2012 Conference Schedule

GCCA is ready to receive your brilliant programs for the Annual Conference in St. Simon’s Island, GA, January 25-27, 2012.

Please download the 2012 Conference Call for Programs, and return to Shannon Nix by October 3, 2011 with your CV attached.  If you have any questions, please contact Shannon at snix@aug.edu.

Hey all,

Mark your calendars!

Our annual conference will be January 25th-January 27th, 2012 on beautiful St. Simon’s Island, GA.  Join us for three days as we take in the ocean air and earn  CEU’s at the King and Prince Resort!

Shannon Nix, our president-elect, will be sending out the call for programs soon!  Start thinking about all of the amazing things that you are doing at your colleges and would like to share with your colleagues!  Each year we have a variety of topics that benefit college counselors  and your participation is what makes it great!

GCCA Student Representative

Tara Overzat, our amazing GCCA  student rep, blogged about GCCA’s 2011 Annual Conference!  Check it out!

http://my.counseling.org/2011/01/31/chart-your-course-for-success-%E2%80%93-a-summary-of-gcca%E2%80%99s-annual-conference/

I have attended other professional conferences in the past and none where as fun and yet educational as the annual GCCA conference. I was fortunate to receive the President’s Grant which gave me the opportunity to attend the conference and meet professional college counselors. I can honestly say that everyone that I met was warm and welcoming. As a part of winning the President’s Grant I had the opportunity to do a presentation. Due to it being my first professional presentation I was a bit nervous, but the professionals that I came in contact with were very encouraging and helped me feel at ease.

I learned a great deal of practical and useful information about college counseling at the conference. I had memorable time at the conference and hope to attend many more in the future. I was also able to be a part of the GCCA council as a student representative. While as the student representative I was responsible for getting the word out about GCCA and the President’s Grant to Georgia students who are studying to become counselors. It felt rewarding to be a part of the organization. I enjoyed informing other students about GCCA and the friendly professional counselors that are part of the organization.

– Tracy Hall,  2010 President’s Grant Recipient, Mercer Graduate Student

Last Summer I was given the opportunity to apply for the Georgia College Counseling Association (GCCA) president’s grant.  I knew full and well that the only credential I had to offer was my passion for pursuing a career as college counselor.  Although I lacked any clinical exposure as a first year graduate student, I decided to utilize my experience as a college athlete instead.  From there, my application flourished into a research proposal on the relationship between female college athletes and eating disorders.

Upon being awarded the president’s grant, I initially experienced some anxiety about the responsibilities that were laid before me.  I had presented research in the past, but never in front a group of tenured professionals who I secretly hoped would one day be my colleagues.  When I nervously arrived at the GCCA annual convention, pleasant personalities and engaging lecturers immediately put my mind at ease.  It was then that I realized I had been given much more than a research grant; I had the opportunity to learn from and network with some of the most astute members of our field.

-Becky Foster, 2011 President’s Grant Recipient, Mercer Graduate Student

Never have I felt so welcome with a group of people that I was meeting for the first time.  After flying down the highway after class from Atlanta to St. Simons’, I arrived at the conference a little bleary-eyed and definitely happy to collapse into a bed.  I saw Becky Foster, a fellow Presidents’ Grant recipient, as I was checking at the front desk, and we immediately introduced ourselves.  I am so glad to be here, was my primary thought, and the next few days were even better than I expected.  With such diverse programming ranging from everything to art therapy to disability counseling in the college setting, the range of people is just as diverse as presentation subject matter.   But there was something so familiar, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on but still knew—I think they call this feeling home. My experience at the GCCA conference has been one of the most nurturing of my young career, and I look forward to getting more involved and giving back to an organization that does so much for young college counselors.

– Elizabeth Miester, 2011 President’s Grant Recipient, Georgia State University Graduate Student

GCCA exists to support and enhance the practice of college counseling in the state of Georgia. One way this is accomplished is through the GCCA Professional Recognition Awards.  These awards are tokens of thanks and recognition of excellence in the field of college counseling.

The following are the current awards we are accepting nominations for:

Advocacy for College Counseling Award: Demonstrated advocacy of college counseling services or an organization which has made a significant contribution to the improvement of college counseling services; may honor a college president, vice president, dean, board member, or legislator who has made a significant impact on the national, state, or local level. Need not be a member of GCCA.

Professional Leadership Award This award is given for demonstrated leadership in some aspect of college counseling and/or GCCA.

Outstanding Professional Contribution to Knowledge Award This award is given for a demonstrated contribution to the advancement of college counseling theory and/or practice by means of a dissertation/thesis/, publication, or scholarly presentation.

Counselor of the Year Award This award recognizes clinical excellence and/or meritorious service in college counseling.

Clinical Program of the Year Award This award recognizes the development and implementation of a unique clinical program or group for college students.

Graduate Student Meritorious Award This award recognizes meritorious service by a graduate student to the profession of college counseling and/or GCCA.

College Counseling Director of the Year Award This award recognizes excellence as a College Counseling Center director.

All nominators and nominees (except those for the Advocacy Award) must be members of the Georgia College Counseling Association.

All nominations are due January 2nd, 2012.   Nomination forms are below.  Please mail, fax,  or email all forms to:

Taffey Cunnien
Savannah College of Art and Design
1600 Peachtree Street, Atlanta,  GA    30309
FAX: 404.253.2724   tcunnien@scad.edu

All award recipients will be recognized at the annual conference on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, January 25^th-27th, 2012. If you would like additional information regarding the award selection process , please do not hesitate to contact Taffey Cunnien at tcunnien@scad.edu or 404.253.3282.

2012 Nomination Forms
Graduate Student Meritorious Service Nomination Form
Counselor of the Year Nomination Form
College Counseling Center Director of the Year Nomination Form
Clinical Program of the Year Nomination Form
Advocacy for College Counseling Nomination Form
Professional Leadership Award Nomination Form

Past Award Recipients
Past Recipients of GCCA Professional Awards

Our brand new cookbook is now available, contact your regional representative or Predita Howard to get your copy before they are all gone. For $20 per cookbook or 2 for $35, you will find great new recipes to try and some great photos.