SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — After making the northern white shrimp Georgia’s official state crustacean, students at Effingham College & Career Academy are taking their civic campaign on the road — literally.
Building on momentum from their successful push at the Capitol last year, students in John Cassell’s zoology class have created a specialty license plate design celebrating Georgia’s shrimping heritage. Their goal is to convince lawmakers and the state Department of Revenue to approve it for public use.
The design, which won a schoolwide contest this spring, was created by recent graduate Lillian Hoffmann. Her artwork — now featured in a public exhibit at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport — blends pastel skies, a shrimp boat and the crustacean itself to honor coastal culture and marine life.
“I was proud of that one,” Hoffmann said. “When I got the certificate, it was pretty cool.”
Hoffmann, who plans to study biology at Georgia Southern University, wasn’t in the original zoology class but voted in the campaign that led to last year’s House Bill 1341. She jumped at the opportunity to submit a plate design when the contest was announced this spring.
Shrimp plate idea sparks student creativity
The idea for the plate came during a livestream of the bill signing, when a state representative suggested that a crustacean license plate would be a fitting next step. Cassell embraced the idea and turned it into a new project for his class. Students used STEM journals, the scientific process and artistic flair to craft their entries.
Cassell collected votes from teachers and administrators across the school district to select the winning design.
“It was a chance for students to use both science and creativity,” he said. “To see their ideas go from a classroom project to a piece of legislation — and now maybe even onto Georgia’s highways — is amazing.”
Shrimp named official crustacean
The plate contest is the latest chapter in a student-led effort that began with a simple classroom observation: Georgia, unlike Maryland or other coastal states, had no official state crustacean.
Cassell, a Maryland native who grew up with the blue crab as a cultural icon, challenged his students to research crustaceans and propose one for Georgia. After narrowing their candidates down to two — the northern white shrimp and the ghost crab — the school community voted, with students promoting their choice through posters, videos and digital campaigns.
Though the students weren’t directly involved in lobbying, their efforts caught the attention of state lawmakers. Within two months, legislation naming the northern white shrimp Georgia’s official crustacean passed both chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp.
“There was even a moment during the livestream when House members acknowledged a fourth-generation shrimper who is advocating for more protections for the shrimping industry,” Cassell recalled. “This was a piece of legislation everyone could get behind.”
Students later traveled to the Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Regional Headquarters in Brunswick for a celebratory tour following the bill’s passage.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, who sponsored the bill, praised the students for their initiative.
“White shrimp play a critical role in the economy of Southeast Georgia and our entire state,” Burns said. “They’ve become a trademark of our coastal heritage.”
The vertical license plate display, which includes Hoffmann’s winning design, is now on view at the Savannah airport’s second-floor art gallery.
Cassell hopes to gain approval from the Georgia Department of Revenue or the Department of Transportation so the plate can become an official option for vehicle owners. He’s also considering selling student designs on platforms like Etsy to raise awareness — and maybe even funds.
He plans to repeat the license plate project with next year’s class, aiming once again for display at the airport — and maybe the open road.
“If students are interested, motivated and have the passion to do well for a high school project,” he said, “they have the same potential to succeed in the workforce and beyond.”
