Students from the Georgia Perimeter College’s Newton Campus came out in force during the college-wide Celebration of Excellence ceremony April 22 to support their fellow student nominees. They weren’t disappointed.

Newton Campus students took several top academic and leadership honors at the college, including netting the University System of Georgia’s Regent’s Award and the President’s Award. The Newton Student Government Association also received the Best Club/Organization award for its activities.

The annual program highlighting student academic and leadership excellence across all campuses was held on the GPC Clarkston Campus.

Conyers student Jeremy Borger received the USG’s Regent’s Award and also was named the college’s top business student, while Sri Rajasekaran a mathematics student from Newton County, won both the President’s Award and the Alumni Association’s Emerging Leader award.

The USG Regents Award is given to a student who displays excellence in academic achievement and personal development. Business major Borger chartered the Newton Campus Alpha Beta Gamma Honor Society club, a business honors fraternity, and is also president of the GPC Newton ABLE business club. A 4.0 Honors scholar and president of the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, Borger was recently named to the Georgia’s All-Academic Team.

Borger works part-time, volunteers as a mentor and reader for first-grade children at Hightower Trail Elementary and plays hand bells in his church choir. He plans to transfer to Georgia State University to study actuarial science.

Emerging Leader and President’s Award winner Sri Rajasekaran is president of the Newton Student Government Association and was recently elected to her second term. Very active on campus, she also serves as president of multiple student organizations and helped organize the college-wide program and video, “It’s On Us,” a student-produced program against campus sexual violence.

 In January, Rajasekaran was named by President Rob Watts to serve as the student representative on the GPC/Georgia State Consolidation Implementation Committee.

Receiving co-curricular awards were Decatur students Shanteran Stinson and Keundra Coleman. Stinson won the Student Leadership Award for her work on the campus JAG clubs, while Coleman took home the Service Excellence Award for her community service. 

William Gregory Johnson, a computer science professor on Clarkston Campus, received the Advisor of the Year award for his work with the Clarkston Computer Science and Engineering Club. Johnson is part of the Clarkston Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Engineering.

Students recognized for their academic achievement in their respective disciplines were: 

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING

Emily Riley

BEHAVIORIAL STUDIES

Loam Shin  

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Hazhir Hajialilou

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Jeremy Borger

COMMUNICATIONS

 Ashleigh Harris Gates

COMPUTER SCIENCE

 Marcia Cupery

DENTAL HYGIENE

Salima Merchant

ENGINEERING

Aemah Badri

ENGLISH

Justin Beaudrot

FINE ARTS

Roman Cisneros

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Faven Worku

GLOBAL STUDIES

Jacob Gallman 

KINESIOLOGY/SPORTS MANAGEMENT

Tiffany Tinsley

MATHEMATICS

Ernest Anim

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Sheena Vasquez

U.S. STUDIES

Gloria Herlinda Villegas-Macedo  

Regents Scholars

USG overall winner, Jeremy Borger, Newton

Russell Ray, Alpharetta

Pere Ellis II, Clarkston

Olatide Michael Omojaro, Decatur

Jasmin Mossavi, Dunwoody

Seo Young “Rachel” Kim, Online