Brightwork March 2015

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE COLLEGE OF COASTAL GEORGIA

SPRING 2015

From top: Dr. Greg Aloia with SGA Vice President Jessica Fujimoto, All-American golfers Dylan Freeman and Christian Liggin in Atlanta for CCGA Day at the Capitol.

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From the QuarterDeck

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In this issue

2............. The View from Monticello 5..........Donor Profile: Irwin Berman 6.........Powered by Flying Monkeys 7.......................Independent Intern 8.................Pluff Mud, Muck Boots

& Vernier Calipers 13................................ Crystal Clear 14...................... Smashing Success 16................................ It’s an Honor 19........A View from the Crow’s Nest 20......................1,2,3 Read with Me 22...............Biostatistically Speaking 24................. Hot Days, Cool Nights 24.............................. ACCELeration 25........................... Student Service 26................................. Class Notes 28.................... Faculty & Staff News Brightwork is produced by the Advancement Office of the College of Coastal Georgia with the support of the College of Coastal Georgia Foundation.

Advancement Office Elizabeth Weatherly, Vice President for Advancement John Cornell, Director of Marketing and PR Peggy Golden, Staff Writer/Special Projects Sandy Ault, Assistant to the VP of Advancement Abby Born, Graphic Designer Managing Editor/Layout and Design John Cornell/Abby Born Editor/Senior Writer Peggy Golden Editorial Assistance Sandy Ault, Tyler Coen, Taylor Priest Photography All photographs by John Cornell unless noted.

Cover Photo: The Mariner mascot, the College’s first in official physical form, made his inaugural appearance during the Homecoming 2015 tailgate party. Renderings for the College by legendary artist and cartoonist Jack Davis inspired the mascot’s design.

rowing up in a family of seven children with an Italian father who worked as a mechanic in an aircraft factory and an Irish mother who was a secretary in the Department of Defense with the Navy meant that going to college was going to be an important financial decision for each of my brothers and sisters. For me the difference was that parttime job on campus.

I was a first-generation college student.

More than 45% of our Coastal Georgia students have selfidentified themselves as first-generation. Most of them, like me, will work multiple jobs to pay their way through school. If they were successful high school students in the state of Georgia, they’ll be strongly motivated to maintain their HOPE scholarships because that is, quite literally, their best hope for a brighter future.

For first-generation college students, retention, progression and timely graduation can be a real challenge because life happens. Keeping college as the #1 priority is tough stuff.

Fifteen hours of credit-bearing course work may be one or two classes too many to also work the hours required to keep an off-campus job, much less find time to study and take care of family responsibilities.

Georgia’s future depends upon improving college completion. Meeting the challenges of Complete College Georgia requires acknowledging the challenges of first-generation students and developing creative solutions for the unique situations they confront.

We’re serious about their success. And this campus is amazing, thanks to our dedicated staff and faculty.

The College is developing successful triangulation of students to boost retention, graduation and career placement post-graduation through the Office of Career Services. The semester-to-semester retention rate for students who work on campus is a whopping 92.8%.

Patricia Morris, an academic advisor at College of Coastal Georgia, developed an early and aggressive intervention program for students struggling academically, putting their financial aid at risk. To receive the support and skills necessary to improve their GPAs and maintain their scholarships and grants, she developed the Academic Warning Workshop, a series of mandatory workshops led by dedicated faculty who volunteered their time. Of the 66 freshmen who participated in the pilot program, 24 pulled their GPA above a 2.0 by the end of the semester and 17 made enough improvement to attain the required GPA with additional coaching by the Academic Tutoring and Instruction Center (ATTIC). Faculty use midterm grades and their own observations to alert the Center for Academic Advising of the need to intervene before a student digs too deep of a hole.

The TRiO student support services program is a federally-funded grant program with the goal of improving student success not only for first-generation college students, but also lowincome and disabled students. According to the Department of Education website, students in a TRiO program are twice as likely to remain in college as those students from similar backgrounds who did not opt to participate. TRiO services include intensive academic advising and counseling, economic literacy workshops, peer mentoring and academic tutoring. Belete Muturo, director of Coastal’s TRiO program, has statistics from the past three academic years that show we’re meeting or exceeding the federally-mandated performances objectives in every category, including required retention of 70% or higher (our average exceeds 82%) and a minimum 83% of program participants in good academic standing (our average is 86%).

As I keep saying, this campus is amazing. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Just read the stories and comments of our students in the pages that follow.

