Media release from Georgia Northwestern Technical College:
Jennifer Dixon, assistant dean and instructor of Early Childhood Care and Education at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) and winner of the college’s 2025 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year, advanced as a regional finalist for the state award.
The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) named her one of nine regional winners on Tuesday, April 29, at the GOAL and Rick Perkins State Conference in Atlanta. She will learn whether she takes home the state award on Wednesday, April 30, during the conference awards banquet.
The Rick Perkins Award honors the TCSG’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991 and recognizes technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields.
Dixon, a Calhoun resident, has served as the assistant dean of Public Service programs at GNTC since 2022. She continues to serve as an instructor in Early Childhood Care and Education, a role she has held since 2018. Prior to that she worked six years as an adjunct instructor at GNTC in that field.
“As an educator in technical education, my goal is to equip my students with the practical skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s workforce while also learning how to dig deep when the going gets tough.”
Prior to serving as an instructor at GNTC, she taught at Red Bud Elementary, as well as taught summer school and tutored for Gordon County Schools.
Dixon said she encourages students “never to allow circumstances to determine their self-worth, but to understand that it is their choices that determine their destiny” and to seek a “future that can be rewarding to not only themselves and their families, but also for our communities.”
Dixon earned a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education in 1999 at Kennesaw State University, a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education in 2002 at Piedmont College and an educational specialist degree in Education Administration and Supervision in 2004 at Lincoln Memorial University.
Dixon is currently a member of Alpha Delta Kappa international honorary organization for women educators. Her community service activities include serving as a board member of the Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center from 2009-14, ambassador for the Mary Kay Ash Foundation: Cancer Research and Domestic Violence Awareness from 2016-20, Bible class teacher at Northside Church of Christ from 2009-19 and member of the Northside Church of Christ from 1988-2024.
“Collectively, my grandparents, their children and their grandchildren have devoted over 586 years to teaching and serving others, over 58 decades, almost six centuries. I am proud to stand here representing them and the love we share for education,” she said.
A panel of leaders from business, industry and government will choose one instructor to be TCSG’s 2025 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year. The winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize.
The Rick Perkins Award winner serves as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia and will make many public appearances throughout the year, including addressing both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly.
The most recent state winners to represent GNTC were 2019 Rick Perkins Award winner Leyner Argueta, program director of Business Management, and 2013 winner Troy Peco, a former GNTC faculty member who served as assistant dean of Industrial Technologies, program director and instructor of Automotive Technology.
Deanna Hulsey, instructor of Cosmetology at GNTC, was named first runner-up for the TCSG 2024 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year. Salvador Gonzalez, program director and instructor of Diesel Equipment Technology at GNTC, was named the first runner-up for the TCSG 2023 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year.
