Special to The Gazette
TIFTON — Javier Gonzalez, director of the College Assistance Migrant Program and the High School Equivalency Program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, will be the featured speaker at the ABAC fall commencement ceremony at 6 p.m. Dec. 11 in Gressette Gym.
“I feel extremely honored to have the opportunity to address the graduating class,” Gonzalez said. “Having come from a humble background, where earning a college degree was a very rare exception, I learned the value of education at very early age.”
Gonzalez has been a member of the ABAC staff since 2003. In recent weeks, he has been selected to attend the University System of Georgia Executive Leadership Institute. The institute addresses the need for succession planning by identifying and developing high potential employees to equip them to become the next generation of exemplary leaders.
He has been involved in the education field for 18 years. He served as a Resource Specialist for the Marion County Board of Education and an Adolescent Outreach Specialist at the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) before joining the ABAC staff.
Gonzalez earned a General Educational Development (GED) diploma from Heart of Georgia Technical College. He received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Georgia Southern University and a Master’s in Education Leadership degree from Columbus State University. He earned an English as a Second Language (ESL) certification from the State University of West Georgia and an education certification in Spanish Education K-12 from Georgia Southwestern State University.
“I came to understand that education is the great equalizer, that a diploma at any level, from a GED to a Ph. D, can provide the same opportunities for success to anyone regardless of their background,” Gonzalez said.
“It is my hope that my words will inspire the graduates to utilize their earned diploma to confidently face the next phase of their educational or personal journey and take pride in their accomplishment.”
A total of 133 students are expected to participate in the Dec. 11 ceremony.
