Before Ogeechee Technical College's 2026 GOAL winner was announced, each of the four finalists — Hannah Bradley, Caroline Graham, Alecia Johnson and Daelyn Pearson — shared a piece of their remarkable journeys that brought them to Tuesday's annual GOAL banquet in the Jack Hill Building at OTC.
And when each compelling story was finished, Ogeechee Tech President Lori Durden summed up the difficulty the award committee faced in selecting the top student:
"These four incredible women who just came to this podium to share their stories … no matter whose name is in this envelope, I truly mean it when I say you are all winners and truly represent the best that Ogeechee Tech has to offer. However, we can only name one 2026 GOAL winner. And that person is Caroline Graham."
The GOAL program, now in its 54th year, has students in each of the 22 institutions of the Technical College System of Georgia compete through speeches and interviews to represent their colleges. Then, through regional and state-level rounds, a statewide winner is selected.
Graham overcame years of addiction, homelessness and fear to begin attending Ogeechee Tech in 2022. She is now in the college's ultra-competitive nursing program and is on a path to a life she didn't think possible.
"Five years ago, my life looked very different. I was separated from my kids, homeless, living in and out motel rooms and an IV drug user," she said.
After several stints in and out of treatment, Graham was arrested and spent a month in the Bulloch County Jail in 2021. It was then that Ogeechee Circuit Superior Court Chief Judge Michael Muldrew gave her the option of Drug Court.
Reluctant to go at first, Graham then made the decision that finally began a real recovery from her addiction.
"Drug Court gave me structure, accountability and, most importantly, a second chance," she said. "I completed long-term treatment and began rebuilding and restructuring my life into something I didn't want to escape anymore."
Stephanie Lindamood is a nurse practitioner at East Georgia Regional Medical Center. She was a nursing instructor at Ogeechee Tech last year and nominated Graham for the GOAL student award.
"Caroline has always been such a top-performing student in class," Lindamood said. "She's very resourceful, very helpful with other students. And she has a very inspirational story.
"It's just an incredible story of resilience and truth that there is life after addiction. I hope that this story really gets shared with the public about addiction — that it is not the end of the road, that you really can turn your life around. She's a remarkable woman."
Graham now advances to regional judging in February. In April, nine regional finalists — three from each of the state's three regions — will be announced during the Technical College System of Georgia's state-level competition in Atlanta. A panel of leaders from business, industry and government will then select the 2026 State GOAL Winner, who will serve as Georgia's Student of the Year, earning the title of statewide spokesperson for technical education. The winner also will receive the GOAL medallion and a new car from Kia Motors.
"Ogeechee Tech didn't just give me an education," Graham said. "It gave me a future and a reason to be proud of my own. I'm incredibly grateful to be here today to thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my story and for recognizing that students like me prove that with support and determination, change is always possible."