Greg

The View from Monticello

Photo by Derek Jackson

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erek Jackson ’17 of Conyers, Ga., was selected by The Thomas Jefferson Foundation to serve as the first Berman Fellow, an internship made possible by the I. R. Berman Family Partnership in American Studies. He is also the inaugural recipient of the Berman Family Partnership Endowed Scholarship in American Studies.

Jackson is pursuing a B.A. in American Studies at Coastal Georgia. The non-traditional student serves as a tutor and Supplemental Instruction Leader for English 1101, History, and Political Science and is cofounder and vice president of the American Studies Club (SAIL) and president of the Shakespeare Club on campus. His interest is in public history and historic preservation and interpretation.

Jackson earned his high school diploma through a home-school program and spent the years that followed working a series of short-term jobs including work in home

renovations. He credits his aunt and uncle, Nick and Cheri Faust, with encouraging his college education. “They knew I could accomplish great things through higher education and offered to help in any way they could.” Jackson also mentioned his sister, April Jackson Harris, as an inspiration for pursuing a degree. “April invited me to visit her while she was attending CCGA and opened my eyes to the opportunities the college offered.”

In nominating Jackson for the internship, Dr. Robert Bleil, Assistant Professor of English and American Studies, described Jackson as a “reserved, precise, and meticulous student.”

“He has consistently impressed me with his thoughtful questions, his unassuming confidence, and his ability to thrive in challenging situations,” Dr. Bleil said. “I was so impressed with Derek that I encouraged him to take my junior-level American Studies methodologies course at the

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Photo by Derek Jackson

The Monticello vegetable garden. The recreation of the garden began in 1979 with two years of archaeological excavations that attempted to confirm details of the documentary evidence. Archaeologists uncovered the remnants of the stone wall, robbed in the twentieth century and covered by eroding soil, exposed the foundation of the garden pavilion, and searched for the nature of garden walkways. The ensuing recreation is especially accurate in detailing the structure of the garden -- the location of the garden squares, the site and character of the wall, and the appearance of the garden pavilion. (source: www.monticello.org) very end of his freshman year. Derek not only surpassed my expectations, but he became a leader in the class.”

Jackson’s eight-week summer internship in the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello not only immersed Jackson in history and scholarship, but also allowed him to travel to new territory he had never visited, including Charlottesville, Va., and Washington, D.C. Before he arrived at Monticello, he was offered his choice of an internship in one of three areas: the Jefferson Library, Education and Visitor Programs, or the International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS). Derek said that he had a difficult time deciding because each department offered such unique opportunities, but he chose to apply to the ICJS because it seemed to offer the most variety as well as the broadest view point to experience Monticello.

During his first week at Monticello, he joined a large group of interns across the various departments in learning about the Jefferson Foundation, Monticello and Jefferson’s life. “In the course of that week, each department made presentations introducing us to the types of work and scholarship being done at Monticello. We toured all three floors of Monticello, including areas not open to the public, so we could understand Jefferson’s ingenuity and experimentation as well as the gardens and outbuildings for a firmer understanding of the life enslaved people endured on the plantation. It was a total immersion in Jefferson’s life in retirement as well as the lives of the people close to him and the grounds and buildings,” Jackson said.

“Because my interests are not only research oriented but also operational, I selected ICJS to learn more about the operations of a museum and the business side of a historic foundation.

Multiple projects operate from the International Center office,” he explained. “Their focus is on Jefferson scholarship, international contacts, and events to present current research. Throughout my internship, I answered questions about the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, catalogued archives and materials for the Getting Brightwork 4

Word oral history project, worked on the photography archives of foundation events since 2005, and interacted with Fellows who had traveled to Monticello for graduate and international research. I even had the opportunity to take the visiting Fellows on a tour of the upper floors of Monticello.”

One of the more in depth assignments Jackson became involved with during his internship was assisting the staff of the Getting Word project. “Getting Word is giving faces and names to the slaves who lived, worked, raised their families, and ultimately died, were freed, escaped or were sold as Jefferson’s property. This African-American oral history project specific to the Monticello community is reclaiming and restoring their histories,” he explained.

Also, he served as the staff liaison and orientation leader for Fellows from the United Kingdom, China and Italy during the last few weeks of the internship, an experience he described as a close-knit sharing of their respective cultures. “Learning about the various differences and similarities between our cultures was fascinating, and it was an enlightening experience seeing Monticello’s Fourth of July ceremonies through the eyes of the international Fellows.”

After hours, Jackson found himself helping with a VIP private tour of Monticello which included presentations by the curator and interaction with special guests and donors.

His synthesis of these interactions and exchanges resulted in a heightened consciousness of the guest experience and the responsibilities of a staff member, according to Jackson.

