GMC cadets hear from trailblazer at MLK ceremony

Jan. 23—Georgia Military College and Prep School cadets heard from an alumna and law enforcement trailblazer for the institution's Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony Friday.

Nikki Renfroe (Prep Class of '91), the first female to be named troop commander by the Georgia State Patrol, addressed students inside the school's NewDay USA Center of Leadership. Renfroe served as the first guest speaker to take the podium at the new facility, which is also a performing arts venue.

"The Center of Leadership serves as a place for our cadets to gather and learn from accomplished leaders much like our speaker today," GMC Prep Principal Col. Amy Lee said before introducing Renfroe.

Friday's ceremony was originally scheduled for the week prior, but was rescheduled after GMC closed its campus due to the threat of inclement weather on January 12.

A 30-year GSP veteran at the time of her 2022 retirement, Renfroe graduated from Trooper School in October 1995. The Milledgeville native worked at the posts here as well as in Dublin. She also helped the organization as a recruiter and joined the crisis negotiation team on her way to being named post commander in LaGrange.

During her speech Friday, Renfroe pointed out that GMC Prep was an important step in her professional journey. She started as an eighth-grader, and actually made a presentation to her mother on why she should be allowed to attend the school.

"I am both honored and humbled to stand before you," Renfroe said. "You have no idea what it means to have the opportunity to grace this stage ... It is amazing just to see the energy on this campus, so it is my honor to be here."

The guest speaker then dove into the meat of her message, asking cadets about the school's "Character Above All" motto and relating Dr. King's thoughts on character. Renfroe pulled from a piece written by the civil rights leader for the Morehouse College newspaper.

"'The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically,'" she said in quoting King's work. "'But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals. We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.'"

"With that, I would conclude that Dr. King would be just fine with seeing your motto etched into the ground and hanging on those banners of this prestigious institution," Renfroe added.

The former state trooper went on to discuss the importance of the foundation GMC laid in her life while also urging students to remember to plan and make a blueprint for their futures.

"Like never before, I am so honored to be a part of this family, to be a part of this body of students, this energy, and the things that are happening here," she said in closing.

For serving as the guest speaker Friday, Renfroe was presented with the GMC colors by the school's battalion commanders, school president Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, and Board of Trustees Chairman George Hogan.