Joshua Gazaway graduated Aug. 6 from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Degree - Cooperative Plan. Gazaway is the son of Nick and Libby Gazaway and is from South Hall. He was a 2005 graduate of Johnson High School.
Lakeview Academy student Thomas King has been named a Commended Student in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to this scholastically talented senior.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2011 competition by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Lakeview Freshman Dustin Snyder took the title of No. 1 Freshman Runner in Hall County for Cross Country Teams at the Runners Fit Mountain Invitational in Unicoi.
The following area students were recently inducted into the Mercer University chapter of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, a first-year student honor society:
Brooke Schermerhorn of Murrayville. Schermerhorn is a student in the University's School of Engineering.
Brittany Chandler of Jefferson. Chandler is a student in the University's College of Liberal Arts.
Carrie Lawson of Gainesville. Lawson is a student in the University's College of Liberal Arts.
Mary Parker of Flowery Branch. Parker is a student in the University's College of Liberal Arts.
Daniel Kinnaird of Buford. Kinnaird is a student in the University's Stetson School of Business and Economics.
Ethan Trice of Bogart. Trice is a student in the University's College of Liberal Arts.
Phi Eta Sigma invites students of good character who have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.5 during one of the first two semesters of their first year to join the organization. Inductees receive a pin in the shape of a key with the letters Phi, Eta and Sigma to represent the motto "Lovers of Wisdom." The Mercer University chapter was established as the 32nd chapter of the organization in 1932.
More than 800 VMI cadets and 300 cadets from other schools, military college faculty and staff, and business and nonprofit leaders attended the inaugural leadership conference, "Answering the Nation's Call for Leaders of Character," at VMI's Center for Leadership and Ethics in Lexington, Va., Oct. 4-6. Among them was Cadet Michael Andrews of Riverside Military Academy. In addition to Andrews, Riverside Military Academy was represented by Capt. Micah Garrison and cadets Turner Dowling, Blake Engel, Eric Gfesser, Jonathan South, Wells Stecker and Max Weiner.
The event brought together representatives of academia, the military, the business world and the political realm to seek solutions and address elements vital to developing ethical leadership.
Keynote speakers included retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, former director of the Office of National Drug Policy, who spoke on leadership development, and retired Navy Capt. Dick Couch, a former SEAL and author who offered advice to those who will soon commission on how to lead.