On weekends, he spent time learning the Charlottesville area and travelling to Mt. Vernon, Williamsburg and Jamestown in order to compare facilities and programs. “I wanted to visit other presidential homes and regional historic preservation and interpretive sites as a contrast to Monticello,” Jackson added.

“The Jefferson Foundation’s emphasis has been maintaining the authenticity of Monticello as it would have been during Jefferson’s retirement. Montpellier, the home of James and Dolley

Madison, is also focusing on the post-presidential period of the Madisons’ private lives, but Montpellier is in an earlier stage of development compared to Monticello. The differences in the way sites like Monticello, Montpellier, or Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of James Monroe, which is also in the Charlottesville area, present their history is often subtle, but they each have a unique way to balance the historical legacies of these founding fathers with the historical realities of the way they lived.”

Jackson praised the internship as intellectually stimulating: “I was experiencing Monticello just as it might have been when Jefferson himself resided there. That kind of historical immersion

is priceless.” He also talked of how valuable it was getting to spend time with the other interns, the staff of the ICJS, and other employees at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “There was a positive atmosphere at Monticello and a general passion for the work being done there. It is definitely the kind of place that I would want to work in the future.”

“Now I have a better sense of what the work of historic restoration and interpretation would be. I relished the collegiality, the combination of being with the right people at the right place,” he concluded. “I loved my time there. I was genuinely inspired.”

DONOR PROFILE: Dr. Irwin Berman

From Charlottesville to the Golden Isles

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Photo by Lance Sabbe h2o creative group

he College of Coastal Georgia is the first school in the University System of Georgia to offer a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies. That fact intrigued a retired doctor, weaving together his alma mater, his love of the Golden Isles and his abiding curiosity about the impact of slavery in the United States.

Retired local surgeon, art collector, artist and inventor Dr. Irwin Berman was inspired to endow the Berman Family Partnership in American Studies – a new partnership between the American Studies Department of College of Coastal Georgia and institutions such as The Thomas Jefferson Foundation and The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. The mission of the partnership is in-depth study and undergraduate student research of antebellum America, including land management, architectural details, human resources and respective impacts upon the evolution of the industrial revolution in the United States. The partnership includes funding an endowed scholarship and paid internships for Coastal Georgia students to pursue scholarly research.

Dr. Berman attended medical school at the University of Virginia and loved his time in Charlottesville. “I wanted to somehow tie together my vision of a partnership,” he said, “creating an opportunity for local Coastal Georgia students to experience undergraduate research beyond our regional borders. In turn, these students would gain unique perspectives in locations and institutions they might otherwise never discover. The third factor is introducing and demonstrating the talents and skills developed at Coastal Georgia to the Charlottesville academic environment with the expectation they will excel.”

Focusing on historic research he believed would be worthwhile, he approached the College about developing a program specific to American Studies that would encourage students to delve deeper, learn more and make the realities of slavery explicit.

“I believe broader exposure for the individual student will result in experiences that can be shared, that can become a dialogue and eventually a true conversation,” he explained. “A requirement of

the fellowships is presenting their research and experiences on campus.”

Dr. Berman believes examining the institution of AfricanAmerican slavery, dissecting it and understanding it, presents some unusual opportunities.

“This type of research and critical thinking increase intellectual acumen – the ability to analyze and synthesize. The internships and interchanges will expose mature, serious students to diversity and an open-mindedness that will result in both personal and academic growth. I’m convinced of that. What they learn there can be applied here.”

He concluded, “It also creates opportunities for unique regional experiences – something not offered elsewhere but available through the College of Coastal Georgia. That sounds like a good investment to me. And I hope to inspire some other intellectually passionate benefactors to consider partnering with the College to create more of these focused opportunities.”

To learn more about the creative output of Dr. Irwin Berman, visit irwinberman.com. The work of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation is highlighted on themonticello.org website and jeffschoolheritagecenter.org provides information about the Center’s mission, research and exhibitions.

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College of Coastal Georgia

Powered by the Flying Monkey

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and his pots of Flying Monkey at Twisted Branch.

“My assignment at the Heritage Center was to research what the African American population in the region did after the Civil War. There were two primary population concentrations. I had a list of influential people to begin my research. What I began to discover was not only where they lived, but also occupational densities - jobs appearing most or least, clustered within one or the other of the communities. A picture of the differences between the communities began to emerge,” Barrs explained.

He found the city directories to be a fascinating source of information – and also efficient for the first decades of his research because separate editions were published for the African American community, averaging 200 to 250 pages each.

