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THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 10. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5B
Awards • Groups • Weddings • Birthdays • Anniversaries • Students • Reunions
The Progress
welcomes
submissions
for this page at
articles@pickens
proqressonline
.com
Jordan named to
President's List at
Georgia State
Fall President's
List at Georgia
Southern
Local students start college at 14
TandemEDU alliance to open in Jasper this fall
Caroline Jordan of
Jasper was named to the Fall
2021 President's List at Geor
gia State University.
To be eligible for the Pres
ident's List, degree-seeking
students must have earned a
GPA of at least 4.0 for a min
imum of nine semester hours
of academic credit taken at
Georgia State during the fall
or spring term with no in-
completes for the semester.
Eligible students must have a
minimum GPA of 2.0 for all
classes taken at Georgia
State.
Saxena named to
President's List at
Miami
Indi Saxena was named
to the Miami University fall
2021-22 President's list.
Miami University stu
dents who are ranked in the
top three percent of under
graduate students within each
division for the fall semester
2021-22 have been named to
the President's list recogniz
ing academic excellence.
Saxena, from Jasper, is
earning a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Botany.
Fall 2021 Dean's
List at Georgia
State
To be eligible for the
Dean's List, degree-seeking
students must have earned a
GPA of at least 3.5 for a min
imum of nine semester hours
of academic credit taken at
Georgia State during the fall
or spring term with no in-
completes for the semester.
Eligible students must have a
minimum GPA of 2.0 for all
classes taken at Georgia
State.
Jasper
Presley Barnett
Liam Gardo
Shaeleigh Henrey
Kelsi Jones
Talking Rock
Alyssa Couture
Ball Ground
Renee Solange Abouem
Ty Hunter
Mathew Rehklau
Narcotics Anon
Narcotics Anonymous
meetings are held on Mon
days, Tuesdays and Fridays
at 8 p.m. at Jasper United
Methodist Church, 85
Church St., Jasper
Attention Seniors
Come join other senior
citizens to play the card game
Pinochle at the Pickens Sen
ior Center open each week
day from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Georgia Southern Univer
sity recently recognized ap
proximately 2,200 students
for excellence in academics
on the Fall 2021 President's
List. To be eligible for the
President's List, a student
must have at least a 4.0 grade
point average and carry a
minimum of 12 hours for the
semester.
Jasper
Abigail Gerrard
Talking Rock
Hannah Hardison
Ball Ground
Jalen Austin
Emma Parker
Dylan Styers
Allison Toussaint
Fall Dean's List at
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern Univer
sity recently recognized ap
proximately 3,420 students
for excellence in academics
on the Fall 2021 Dean's List.
To be eligible for the Dean's
List, a student must have at
least a 3.5 grade point aver
age and carry a minimum of
12 hours for the semester.
Jasper
Caitlyn Shoffer
Ball Ground
Taylor Bowman
Ashtyn Gideon
James Kruger
Hannah Pohlman
John Wood
Families Anon
Families Anonymous
meets on Wednesdays at 11
a.m. at King of Kings
Lutheran Church, 45 Ap
palachian Circle, Talking
Rock, 30175 (one mile north
of the Jasper Walmart off
515). Families Anonymous is
a nonprofessional, nonprofit
support group for family
and/or friends of those with
drug, alcohol, or related be
havioral problems. Contact
Mary at mkc@etcmail.com
706-276-1850.
Jasper Lions Club
The Jasper Lions Club
meets on the 2nd and 4th
Thursdays of each month at 7
p.m. in Walker Hall at the
First Baptist Church of
Jasper. Call 706.253.LION
(5466) or email us at geor-
gialions@mac.com
TOPS
TOPS (Take Off Pounds
Sensibly) meets every Mon
day night at 5 p.m, Cool
Springs Baptist Church, 4671
Hwy 53E, Tate. Call 706-
897-2376.
Daddy/Daughter Valentine Date Night
Friday, February 11,2022
Time: 6:00 ‘till 9:00 p.m.
Place: Jerusalem Community Center
westjey Hunt
RSVP ASAP to Rebecca at 404-405-5968
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Forty high school stu
dents, many only 14 or 15
years old, have just com
pleted their second college
course. These students are
part of TandemEDU, a
statewide high school pro
gram that allows teens to
begin college courses early.
Students in the TandemEDU
program attend class one day
a week and can graduate four
years later with a high school
diploma and a college Asso
ciate of Arts degree.
“Our students take an av
erage of 2-3 courses per quar
ter then at the end of four
years graduate with 27 high
school credits and 60 college
credits,” said program
founder Christine Torre. In
creating TandemEDU, Torre
was seeking a place for home
school students to come to
gether to complete high
school and college classes.
“Public and private high
school students often have
access to college courses on
their campus through dual
enrollment; home school stu
dents did not have this option
until we created
TandemEDU.”
Students as young as 14
begin foundational high
school classes before launch
ing into their first college
class. Up to 30 college cred
its are paid for under the
Georgia Dual Enrollment
Program which covers the tu
ition, books, and fees for high
school students who dual en
roll in high school and col
lege at the same time. Col
lege classes can satisfy both
the high school graduation
requirements and the Associ
ate of Arts degree require
ments. “Graduating with the
dual degrees can save stu
dents tens of thousands of
dollars in college expenses,”
said Torre.
