THOMASVILLE — Seven clinical laboratory technology students at Southwest Georgia Technical College were honored recently at a pinning ceremony held on campus. Dr. Jeff Byrd and Cindy Parrish, administrator of lab services at Archbold Memorial Hospital, were guest speakers for the event, which included a reception for family and friends of the students. Refreshments were provided by the junior CLT class.

Honored at the ceremony were Josephine Delaney of Bainbridge, Sharilyn Delille of Tifton, Chrisdeanna Mitchell of Thomasville, Kelly Robertson of Whigham, K. Brooke Searcy of Coolidge, Roxanne Salter of Moultrie and Zahra Tasavori of Tallahassee.

Tasavori received special recognition for winning the Ambassador Award for the CLT program. This award was presented to Tasavori by CLT Clinical Coordinator Suzanne Schmidt and is given to the student who best exemplifies the qualities of being a good representative of the CLT program and the college. This award was voted on by the students in the CLT program.

“Because the CLT Ambassador Award is an award voted on entirely by peers, it is a highly cherished by the recipient,” Miller said. “Zahra has gained the respect of her fellow students, as well as the faculty and staff whom she trained under, by displaying her willingness to always be cooperative and helpful when serving others. She does what is required of her and always with a positive attitude and she is a true ambassador of the profession, the program, and the college.”

Tasavori was also the recipient of the Highest Ranking Senior Award, which was presented to her by CLT Program Director Dr. Richard Miller, who said, “This is the first time in the 12 years I have been with in this program that we have had the same person win both the Ambassador Award and our Highest Ranking Senior Award. Zahra is just an outstanding student and maintained the highest academic average in this class throughout the program.”

This CLT graduating class was unique in that three of its members held baccalaureate degrees in three different fields prior to enrolling in the CLT program at SWGTC.

“These students, Tasavori, Sharilyn DeLille, and Josephine Delaney hold bachelor of science degrees in microbiology, psychology, and industrial engineering respectively,” said Miller. “These students needed to return to school to achieve technical skill and clinical experience, which upon graduation from SWGTC will allow them to jump-start their chosen careers and open doors to excellent future employment opportunities. All of these graduates are now gainfully employed, giving our program a 100 percent job placement rate.”

More information on clinical laboratory technology and other programs at SWGTC may be obtained by calling (229) 225-4096 or by logging onto www.southwestgatech.com. Fall quarter begins Oct. 2.