Dillon Presley feels fortunate to be able to serve the community he grew up in. The 2012 graduate of Colquitt County High School joined PCOM South Georgia (SGA) in March 2024 as community outreach coordinator for the Office of Diversity and Community Relations.

As community outreach coordinator for the Office of Diversity and Community Relations, Presley actively engages in initiatives that promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the community. He plays a pivotal role in recruiting students for various community events and provides guidance to those who have specific events in mind. His commitment enhances student participation and fosters a sense of belonging, ultimately strengthening connections between the student body and the wider community.

“This position has been everything that I was hoping it would be,” he said. “The people, the atmosphere, the culture, the campus, I’m able to give back to where I'm from. Some of the people who coached me and I grew up with, I go to meetings with them now. It's come full circle.”

Presley began his college education at ABAC on the Square in Moultrie, a former campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, where he concentrated on taking core classes earning his bachelor’s degree in communication at the University of Georgia.

It was through his first job post-college, working with Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville with TRiO, a federally funded program that helps first-generation, low-income students enter college, that he felt his calling to help others.

“I realized while I was doing that, my calling was definitely to help people – to help the underrepresented,” Presley said. “Being a first-generation student, I understood the challenges that these students were going to face if they were going to go to college.”

After two years at SRTC, Presley was recruited to teach and coach boys’ basketball and football at Pelham High School. He served on leadership teams at the school and district levels and won Teacher of the Year at Pelham High School as a general education teacher.

In addition to these achievements, Presley’s biggest accomplishment at Pelham High School was seeing his students go on to pursue college education.

“We hadn't sent a player to college in a few years, and we got two girls on full scholarships now playing college basketball,” said Presley. “In my three years as the head coach, all of those students have gone on to college in some form or fashion. I love winning as much as anybody in the world, you know, but it was about making them grow as people. I was really hard on them. I really was tough on them, but they needed it. I hope in that time period, they learned as much from me as I did from them.”

Presley is proud to continue this level of mentorship in his role at PCOM South Georgia and reach more people in underserved communities.