The Sou'Wester: November 2022

SOU’WESTER THE

THE VOICE OF GSW SINCE 1934

From Counselor to Author: GSW Graduate

Anntoinette Briley Publishes “Welcome To..”

Jackson Carlstrom Editor-In-Chief

In 1998, Anntoinette Briley graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University with a degree in Psycholo gy. Since graduating, she has become a licensed professional counselor in Columbus, Geor gia, and a national certified counselor in mental health. She is currently with Path Mental Health, where she does online counseling sessions.

This year, Briley took her ex perience with counseling and channeled it into the world of writing, publishing her own book titled “Welcome To..” It

is a volume of motivational say ings and phrases that Briley hopes will inspire and bring confidence to readers who may be struggling in their personal journey.

“It’s actually an inspiring and motivating book that was created to help those who are struggling, whether it is psychologically, men tally, spiritually, or emotionally,” Briley said. Briley then goes on to describe what inspired her to write her book. “One of the many reasons the book came about was that I had one of my old friends who contacted me a couple of months after the death of his fa ther, and he was dealing with that, as well as a whole lot of other in security issues. And he asked me if I could send him little inspirational phrases every day. So I was online, and I would be Googling things,

IN THIS ISSUE

HUMANITIES CONFERENCE PHOTOS

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Image series on GSW’s Hu manities Conference, hosted by Dr. Susan Bragg,where stu dents from various programs got to present their projects and ideas.

MAJORS & MINORS FAIR

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Students attended the Majors and Minors fair to learn about other the many departments and programs that GSW has to offer.

LOCAL BUSINESS HIGHLIGHT

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A convincing argument for why GSW students should buy food from a pizzeria with quality ingredients in Buena Vista.

GSW PROFESSOR RECIEVES

U.S. PATENT

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Dr. Alexander Yemelyanov, a GSW computer science pro fessor, is awarded a U.S. Pat ent for his web application.

and I’d think about him, and I’d look at specific quotes to send to him. And then one day, I said to myself that I could do better than that. So that is how I start ed writing my own little inspira tional phrases. And also, during this time, it was the beginning of the pandemic. So, a lot of my clients were struggling with bunkering down and sheltering in, and they were losing sight of who they were. They were struggling with depression and anxiety from being closed in, not being able to work, social ize, or see family and friends. So, they were also an inspiration for why I created this book.”

Briley describes the process she went through while writing her book. “Honestly, it wasn’t difficult at all,” Briley said. “Be cause what I do when I write, I always think about the popula tion or community I’m trying to reach. It’s not gender-based or race-based; it’s more so about the inner-man of a person, the spirit of a human being. How I would want someone to treat me is basically what I wanted to inspire others with, because I know how it feels to have low self-esteem, to not feel that you’re worthy or to feel less than, and to just have one person say something positive to you can change your whole outlook.”

Briley goes on to discuss the publishing process after writing her book. “It was an interesting siting and tedious process. I can

say that I learned a lot. I learned that I really needed to be more hands-on and actively engaged,” Briley said. “I didn’t think that I would need to, be cause I took the route of a pub lishing company. Before that, I had a lot of people telling me to do it myself, self-publish, go through Amazon, and I was like okay. But I knew me. And I knew then that I was not in that mind set of wanting to do it on my own. I wanted a one-stop shop. So, I went through a publishing company, and I found that with the company, I still was actively involved and engaged in every single step of the process, with the proofreading, with the re viewing, and everything else. So, I would say it was tedious and time-consuming, but overall, exciting.”

Briley talks about some of the many things she learned while writing and publishing her book. “What I’ve learned about myself is that I’m stronger than I thought I was. I’ve learned how to step outside of my safety zone,” Briley said. “There are people that I do want to reach with this book, and I want them to know that you are loved and you are worthy just like the next person.”

“Welcome To..” can be found on Amazon, Google Play, Apple Books, and Barnes and Noble.

