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Dr. Gary Adcox, director of campus success and strategic retention initiatives at the University of North Georgia's (̨Íåswag) Oconee Campus, has won the 2023 for his leadership of an on-campus summer program for middle school students. The National Association of Branch Campus Administrators honored Adcox with the recognition.

The Nighthawks Student Opportunities for Accelerated Readiness (SOAR) program targets economically disadvantaged and English as a second language youth who are likely prospective first-generation college students. SOAR was designed to bridge the education gap and "summer educational slide" for rising sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students during a three-week camp-like summer program intended for students who would benefit from participating in a summer enrichment and engagement program.

"This past year, 62 middle school students from Athens-Clarke and Oglethorpe counties enrolled in the second year of the program," Adcox said. "We are proud to say that all grade levels saw significant improvements in their pre-and post-test scores."

Student participation in the program has grown each year since the program’s 2019 inception. Currently, there are 77 middle schoolers signed up to participate in this summer's Nighthawks SOAR program.