More accolades are being handed out to the area's exceptional leaders in education.
Lanier Technical College, a Unit of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), annually announces an Exceptional Adult Georgian in Adult Literacy Education (EAGLE) Student of the Year and an Outstanding Teacher of the Year. The EAGLE Student of the Year and Outstanding Teacher of the Year awards honorees are submitted from all 22 of TCSG’s colleges for excellence and perseverance in pursuing one’s literacy education.
This year, Lanier Tech has selected Alla Kucherova as their 2025 EAGLE Student of the Year. Ms. Kucherova spent the past few years overcoming adversities, learning a new language, and earning her General Education Degree (GED), as her determination was noticed by Adult Education Instructor Jennifer Parker, who nominated her for the award.
In a recent Lanier Tech press release, Kucherova said three years ago, due to political turmoil in her native Russia, she moved her family to the United States and in July of 2022, began her journey at Lanier Tech. After six months of English as a Second Language courses, Kucherova said she began taking GED® courses, passed her exams and secured a job at a computer software company, inspiring her to continue her education in computer programming.
Lanier Tech has also chosen Tina Schnepper a teacher in their Adult Education Program, as 2025 Adult Education Outstanding Teacher of the Year. The Adult Education Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, like EAGLE, is a statewide program for all of TCSG’s 22 Colleges that aims to showcase outstanding Adult Education teachers within the college system. Ms.Schnepper started her teaching career as a part-time reading aid and taught English as a second language (ESL) classes designed to support student literacy. From there, Schnepper took a full-time GED Instructor role and transitioned into her current full-time position as an ESL Instructor at Lanier Tech.
Schnepper says, "It is great to watch my students first enter the classroom with little knowledge of the English language, and by the time they move on to the next level, they are speaking and writing complete sentences. I love my job and the students I teach. It is very rewarding.”
Both Kucherova and Schnepper will go on to compete against the other regional technical colleges in Georgia. Following the regional competition, winning students and teachers will compete for the title of TCSG’s statewide Dinah Culbreath Wayne EAGLE Student of the Year and the Adult Education Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the 2025 calendar year
