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Campus Review
July 7, 2014
Dreams Made Real for Clayton State
Supply Chain Management Alumnus Kurt Dewdney
by Samantha Watson
"My story is a direct result of attending a
career services event,” admits Clayton
State University alumnus Kurt Dewdney.
Jamaican native Dewdney graduated from
Clayton State University in December
2013 with a Bachelor’s in Supply Chain
Management and a minor in Marketing
after completing his associate degree at
Georgia Perimeter.
Taking an 11-year break after receiving
his associate degree Dewdney, “thought
readjusting to school would be extremely
difficult. On the contrary, the content of
Clayton State classes were relevant, chal-
lenging, and interesting.”
Dewdney was consistently on the Dean’s
List during his time at Clayton State, and
was awarded a certificate and plaque for
outstanding academic achievement.
Clayton State Supply Chain Management
professors nominated him for the Atlanta
Cargo Association’s Supply Chain
Scholarship, which he also earned.
Dewdney, encouraged by the Clayton
State Director of Career Services
Bridgette McDonald, to participate in an
internship, attended a career fair at the
Cobb Galleria last spring, which was mar-
keted by Career Services. At the fair he
networked with the HR manager for a
Wal-Mart Distribution Center. Taking ini-
tiative, Dewdney then contacted the
manger and was subsequently offered an
internship in the District of Columbia
shortly thereafter.
“At the end of the internship, I was
offered to remain with Wal-Mart as an
area manager in the Quality Assurance
Department, where I completed several
different efficiency improvement projects
that the DC office had going on,” states
Dewdney.
After consistent work with several Wal-
Mart departments, Dewdney applied for
the Quality Assurance Operations
Manager position and was hired.
“This is considered a record in this build-
ing and throughout the company, for
someone to come in as an intern, become
an Area Manager, and now serve as an
Operations Manager in less than a year,”
explains Dewdney.
“Before I knew it
my first son was
graduating from
high school and
attending college.
Seeing his life
begin to unfold
made me realize
too much time had
gone by. If I want-
ed to go back to
college and use my degree for a career, it
was now or never,” states Stacy Gooden,
a senior undergrad at Clayton State
University.
Gooden graduated high school the June of
1987 and enrolled in college the following
August at Brigham Young University.
Like many college freshman, she dropped
out after completing her first semester.
During her extended hiatus from college,
Gooden took pride in being a stay-at-
home mom of three sons as well as co-
publishing a weekly community newspa-
per in Ohio with her husband, Dr. Randall
Gooden, entitled, New Middletown
Postmark.
“Going back to college was always in my
life plan but the years go by so fast,”
admits Gooden. Inspired by her children,
she began to make moves to go back to
school. Witnessing the success her hus-
band has as an Associate Professor of
History at Clayton State, she soon found
that it was the right place to look for help-
ing her dreams to be made real.
“My educational experiences have been
exceptional at Clayton State. The com-
bined challenge of classroom instruction,
research, and writing has been very
rewarding,” comments Gooden.
Gooden has thrived at Clayton State, mak-
ing the Dean’s List every semester of her
attendance, receiving the Academic
Recognition Award in April of both 2013
and 2014, and receiving the Excellence in
History Award in April of 2014. She has
also been awarded the Marshall
Scholarship through Clayton State in two
consecutive academic years and to top it all
off, she is a member of Phi Alpha Theta
History Honor Society and Golden Key
International Honor Society. A resident of
Griffin, Ga., Gooden will receive her under-
graduate degree in December 2014.
“I didn’t want to come back to college just
for a degree. I wanted an enriching culmi-
nating experience. There is always some-
thing new to learn at Clayton State and I
plan on being a lifelong learner,” profess-
es Gooden.
Realizing her success at Clayton State and
in the College of Arts and Sciences itself,
she hopes to continue in her graduate edu-
cation with Clayton State’s Masters of
Arts in Liberal Studies Program. Gooden
plans to concentrate in both history and
political science and eventually teach at
the junior college level or on an adjunct
basis at a university.
Stacy Gooden’s Undergrad Dreams Made Real
Gooden