GGC Honors Programs Students Visit The Carter Center, Meet Former President

Members of the Georgia Gwinnett College Honors Programs recently attended The Carter Center’s February meeting of the Board of Councilors, and heard from the former president himself.

The students were guests of Susan Hrib, CEO and founder of the Signum Group and member of the board of councilors. The meeting’s speakers included Dr. John Stremlau, vice president for Peace Programs, who briefed the board on democracy work in West Africa; Dr. Yawei Liu, director of the China Program, who spoke about the recent leadership transition in the People's Republic and President Jimmy Carter, who discussed related issues.

Carter ended the program with remarks and a question and answer session. GGC student Sami Hudaib asked Carter a question about the Middle East and received a detailed response explaining The Carter Center's role in advancing democracy in the Arab world, and monitoring elections in Tunisia and Libya.

At the end of the meeting, students met with Hrib, who also serves as an advisory board member for the Women's Leadership Exchange, took photos with William Driver Jr., chair of the board of councilors, and Ingrid Saunders Jones, senior vice president of Global Community Connections for The Coca-Cola Company and chair of the Coca-Cola Foundation.

Afterwards, students toured the museum and were treated to lunch in the center's cafeteria. When asked their thoughts on the day, they responded enthusiastically.

"It was astounding to see how much knowledge President Carter has and it showed me that we can never stop learning from our elders," said Jonathan Charles.

"Carter isn't a pretentious person," said Anne-Marie Pollacia. "He's so down-to-earth. That surprised me. Seeing his childhood pictures in the museum, and then looking at all he's accomplished is amazing. He's a person, just like us. What's to stop any of us from doing great things, too?"

Hudaib responded to his exciting moment of having his question answered by Carter. "I'm inspired about the peace-making process. I can see how I can actually work towards that."

Tomas Jimenez, Dean of Students and Student Affairs, attended the event with the students. "This was a wonderful experience for our GGC Honors Programs students. They experienced how the global world is connected,” he said.

"Everyone should have a global experience before they graduate," said student Karl Humphrey. "Humanitarian endeavors are all across the globe. To get a real education, you need to connect yourself beyond the classroom."

The GGC Honors Programs offer qualified students an integrated educational experience through enhanced opportunities in scholarship, service, leadership and creativity.