Hill Chosen ATEA Student Of The Year

Flat Rock, NC (2008-10-28) A student of the local technology school has been named the American Technical Education Association (ATEA) “Student of the Year.”

Tennessee Technology Center at Oneida/Huntsville’s Computer Information Technology student John Hill was recognized on October 24, 2008, in Flat Rock, North Carolina at the American Technical Education Association’s banquet as ATEA’s “Student of the Year” for Region 2. Region 2 is composed of technical schools from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

The Outstanding Technical Student Award is given to an individual who is currently a full-time student in a post-secondary technical program. The student must be very strong academically and show potential in his/her chosen technical field. The student should also have an impact on other students and the institution.

Among those attending the ATEA banquet were James King National President of ATEA and Tennessee Board of Regents Vice Chancellor for Tennessee Technology Centers; Chelle Travis Tennessee Board of Regents Assistant Vice Chancellor for Instruction; Elizabeth Check ATEA President of Region 2 & Director of TTC-McKenzie; Carol Puryear ATEA Secretary of Region 2 & Director of TTC- Murfreesboro; Dwight Murphy Director of TTC-Oneida/Huntsville; and Tim Smith Counselor at TTC-Oneida/Huntsville.

ATEA President Elizabeth Check stated, “John Hill represents the best of what we do. Technology Centers help those individuals who want to better themselves and their community.  So many returning adults don’t have the time for a four year degree but they can learn marketable skills at a Technology Center and get back into the workforce doing something they love at a wage that allows them to support themselves and their families.  John Hill has been a positive force and an inspiration on the Oneida Campus and we are extremely proud of his work.” Carol Puryear stated, “John is well deserving of this prestigious award.  He is an example of what skills, hard work, determination, and a good heart can do.  He is a student our entire ATEA region can be proud of!”

ATEA is dedicated to excellence in the quality of postsecondary technical education and recognizes outstanding performance and leadership.

John is a resident of Huntsville. He has been involved in many activities while attending Tennessee Technology Center at Oneida/Huntsville. Activities include – President of Student Government Association from 2006-2008; SkillsUSA Member 2007/2008; Participated as the President in the opening and closing ceremonies in the 2008 National SkillsUSA competition; Coordinator of family portrait fundraiser for student government; and Coordination with local businesses in the fundraising for Ollie the Otter Booster Seat program.

While enrolled at Tennessee Technology Center at Oneida/Huntsville, John has received the following certificates and honors: CompTIA’s A+ Certified Professional IT Technician, State of Tennessee Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) gold, First place in the opening and closing ceremonies in the 2008 Tennessee SkillsUSA competition, Outstanding Student of the Year for 2007 at TTCOH, one of the three finalists in the Outstanding Student of the Year for 2008 at TTCOH, and he has recently been named to the National Technical Honor Society.

In addition to John’s extracurricular activites and honors, John is on the work study program at Tennessee Technology Center at Oneida/Huntsville in which he is an assistant IT Technician for the Center. He assists the network administrator with maintaining a high standard of up time and performance. He provides leadership in the installation and configuration of a new network server and numerous lab PCs, and he has provided PC maintenance and wireless network troubleshooting as needed throughout the facility.