Nancy Renteria, a 2013 Georgia Perimeter College graduate, received the Judge Richard S. “Stan” Gault Education Scholarship through the North Georgia Community Foundation. Renteria will use the $1,000 award to offset tuition at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, where’s she’s majoring in early childhood education. Renteria attended GPC’s Alpharetta and Dunwoody campuses.

Seven Georgia Perimeter College Nursing program graduates, including two GPC nursing faculty members, have been recognized for excellence by the March of Dimes. Professor Brenda Cherry, who served as GPC’s interim nursing director for the past year, was cited for Excellence in Nursing Education at MOD’s annual awards event. Professor Jewel Adams was a finalist for Nurse of the Year. A 2009 graduate, Mylinh Yun, who works at Emory University Hospital, was named a “Rising Star” in nursing. Michelle Gray, also Emory, a 1976 grad, was recognized for excellence in nursing leadership. Recognized for excellence in clinical practice were Jimmy Robbins, who works Grady Hospital, and Debbie McNiesh, Atlanta Medical Center, both class of 2007; and Erica Shy, Grady, a 2000 graduate. GPC student

Shanice Johnson was a winner in the national Book Buyback $500 a Day Giveaway, campaign sponsored by Follett, the company that manages GPC’s bookstores. Students who returned their used textbooks to campus bookstores received cash for their books and were entered in the giveaway. Follett awarded $500 a day for a month to encourage students to sell back their books.

Former GPC student Kevin Peal was featured in The New York Times for his powerful delivery of words from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Now a speech and theatre major at Albany State University, Peal submitted a video clip to the newspaper’s “Maximum Shakespeare Hamlet Contest.” The competition asked students to submit a 15-second Instagram video delivering lines from the play. Of 500 submissions, Peal’s recording was among 20 videos highlighted on the newspaper’s theater web page. This isn’t the first time he's interpreted a Shakespearian character. While attending Georgia Perimeter, he also portrayed Othello during his Acting I course and in “As You Like It” in Acting II.

More than 2300 students earned the distinction of being named to Georgia Perimeter College’s Dean’s List for fall semester 2013. At the end of each semester, students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or better while taking at least nine semester credit hours of courses numbered 1000 or higher are placed on the Dean’s List.