member Scott Mitchell, and LeKeisha Jackson, Decatur Student Life programs coordinator. (special photo)

Decatur students receive DeKalb Clean and Beautiful awards

Georgia Perimeter Decatur students cleaned debris from nearby Doolittle Creek, and ran sustainability workshops for the Decatur Campus. They weeded and planted vegetables in the Decatur Community Garden,  picked up trash from local roads and set up recycling bins around the area.

Their efforts in DeKalb County did not go unnoticed. On Friday, Nov. 20, DeKalb Clean and Beautiful awarded the GPC Decatur students the organization's Beautification Group of the Year Award. In addition, students from the Decatur Jaguar Activity Group were honored with the Keep DeKalb Beautiful Environmental Stewardship award. The awards recognized their "continued service and environmental stewardship" for the county. The students received their awards during the DeKalb Clean and Beautiful Volunteer Appreciation dinner held at the DeKalb County sanitation administration offices.

The Decatur Campus Earth Week 2015 and other beautification activities was a collaboration between the Decatur Jaguar Activity Group, the Office of Student Life, Homecoming King & Queen, the Earth Club and the Decatur Garden Club. 

Receiving the award were Shaquille Smith, GPC garden work study student and member of the Decatur Campus Earth Club; Kayla Sims, J.A.G. Service chair and president of the Earth Club; Dr. Scott Mitchell, GPC English professor, LeKeisha Jackson, Decatur Student Life programs coordinator and J.A.G. advisor;  and Jada Brown, current J.A.G. Service chair.