News Archive

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) was home to just 118 students when it opened its doors in 2006. At the time, it was the first four-year public college created in the U.S. in the 21st century. Today, GGC is a vital part of the Gwinnett County region, with more than 11,600 students studying everything from cinema and media arts to biology and business.

In its 17-year existence, thousands of GGC alumni have gone on to successful careers in their chosen fields. Following are just a few of their stories.

Amelia Porter Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 2017. Today, she lives in

More than 560 Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) students – each with their own unique story – turned the tassel on their graduation caps today during the college’s fall commencement.

“I think we can all agree today is an important academic accomplishment that is enriched by the stories, struggles and triumphs of our graduates,” said GGC President Jann L. Joseph.

Nick Masino understands how to turn struggle into opportunity. Masino, who is president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett is the son of an immigrant and overcame obstacles to become the first in his family to

A Gwinnett County trailblazer along with a formerly homeless student who will graduate with honors will be the featured speakers at Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) fall commencement taking place at 10 a.m. Dec. 14 at Gas South in Duluth.  
 
Commencement keynote speaker Nick Masino is the first GenX president and CEO of Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett. Masino installed the Chamber’s most diverse board of directors, implemented the organization’s strategic plan and earned its first-ever, five-star accreditation rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2022 and its first-ever

If Tricia Nicole Burgess taught her son Harrison Clark one thing, it’s resiliency. Burgess’s work as a contract manager kept them moving around a lot: from Georgia to Ohio to Pennsylvania and back to Georgia. They never settled for long in one place until they landed in Dekalb County, Georgia, in 2011, where Clark and his younger brother Haiden finished out their young adult years.

Once settled in Georgia, Burgess began attending college to earn a bachelor’s degree and ensure a more secure future for her two boys but passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve, 2012, when Clark was 13.

“She

When she was young, Chizoba Okeke dreamed of working for the FBI.

“I wanted to work in law enforcement and stop the bad guys,” she said. “While my path has changed, the dream is the same.”

Okeke didn’t have to look further than inside her home to see that anyone could succeed in the U.S. with discipline and determination. She grew up in Columbia, Maryland, the daughter of two Nigerian nationals who immigrated to the U.S. as adults. Her mother, Amuche, earned a degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and worked for a credit union for 16 years. Her father, Igwebuike

It’s a long way from the coastal savannahs and tropical rainforests of West Africa to the manicured lawns of the Georgia Gwinnett College campus. Still, it’s a journey that Diana Bamfo was determined to take. Bamfo’s family immigrated from Ghana to the U.S. when she was 12. Her father, Evans Kwakye, a truck driver, and her adopted mother, Lulu Pearl, a nurse, taught her to be self-sufficient and resilient.

After graduating from Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2015, Bamfo worked as a grocery store cashier for a year to save enough money to put herself through college

To hear Said Pasoon describe it, where he grew up was like paradise.

“Nangarhar is one of the greenest provinces in Afghanistan,” he said. “It has four seasons, tall mountains, freshwater rivers and is popular for its olive and sweet orange produce.”

His father, Said Ghafoorullah Pasoon, worked as a construction manager for a canal system that fed orange and olive farms, and his mother, Shamsi, was a teacher and later director of Farm Hada High School. When the Taliban took over the country in 1996, both were fired from their jobs.

Threats to their security, coupled with the lack of

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) has been re-accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), http://www.ccneaccreditation.org.

GGC's program was considered by the CCNE Board of Commissioners using CCNE's 2018 Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs. The accreditation period will last 10 years.

"We are so very proud to have achieved reaccreditation by the CCNE," said Dr. Diane White, dean of GGC's School of Health Sciences. "This is a testament to the consistent, high quality of our

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), an international service organization, has established a chapter at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC). Founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1908, AKA is the first intercollegiate, historically African American sorority.

GGC’s chapter, Upsilon Xi, recently inducted 14 charter members from a variety of degree programs across the college.

"Joining Alpha Kappa Alpha gives me an opportunity to enrich myself through an empowering sisterhood committed to academic excellence, service and community," said inductee Ona Garrett, '24, business

Thanksgiving came early for students, faculty and staff at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) as the school kicked off International Education Week with its annual International Thanksgiving celebration. 

There was something for everyone at the event, with more than 20 varieties of foods from various countries that were sure to tempt everyone’s palate.

As participants feasted on culinary delights like Pakistani Samosas, Indian Panipuri, Costa Rican Gallo Pinter, South Korean Tteokbokki and Nigerian Jollof rice, along with the traditional American turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, they