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US senator, Georgia football star speak at Goodwill graduation ceremony

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US senator, Georgia football star speak at Goodwill graduation ceremony

Jim Thompson
 |  Special to the Athens Banner-Herald

Not many graduation ceremonies feature messages from both a University of Georgia football star and a United States senator. But Tuesday’s graduation of the latest participants in Goodwill of North Georgia’s job training and placement programs wasn’t your typical commencement exercise.

Graduates from the Goodwill program, gathered in a Classic Center ballroom in caps and gowns in the familiar blue of the Goodwill logo, had taken advantage of one or more of the array of jobs programs offered through the agency. The programs are provided at no cost to jobseekers through 14 Goodwill career centers in north Georgia. Tuesday’s graduates represented only about half of the career centers.

“Our mission is a simple one – we put people to work,” Ed Ferguson, a member of the board of directors for Goodwill of North Georgia, said in his Tuesday remarks to the graduates, their families, and friends.

Via a prerecorded video, Tuesday’s graduates also heard from Keith Parker, president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia. Parker had a good reason for missing the graduation, as he was set Tuesday to receive the Atlanta Business League’s H.J. Russell CEO of the Year Award

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Live at the graduation ceremony, Nazir Stackhouse, a defensive lineman for the Bulldogs, put the focus squarely on Tuesday’s graduates, calling their individual accomplishments “a testament to your willingness to invest in your future.”

Stackhouse went on to offer graduates some advice for continuing their career development, telling them “attitude, perseverance and a willingness to learn and grow” will serve them well.

“Keep pushing,” Stackhouse urged. “Never give up and stay focused on your goals.”

Goodwill of North Georgia graduates also heard from Sen. Raphael Warnock, D- Ga., who in a videotaped statement assured the graduates that “the skills you have learned will aid your career for years to come.”

Warnock also encouraged the graduates to “take a moment and celebrate yourself” and to “keep the faith and keep looking up.”

Tuesday’s Classic Center commencement address came from Winnifer Thomas-Cox, a managing director in the health and public service practice of Accenture, a global professional services company.

Thomas-Cox, who also serves on the board of directors for Goodwill of North Georgia, urged the latest group of jobs program graduates to be mindful of what their accomplishments mean beyond their personal lives.

“Your story is going to be the inspiration for somebody else,” Thomas-Cox told the graduates.

She also took a moment to remind graduates that their job training achievements haven’t ended their challenges in the world of work.

“Keep a growth mindset,” she advised. “Always know there’s something you can learn.”

One of Tuesday’s graduates, like some others in the group, is already “getting up every day.” Lynn Hendricks’ quest for a commercial driver’s license (CDL), facilitated by Goodwill of North Georgia through a Georgia Tech program, recently landed him a job in the residential waste pickup division of Republic Services.

Hendricks left a job he said “just wasn’t doing it for me” to get his CDL and then to land a job at Republic Services. It’s a job that is definitely “doing it” for him.

“I’m not going to say I’m the best,” Hendricks noted in a video prepared for Tuesday’s ceremony, “but I’m one of the top men on the residential side.”

Hendricks was the “top man” at Tuesday’s graduation, where he was named Graduate of the Year. In a brief interview after the ceremony, Hendricks thanked Republic Services for “the belief they had in me.”

Hendricks added that his job with Republic Services has allowed him to follow in the footsteps of his father, who drove a truck for Athens-Clarke County’s Solid Waste Department for 23 years.

The younger Hendricks has even gotten some advice about the work from his father.

“He said, ‘The job is not easy, but it’s also not hard, as long as you’re dedicated,’” Hendricks shared.

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