How much farther would you be in your career if you had discovered what you wanted to do earlier in life? How would it have impacted your time in college? For GAC, these questions have led to the development of a unique opportunity, the Summer Fellowship Program, which provides students with real-world experience in an industry of their choice. Students gain valuable insight into careers under the guidance of mentors who are invested in their development. Led by GAC Director of Community Relations Margie Asef and GAC Counselor Donna Pate, the program has resulted in fruitful experiences for our students. Some have affirmed their choice of career, while others have found that what they thought was a good match was actually not. The value of having such an opportunity is priceless, helping students build their resume before they even leave school. Ms. Asef is thrilled with the possibilities that await these students who leave GAC with formative career experience under their belts and better preparation for the road ahead.   

My Summer Experience at Suwanee Magazine

By Nicole Fordree '20

Every day, work begins at 9:00 a.m. with people coming in through the entrance at the front on Main Street in Downtown Buford, or in the back entrance through Tannery Row restaurant. Every morning I come in, set my bag down, open my laptop and get to work right away. I was fortunate enough to be interning with Suwanee Magazine right as they are getting ready to publish their July/August issue.

A day in the office for me includes researching various events happening in the Suwanee and Gwinnett area, writing a few different City Buzz articles, transcribing interviews, and much more. City Buzz is a section of the magazine in every issue that highlights upcoming events or big news in the area. Today I compiled one about the Cooper O’Brien Scholarship Award, which two North Gwinnett High School students won for facing adversity with perseverance. I also researched the book Arteries in Harmony, written by a local author to be highlighted in the upcoming issue of the magazine. One day, I researched some fun facts about donuts for an article highlighting Simply Donuts in downtown Duluth, as well as doing some research on upcoming Father’s Day events. Learning about events is one of my favorite parts of being an intern here. I love learning about my community and all of the different things people can get involved with. At around 6:00 p.m., employees wrap up and head out for the night. 

My Summer Experience at T-Tech Inc. Software Engineering

By Simone Roberts '20

“During my internship, I worked with two T Tech employees on how to convert G Code into C#. C# is the programming language they use to code for their machines. I did a lot of research about both G Code and C# in order to have a better understanding of how each entity works. I learned  about specific vocabulary such as absolute positioning and relative positioning and how to get a program to scan the code for each mode so that it can alert me. I improved my problem solving skills by trial and error while working with code. I truly enjoy the challenge coding presents. Another skill I have acquired while at this Fellowship is a better understanding of Visual Studios. Visual Studios is a platform  I have been using to code on. I believe I want to major in Computer Science Engineering. This internship has shown me how much I enjoy coding, and I’ve learned that computer science engineers primarily write code. Thank you to GAC for this experience and for pairing me with such a great company.” 

2019 Summer Fellowship Program Student Placements 

Lillie Clark: Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett - Medicine

Tyler Curland: Cornerstone Financial Partners, LLC - Investments, Insurance and Finance

Madison Dickinson: The Intersect Group - Business and Recruitment

Brynee Evans: Connect Meeting - Business Development

Nicole Fordree: Suwanee Magazine - Journalism

Pragya Ghanate: Morehouse School of Medicine/Satcher Health Leadership Institute - Medical Research

Garner Harsh: The Preston Partnership - Architecture & Engineering

Jillian Hutson: Academics Plus - Education/Cognitive and Educational Therapy

Tatum Lowe: Alpharetta Pediatrics - Medicine/Pediatrics

Melissa Lucht: City of Peachtree Corners - Government/Engineering

Tinsley Martin: Partnership Gwinnett - International Business

Johnny Meshramkar: Sullivan Wickley - Commercial Real Estate Management

Emma Pitts: GAC Communications Office - Communications & Marketing

Simone Roberts: T-Tech - Software Engineering

Navya Sarlkonda: Office of the District Attorney, Decatur - Government/Law

Dawn Sawyer: Gwinnett Daily Post - Journalism

Ellie Shafer: Heaven & Alvarez Accounting - Accounting

Samantha Street: Lionstar Films - Film Production

Brooke Weaver: Northside Hospital, Fulton - Medicine/OB-GYN

If you are interested in becoming a business partner for the Summer Fellowship Program, contact Ms. Margie Asef at masef@greateratlantachristian.org.