Georgia Piedmont Technical College’s Michelle Tiller of Stonecrest is being pulled in many different directions this week…and she loves it.

“I just like winning. It’s fun to compete and show a mastery of a skill I’ve picked up,” Tiller said.

Tiller is competing on a national level for two different college-level academic and professional development events in two different cities. The 46-year-old Stonecrest resident is the state winner in the SkillsUSA Extemporaneous Speaking category and in the Business Communication category for the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) academic business fraternity. The SkillsUSA competition is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta and wraps up Friday, June 24. Tiller got special permission to leave that event a little early so she can travel to Chicago and compete there for the PBL title. When it comes to her spontaneous speaking skills, Tiller admits she comes by them naturally.

“I was a mischievous child and tried to get myself out of sticky situations,” Tiller laughed. “I had to come up with answers on the spot. As I got older, I’ve always had the gift of gab. And being a former Toastmaster also helped.”

Tiller graduated with an associate degree in business management in December but took an extra class this spring so she could finish out her terms as president of both the Georgia Piedmont Technical College Student Government Association (SGA) and the college’s PBL chapter.

But Michelle Tiller won’t be resting on her laurels after this crazy week. Starting in July, she’ll be working full time at GPTC in the Admissions office in addition to starting on her bachelor’s degree in management through Western Governor’s University. Tiller said so many of her GPTC credits transferred that she’s already almost halfway. She hopes to complete the fully online program in six months or so.

Michelle Tiller offers this advice for any new student coming to Georgia Piedmont or any of its sister colleges in the Technical College System of Georgia.

“I would tell a new student coming in to take advantage of all conferences, workshops, webinars, seminars, and the like,” she said. “Join clubs and get involved. It’s a great experience and tool to self-motivate.”

Long term, Tiller hopes to teach business courses at the college level and possibly be a professional or motivational speaker. In the meantime, she says, “my goal every day is to wake up and be the best version of myself that I can be.”

All the best to Michelle Tiller – in Atlanta, Chicago, and beyond. Way to find your way forward!

UPDATE – June 28, 2022
Michelle finished 2nd in the nation in the Extemporaneous Speaking category at the SkillsUSA competition. At the PBL event, she and two peers from GTPC (Daisy Nguyen and Latifu Brooks) brought home a total of seven medals – including three first place wins! Michelle Tiller won 1st place in the Client Service category and 2nd place in Business Communication. Daisy won first in Desktop Publishing, 6th in Statistical Analysis and 8th in Microeconomics. Latifu won first in Insurance Concepts and 5th in Entrepreneur Concepts. Congratulations to all!