LOCAL

Cheers for Sept. 15

Dylan Akin

Area students

honored at UA

Three Northeast Alabama students made the President’s and Dean’s Lists during the summer term at the University of Alabama.

Kierra Irby of Gadsden made the President’s List (4.0 GPA) and Patrick Howard of Albertville and Mary Keck of Hokes Bluff made the Dean’s List (3.5 to 3.99 GPA).

Local students

earn 4-H roles

Dustin Barrs and Cami Cleveland of Etowah County will serve as 2019-20 State Ambassadors for Alabama 4-H.

There are 25 ambassadors who will represent the organization statewide while collaborating with Alabama Cooperative Extension System faculty to plan and facilitate 4-H events throughout the club year.

Serving as an ambassador provides additional skills development in leadership, public presentation, citizenship, community service, public relations and team building.

GSCC student

receives scholarship

A Gadsden State Community College student is one of two in the state to receive a Go Build Alabama Career Kickstart Scholarship.

Reed Holbrooks, 18, of Glencoe, will receive up to $10,000 in first-year tuition to an Alabama Community College to further his education in a skilled trade, according to a press release from Go Build. He is studying heating, refrigeration and electrical at GSCC.

Go Build Alabama also awards a Student of the Month scholarship to high school juniors or seniors who plan to pursue careers in the construction industry. Upon graduation, recipients will each receive a $1,000 scholarship to continue their training at an Alabama institution of higher education.

For more information on Go Build Alabama or how to apply for Go Build’s Student of the Month award, visit GoBuildAlabama.com.

U.N. ambassador

has Etowah ties

The United States’ new ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, has family ties to Etowah County.

She is the granddaughter of the late William “Bill” Little and Hazel Little of Hokes Bluff. She is the daughter of the late Dale Little Guilfoil and the niece of Pat Little Medlin & Gail Little McConnell, all of whom graduated from Hokes Bluff High School.

Croft graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1984.

She recently served as U.S. ambassador to Canada and played a role in facilitating the new US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which reworked the North American Free Trade Agreement.

She was nominated by President Donald Trump in February to succeed Nikki Haley as U.N. ambassador, and was confirmed to that post in July by a 56-34 vote in the U.S. Senate.

Garcia tapped

for Phi Kappa Phi

Kathryn Garcia of Attalla was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, at the University of West Alabama.

Garcia is among about 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10% of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Garmon, Akin

earn pilot's wings

Two Northeast Alabama graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy recently graduated from pilot training.

Second Lt. Alyssa Garmon is the daughter of Jeff and Stacey Garmon, Glencoe, and is a 2014 graduate of Southside High School. She graduated from the Air Force Academy in May 2018 with a B.S. in Foreign Area Studies and a minor in Arabic.

Garmon attended the Pilot Training Next Program in Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and received her wings as an Air Force pilot on August 29. She will attend follow-on training at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base to fly the F15E Strike Eagle.

PTN is an experimental program under the “Learning Next” umbrella with a focus on understanding how airmen learn, as well as exploring and potentially prototyping a flying training environment that integrates various technologies to produce pilots in an accelerated and learning-focused manner.

Second Lt. Dylan Akin is the son of Doug and Amy Scott and Matthew and Sandra Akin, and graduated from Piedmont High School in 2014.

He graduated from the Air Force Academy in May 2018 with a B.S. in Business Management. He attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin Air Force Base and received his wings as an Air Force pilot on Aug. 16. He will attend follow-on training at Duke Field to fly the C-146A Wolfhound.

Luu honored

at South Alabama

Kathy Luu of Attalla was recognized on the President’s Scholars List for the summer semester at the University of South Alabama.

The list recognizes all full-time students earning a grade-point average of 4.0 for the semester.