ABAC celebrates 117th birthday

When the bell chimed 3 p.m. on Thursday at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, students, faculty, and staff gathered to celebrate the college’s birthday, 117 years to the hour after the first group of 27 students walked up the front steps of the main classroom building at the Second District A&M School for the first day of class in 1908.

The ABAC Choir sang happy birthday and slices of birthday cake were handed out as attendees were encouraged to continue the tradition of giving back to the institution.

“Today, we honor not just our rich history, but also the generosity that has propelled us forward,” said ABAC President Tracy Brundage. “At ABAC, we get to know our students to understand their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations, and those become our mission. The financial barrier to college is extremely overwhelming for many of our students. Our scholarship funds ensure those barriers are eliminated and our students have those meaningful experiences like study abroad where we send students all over the world where they can put their education into practice and gain valuable insight from other cultures as well. Because of you, we will continue to grow, innovate, and uphold the traditions that define us.”

A student that has directly benefitted from such scholarships, Wendy Gonzalez-Huerta, also spoke about the impact scholarships have had on her educational experience as a first-generation college student.

“I consider myself a busy student, to say the least,” said Gonzalez-Huerta, a second year Writing and Communication major from Moultrie. “I’m involved anywhere I’m able to, I’m always on my feet, and I’m constanty learning new skills. My ability to be an active student on campus would not be possible without the support of the scholarships I receive. As a full time student and a student worker, a hundred percent of my time is dedicated to my studies, leaving no room for a job outside of school so these scholarships have really made a difference for me.”

Gonzalez-Huerta is one of many students who have benefitted from their time on campus, just like those first 27 students who probably had no idea they were building a foundation for an institution that would become a cornerstone of higher educational excllence.

The Second District A&M School was an area high school that opened in 1908, with the main classrooms in what is now Tift Hall. The school later became South Georgia A&M College in 1924, the Georgia State College for Men in 1929, and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1933. That former two-year college called ABAC became a 4-year college and began offering bachelor’s degree classes in 2008.

Today, ABAC has thousands of students pursuing four-year degrees in Agribusiness, Agriculture, Agricultural Communication, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Technology Management, Biology, Business, Criminal Justice, Environmental Horticulture, History and Government, Natural Resource Management, Nursing, Rural Community Development, and Writing and Communication. ABAC also continues to offer four associate degree programs and 1,324 of the students live on campus.

Visitors looking to find out more about the history of ABAC can view colorful historic panels in Tift Hall, the main administrative building on the front of the campus. These panels depict the 112-year history of the college in an easy to follow manner in the George T. Smith Parlor, the ABAC History Room, and the Freedom Gallery, all open to the public.