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Campus Review
August 1, 2013
Page 2
VITA Program Receives Performance
Award Grant from Atlanta Prosperity Campaign
SEBA Winning Team Shines with Helio-Case
Clayton State University’s long-running
and highly-successful Volunteer Income
Tax Assistance (VITA) program has
received another Performance Award
Grant from the Atlanta Prosperity
Campaign. The grant is based on the par-
ticipation in the VITA program during this
year’s tax season.
A program of the College of Bnusiness at
Clayton State, VITA is a national program
that provides tax support for certain eligi-
ble taxpayers. The program, which has
been in existence for 40 years, also pro-
vides the volunteer tax preparers with
extensive IRS training and testing. The
student volunteers can then ensure that
taxpayers will have their tax returns filled
out accurately and timely and receive the
tax credits they qualify for, such as the
Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child
Tax Credit.
Students can also benefit from having
VITA volunteers prepare their taxes,
because the volunteers are trained in the
rules for the credits available for tuition
and other school-related expenses. The
VITA program also prepares state income
tax returns and provides free e-filing
options to ensure clients receive their
refunds as soon as possible.
“Clayton State University is proud to be
the only university in the state of Georgia
that has successfully participated in the
VITA program for 23 consecutive years,”
says VITA Program Director and Clayton
State Associate Professor of Law Dr.
Judith Ogden.
Ogden notes that the Performance Award
Grant would not have been possible if not
for the dedication of the 14 Clayton State
accounting students who took part in the
2013 program. This year’s VITA partici-
pants were...
Carl Bostic, Atlanta
Cuthbert Agbor, Austell
Bertha Amosu, Peachtree City
Lillie Brantley, Fayetteville
Geraldine Gaines, McDonough
Lisa Moller, Lithonia
Krystal Olmos, Fayetteville
Baonhan Pham, Jonesboro
Maria Quintero, Stockbridge
Sheri Shelton, Locust Grove
Breanna Smith, Hampton
Patricia Sparrow, Jonesboro
Derrance Vickson, Peachtree City
Tracy Lynn Young, Stone Mountain
In addition, Ogden had two Clayton State
alumni Rosemarie Schultze of Forest Park
The College of Business at Clayton State
University’s
recent
Summer
Entrepreneurship and Business Academy
(SEBA) brought together 21 outstanding
high school students who concluded their
week with final presentations in a compe-
tition where the groups of students pre-
sented product ideas they had developed
during the week.
The competition produced some outstand-
ing products, but none was judged better
than the “Helio-Case” of Team Helios. If
you know your Greek mythology, you know
that Helios was the sun god, so it’s safe to
say that Team Helios outshone the competi-
tion with its idea for a solar laptop panel.
Team Helios members were, appropriate-
ly enough, an eclectic group that included
the only two Clayton State dual-enrolled
students to attend SEBA 2013, Vinh Pham
from Charles Drew High School and
Allison Higgins from North Clayton High
School. Joining Pham and Higgins on
Team Helios were Riverwood High
School student Devin Hall, and North
Druid Hills High school student Nura
Mohamed.
According to Higgins, their product, the
Helio-Case, was designed to tackle the
issue of convenience when using comput-
ers outdoors.
“The Helio-Case converts sunlight into a
usable energy source that will charge a
standard laptop within a few hours. It's
perfect for adventurous college students,
corporate professionals who are always
on the go, and anyone who is both envi-
ronmentally conscious and technological-
ly updated,” she explains.
Sponsored by PEI, SEBA was a week-
long, overnight academy with business
classes, guest speakers, tours, team build-
ing, an etiquette luncheon, and many
other activities aimed at preparing stu-
dents for life after high school and
beyond.
SEBA, cont’d., p. 6
VITA, cont’d., p. 8