May 18, 2024

CONYERS, GA – Georgia Piedmont Technical College on Saturday held its commencement ceremony to honor students from the most recent academic year. An estimated 1,088 students from Summer 2023, Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 met the qualifications for this graduation. Among the throngs of loved ones, GPTC faculty and staff, and the graduates themselves, there was a very special guest — Piedmont the Lion, or Monty, for short. Monty is Georgia Piedmont’s first mascot! He got the crowd pumped up and posed for photos before the ceremony.

President Tavarez Holston and Monty the Lion
GPTC President Dr. Tavarez Holston and Monty share a friendly roar before the graduation gets underway.

While nearly 1,100 students qualified to graduate, the number who chose to walk was somewhat smaller. A large reason for that is many are already employed! Georgia Piedmont’s job placement rate is a whopping 99 percent. The graduates earned approximately 196 associate degrees, 178 diplomas and 875 technical certificates of credit; many students earned more than one credential. The ceremony was held at Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers and those who couldn’t attend were able to watch a live stream on YouTube. Congratulations to all!