The following students were initiated into The Georgia Southern University chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, a national honor society for college freshmen. To be eligible, initiates earn a minimum GPA of 3.6 while enrolled full-time:

Buford: Renesha Johnson, Alexander Oehring, Connor Kasten;
Flowery Branch: Kyle Famiano;
Gainesville: Julian Hershey, Jose Perez, Clayton Quinn;
Hoschton: Holly Hilton;
Lula: Carlyn Ivey.

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Yanet Velazquez of West Hall High School and Drake Corbin of Jackson County Comprehensive High School were selected by Jackson EMC to spend a week in Washington , D.C. this summer for the state’s annual Washington Youth Tour, an all-expense paid leadership experience sponsored by the electric membership corporations. The competition allows the cooperative to recognize emerging leaders in area high schools and further develop these qualities through the trip of a lifetime.

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Qymane Brawner of Flowery Branch and Laura Waite of Cumming competed on the Reinhardt University Students In Free Enterprise team, which was just named a Regional Champion at the SIFE USA Regional Competition in Atlanta. The event was one of 11 being held across the United States this spring. Reinhardt is now eligible to compete in the organization’s National Exposition May 22-24 in Kansas City, Mo .

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North Hall High School senior Rachel Glazer was awarded first place in the Optimist International Oratorical Competition’s regional division held in Cumming.

This is the third tier of the annual speech scholarship contest. Each year almost 5,000 Georgia middle and high school students write and deliver a four- to five-minute speech on a designated topic. This year the topic was, “How my optimism helps me overcome obstacles.”

Glazer will compete against four other students May 6 in Macon for the state title and a $2,500 scholarship.

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The Georgia Institute of Technology has named Charlie Bryant of Gainesville one of 75 President’s Scholars and one of 10 Stamps Leadership Scholarship recipients. The President’s Scholarship emphasizes leadership, progress and service. Recipients are selected by a committee of Georgia Tech admissions professionals, scholarship administrators, faculty and President’s Scholar alumni. More than 530 semifinalists were evaluated.

The Stamps Leadership Scholars Program, which resides within the President’s Scholarship Program, provides full-ride awards and special enrichment opportunities for the extremely gifted recipients who are generally among the top 10 to 15 Tech freshmen every year.