Pictures from promotional events for “Wel come To..” in Columbus and LaGrange. Photos submitted by Anntoinette Briley.

GSW HUMANITIES CONFERENCE IMAGE SERIES

Check out some of the key moments from the Humanities Symposium for Fall 2022! Dr. Susan Bragg hosted a confer ence that gave students from different humanities programs the opportunity to present their ideas. This event also offered a Windows to the World credit.

Sam Mahone giving the keynote speech during the lunch reception. Photo by Talik Hill.

Alexis Glass, a junior art major with a concentration in Ceramics, presenting her photo collage of white chil dren in lynch mobs. Photo by Colby Hernandez.

Sheridon Lambert, a senior art major, presents her glass container with soil she gathered from Cotton Av enue to memorialize William Redding. Photo by Colby Hernandez.

Sefunmi Adebanwo, a senior art major with a concentration in photography. Photo by Colby Hernandez.

The student participants and chair of the morning panel titled “Creative Expressions: Imagination & Characters.” Photo by Talik Hill.

Omeka Davis’ powerpoint presentation titled “A World Called Fantasy: The Land of Wonders and Magic.”

Photo by Talik Hill.

Sam Gainous’ powerpoint presentation titled “‘I don’t want real ism, I want magic’: Staging the Main Characters of A Streetcar Named Desire.” Photo by Talik Hill.

STUDENT NEWS

Majors & Minors Fair

Amari Rudison Staff Writer

All GSW students were invited to attend the annual Majors and Mi nors fair on Wednesday November 9, and this year saw a large turnout. The class of 2026 got to view GSW’s majors and minors and learn more about what they could possibly major or minor in to enhance their education.

Students received information from Financial Aid officers, and got to go through the hallways of the Storm

Dome, where different tables were set up with information about the different Major and Minor programs. There was also a presentation about Financial Aid, which included new GPA require ments for the freshman class and the summer aid application process. If students missed the fair, all information can be found on the GSW website. Thank you to all the faculty and staff who showed up to represent their departments to the students!

LOCAL NEWS

Local Business Highlights: J&L Front Porch Pizzeria

Colby Hernandez Staff Writer

Exterior of J&L Front Porch Pizzeria in Buena Vista, Georgia. Photo by Colby Hernandez.

On your way to Columbus, one may find themselves in the little town of Buena Vista. The small area seems to be just another pass-through town with only one stoplight. Hidden gems, however, can be found in the places you least expect.

Located at 114 N McDuffie St Buena Vista, GA, you find J&L Front Porch Pizzeria, a local gem on the way to Columbus. Owned and operated by Lisa Rodeheaver for 30 years this upcoming January, J&L has been a staple for the Marion County area as long as most folks can remember.

Now, you may be thinking, “Colby, this is just another grease-filled fast pizza joint. Why would I trek

Freshman students lining up at tables during the Majors & Minors Fair.

Photo by Amari Rudison.

30 minutes from campus just for some pizza?” If this is you, you are oh-so wrong. You see, everything here is house made, from the dough to the sauce. Everything is made to order, and salads are guaran teed fresh.

So, what else makes their food special? I went in and asked them myself. “We have two signature sauces,” Lisa told me. “The Joe Sauce was thought up in house, and our Armageddon Sauce was made with the help of some local veterans.” Both sauces can be ordered as sides or can be put on wings. But it doesn’t stop with wings. Piz zas can be ordered how you want them, with prices being based on toppings and not some arbitrary fixed menu

system. From a cheese pizza to a supreme with pineap ples, anchovies, and all sorts of peppers, J&L will make it. Some favorite items include the Sloppy Steak Sandwich, a Philly Cheese Steak with onions, green peppers, banana peppers, and mush rooms, and the always or dered house-made bread sticks, covered in butter and baked to perfection.