Home school mom,
Janelle Childree, decided to
start a TandemEDU alliance
in Jasper this fall,
“TandemEDU is an excep
tional program that my son is
graduating from this year. I
want to bring it to Jasper for
the benefit of my daughter
and other homeschoolers
here in Pickens County.” At
tending classes one day a
week allows students to con
nect with peers while meet
ing with high school teachers
and college course facilita
tors. Leah Wilson, a junior in
high school also pursuing her
college Associate of Arts de
gree, acknowledges the role
her teachers and facilitators
have played in her high GPA,
“All of the teachers are very
responsive and want all the
students to succeed. The fa
cilitators are very beneficial
and truly help you under
stand the college class you
are taking.”
Although the program is
rigorous, founder Christine
Torre, acknowledges that av
erage students have done
very well. “Most of our stu
dents are average students
who are motivated by future
goals and peer interaction.
You can see their motivation
in the fact that these students
have averaged above 90% in
their first two college
classes.” Fellowship with
other teens is credited as one
reason for student success.
TandemEDU Junior, Emory
Williams, agrees,
“TandemEDU is the best
high school program I could
have hoped for. I love seeing
my teachers and classmates
every week, and I have
learned so much from every
class I have taken.
TandemEDU has been such a
wonderful choice for me, and
I do not regret it.”
Since 2016 TandemEDU
has partnered with Toccoa
Falls College (TFC) to pro
vide college classes for high
school students. The teens
are receiving high praise
from Toccoa, “It is no coinci
dence that these students are
consistently successful on the
college level as TandemEDU
relevantly prepares its stu
dents for college courses,”
said Andrew Thorne, Direc
tor of Distance Education at
TFC. “TandemEDU students
achieve a college GPA higher
than that of the average dual-
enrolled student.”
The program has gradu
ated more than 30 students
since 2020. According to
Torre, 97% of seniors are
Georgia HOPE scholars.
Torre noted that TandemEDU
graduates have been accepted
at colleges in Georgia and na
tionwide, “Our alumni are
continuing their education at
the University of Georgia,
Georgia Tech, Georgia State,
and Kennesaw State Univer
sity, in addition to many
other state and regional insti
tutions.” Torre credits the
small class sizes, dedicated
teachers, and motivated stu
dents for the program’s suc
cess.
With four locations in
metro Atlanta (Acworth, Cal
houn, Cumming, and Rut
ledge) TandemEDU plans to
launch in Jasper in the fall.
After highly recommending
the program, Laura Penn,
mother of two TandemEDU
students shared,
“TandemEDU has given my
kids a great education while
letting me still enjoy the
beauty of homeschooling.
Their one day a week in class
gives them fun with other
students and academic in
struction from qualified
teachers. Tandem has lifted
the worry of teaching High
school classes off me and
given us all more confidence
and time to enjoy family
life.”
For more information on
the TandemEDU dual degree
program, visit
www.tandemedu.org, email
info@tandemedu.org or call
770-888-1717 to sign up for
a spring open house event.
Jasper Scouts achieve Eagle Rank
Submitted by
Kris Jennings
Leader of Troop 836 Jasper
Jayden Driskill, Kaden
Chastain, and Rory Jennings
achieved the rank of Eagle
Scout on January 13. The
boys are members of Scout
Troop 836, chartered to the
Jasper United Methodist
Church.
Eagle Scout is Scouting’s
highest rank. To earn this, a
Scout must earn at least 21
merit badges and demon
strate leadership and commu
nity service by organizing
and carrying out an Eagle
Service Project. Jayden,
Kaden, and Rory have earned
62, 37, and 45 merit badges
respectively.
Rory is the son of Peter
and Kris Jennings, for his
service project Rory built and
repaired raised dog beds for a
local animal rescue, Be Paws
We Care. Rory is also a black
belt in Taekwondo, and is an
active member of the Jasper
United Methodist Church
youth group. He is home
schooled.
Jayden, the son of Tony &
Sherry Driskill, updated the
courtyard at Cool Springs
Baptist Church to create an
outdoor classroom for his
service project. He is a black
belt in Taekwondo, a member
of the Georgia State Golf As
sociation Junior tour, and a
member of Sounds of Praise
Scouts and members of the Atlanta Area.
homeschool music group,
where he studies guitar. He is
also an active member Cool
Springs Baptist church.
Kaden is the son of Shan
non Chastain and the late
Lynn Chastain. For his serv
ice project he painted the
porch and decks of the youth
center at Cool Springs Bap
tist Church. Kaden attends
North Georgia Christian
School where he is an honor
roll student and active in 4-H.
In his spare time he enjoys
golf, fishing, and swimming.
He is also an active member
of the Cool Springs Baptist
Church youth group.
For more information on
Troop 836, please contact
Kris Jennings: KrisJen-
nings@y ahoo. com
Get to know the Marine Corps League
The Marine Corps
League, North Georgia
Mountains, Detachment
1280, Jasper, Ga. invites all
active, reserve, retired and
honorably discharged
Marines and FMF Corpsman
to get to know the members
and consider joining them.
The Marine Corps League
Detachment 1280 foremost
provides assistance to
Marines, Corpsman and their
families. We participate in
Toys for Tots, assist other
veterans groups within the
community, support Boy
Scouts programs, support
young Marines, provide
scholarships to high school
students, and hold fundrais
ers throughout the year.
We celebrate the annual
Marine Corps Birthday Ball
and other historic Marine
Corps events. We commem
orate fallen Marines, host so
cials, and assist a needy
family during Thanksgiving
and Christmas.
For more information on
the Marine Corps League,
what it does, and how you
can join, call 706-253-0459
or email
U SMC 12 80@gmail.com