Paralegal Studies student Renea Hanna has been selected as the 2019 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner for Savannah Technical College.

Hanna is a top-performing student in her program. “In addition to her grades, what I respect most about Renea is her commitment to achieve her goals,” said STC Paralegal Studies Department Head Debra Geiger, Esq. “She balances the demands of school with a full time job. At times, she is faced with the demands of work deadlines, but she never falls behind in her homework assignments. She has also shown herself to be reliable and committed to serving the legal community having volunteered as a juror for the Georgia Public Defenders Council’s annual trial skills training.”

GOAL honors outstanding students at each of the Technical College System of Georgia institutions. She will represent Savannah Tech at the statewide competition in April in Atlanta, where the statewide GOAL winner will be selected. The highly competitive process involves academic success, community engagement and public speaking. Winners are nominated by their instructors and selected after interviews with a panel of business and community leaders.

She is passionate about social justice and equality, both of which largely motivated her decision to pursue a career in the legal field. Hanna has been inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and anticipates acceptance into the Lamda Epsilon Chi Honor Society for Paralegal students this semester. She is on track to graduate this summer with a Paralegal Studies Associate Degree.

Before training at Savannah Technical College, has worked as a waitress, an office manager, a bookkeeper, a personal assistant, a website manager, a photographer, a freelance artist, a jewelry maker, and held several management positions in both the retail industry and restaurant industry. She currently works as a manager at Gallery Espresso in downtown Savannah and works as an artist and jewelry designer in her free time.

“When I graduate this summer, I will be the first person in my family in three generations to obtain a college degree,” said Hanna. “I now have the direction, confidence, and ambition to push on toward even bigger goals. From here I will work as a paralegal, gaining valuable on-the-job experience, while I pursue my Bachelor’s degree and eventually, my law degree. I am on my personal path toward success and when I am asked how I got there, Savannah Technical College will always be where I begin my story.”