If you ever get the chance, stop on by J&L and grab some pizza with some friends. You may even see me working! J&L Front Porch Pizzeria is located at 101 Mc Duffie St, Bue na Vista, GA 31803. It is open 11AM-9PM Monday through Saturday.

FACULTY & STAFF

Dr. Alexander Yemelyanov Receives U.S. Patent for Express Decision Application

Jackson Carlstrom Editor-In-Chief

Since the 90’s, Dr. Alexander Yemelyanov, computer science professor at Georgia Southwestern State University, has been working on creating his own web application entitled Express Decision, a tool designed to assist with decision making. This year, Dr. Yemelyanov reached an important milestone with Express Decision: he was awarded a U.S. Patent from the gov ernment. This makes Dr. Yemelyanov the first GSW employee to receive a U.S. patent, and one of less than 60 people from Americus to receive a U.S. patent.

“Express Decision is a web app designed to support an

Pizza and wings prepared at J&L Front Porch Piz zeria. Photo by Colby Hernandez.

Dr. Alexander Yemelyanov with his U.S. Patent Certifi cate. Photo by University Relations.

individual in quickly making difficult decisions under uncertainty,” Dr. Yemelyanov said, talking about the purpose of his web application. “These difficult decisions are emotionally driven and typically solved by using rational intuition. Express Decision implements the Performance Evaluation Process, which uses the self-reg ulation model of thinking activity. This makes Express Decision behaviorally comparable to its user, which increases the likelihood that its decision advice will be accepted by the user.”

Since taking on this project in the 90’s, Dr. Yemelyanov has published more than 20 research publications and has presented his work at several different research conferences. “My main inspiration behind starting this project was my father, Mihhail Kotik, Tartu University professor and one of the leading engineering psychol ogists in the field of activity safety,” Dr. Yemelyanov said. “He was a teacher and adviser to me. Together we collaborated on three monographs, as well as several research publications.”

Dr. Yemelyanov has implemented Express Decision into several of the computer science courses that he teaches. “So far, Express Decision has been integrated into GSW’s curriculum through various undergradu ate assignments and several graduate research projects in the courses Decision Support Systems, Intelligent Systems, and Human-Computer Interaction,” Dr. Yemelyanov said. Three of my graduate students also wrote their theses on the topic, and two of those students collaborated on three different academic journal publica tions with me.”

Now that Express Decision is patented by the government, Dr. Yemelyanov’s ownership of his invention is legally protected. “The biggest advantage of this patent is that it protects my invention from any infringe ment,” Dr. Yemelyanov said. “Currently, I have no concrete plans to commercialize my invention, but at the same time, I do find it valuable that my idea will be protected through licensing for all future use. I also think this provides me more flexibility and opportunity to potentially expand upon my project in the future.”

Gaynor Cheokas, dean of the College of Business and Computing, recently talked about Dr. Yemelyanov’s patent on Georgia Southwestern’s website. “We are extremely proud of Dr. Yemelyanov’s accomplishment,” Cheokas said. “His work inspires others, students and faculty alike, to become better members of our com munity. In the words of John Quincy Adams, ‘to dream more, learn more, do more and become more…’ is key to our mission in the College of Business and Computing.”

Express Decision is still currently in a prototype phase. Once it is fully complete, it will be accessible through both desktop and mobile platforms, including smartphones and tablets.

Jackson Carlstrom Editor-In-Chief jcarlstr@radar.gsw.edu

MEET OUR WRITERS

Talik Hill Media Editor thill19@radar.gsw.edu

Samantha Gainous Staff Writer sgainous@radar.gsw.edu

Colby Hernandez Staff Writer chernan4@radar.gsw.edu

Emma Porter Staff Writer eking5@radar.gsw.edu

Amari Rudison Staff Writer arudison@radar.gsw.edu

Kennedy Tyson Staff Writer ktyson4@radar.gsw.edu

Dr. Ashley P. Jones Faculty Advisor ashley.jones@gsw.edu