But in 1902-03 the directories were integrated, with African Americans asterisked. The volume size jumped to over 600 pages and Barrs found himself wishing for a magnifying glass to help him spot the asterisks that marked his subject matter.

“I became fascinated with the data and the discovery process as I used these old directories spanning the post-emancipation period to 1924. As an intern, the emphasis was on the quality of my research,” he added. “As a novice historical researcher, I had the luxury of dedicated time and reflection. I met and talked with people who had lived within these communities. I learned the importance and the pleasures inherent in networking with other historic researchers. I also learned what an important role librarians play in facilitating research. Success can hinge on your allies.”

Photo by Ben Barrs

hen Ben Barrs ‘15 graduated from Glynn Academy in 2008, he thought his life would be tied to music. He enrolled at Berry College, just north of Rome, Ga., to pursue a music education major, trumpet in hand and voice in tune. But within two years, he decided to change his career direction with the changes in funding for fine arts in secondary schools.

Barrs returned to Brunswick and the prospect of starting over – a prospect further complicated by no music program at the College of Coastal Georgia, which meant only two courses on his Berry College transcript provided transferable credit. The gap added a few years to his degree progression.

Secondary education was still his plan, but history inspired him and he gravitated to the American Studies program with a concentration in cultural studies and communication. Barrs became active in SAIL (Students in American Interdisciplinary Learning) and was tapped at the end of the spring 2014 semester to become the second Berman Fellow, interning at The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in Charlottesville, Va., for four weeks during the summer.

Barrs discovered a new love through the internship: historical research and a passion for producing something worthy.

He also discovered the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar in Charlottesville, where a pot of tea selected for the name – Flying Monkey – became his beverage of choice for the remainder of his research.

“The tea is a highly-caffeinated blend of black teas. The name recalled the flying monkeys of my family’s favorite movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ I could drink it for hours and the caffeine kept me buzzing while I pored over old directories, census data and property records,” he laughed. “I’ll need to make a tea run to Charlottesville before finals!”

To help control the expenses of the long-distance internship, The Jefferson School arranged for Barrs to live with a local family in the guest house of their historic home. Barrs took advantage of the trolley system in Charlottesville to move between the Heritage Center, University of Virginia, libraries

The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, one of Barrs’ resources Brightwork 6

n Photo by Be

Barrs

Barrs had one recommendation for his benefactor, Dr. Irwin Berman. “Four weeks is too short. If I could ask Dr. Berman for one thing, it would be to fund a longer period of time for the internship.

There were too many loose ends I wanted to tie together. What a great opportunity his gift to the College Foundation provided.”

Barrs described the internship as life changing. “You learn how to research, which is a synonym for explore, discover and focus. I felt like a detective, exhausting every avenue. You learn how to use the world of resources, which includes learning what that world actually is - and is not. This is not something you do through Google. Academic research is not trolling the shallows.”

The fishing analogy led him back to Hemingway and how he learned to research and understand The Old Man and the Sea earlier in life. “I couldn’t understand the book and reading summaries just didn’t resonate. Finally my older brother, who was in the Navy, told me I needed to experience a Hemingway perspective – Cuban cigar and drink in hand, staring at the sea from the boat deck.

My viewpoint shifted. It worked. So now I have these little notebooks of Hemingway moments and research.”

Which will be his capstone project? Ernest Hemingway or plotting Charlottesville’s freedmen population density on an antique map by occupation as well as by address?

“You never know what you are going to find and what it will be in the end,” he concluded. “The research takes you where it is going to take you. You just follow it.”

An Independent Intern

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ot all internships are paid – although, for students, it would be a blessing if they were.

Elisabeth Tasciotti ’16, an American Studies major and the recipient of a Rose Scholarship from the College Foundation, is raising a family while serving as a coach at the Writing Center, taking classes five days a week, and working weekends in the main dining room of the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

“American Studies lends itself to internships. You can create your own opportunities,” she said. Tasciotti wanted a local internship because of family and work. She went online to a Georgia Department of Natural Resources site to explore internships at state historic sites and found one close to home: HofwylBroadfield Plantation, a Georgia State Historic Site on U.S. Route 17 between Brunswick and Darien.

Attempting to answer guests’ questions at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel had led her to an immersion in Jekyll Island history. That same curiosity piqued interest in Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation.

Site manager Bill Giles was responsive to Tasciotti’s need for a flexible schedule and open to her creating program projects.

During May, June and July, Tasciotti went to Hofwyl twice weekly, expanding her schedule in August to include a third day until classes resumed for fall. She hopes to continue an informal schedule through the school year, with an eye toward the internship expanding to become her capstone project or independent study for credit.

Creating Programming for Kids at Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Every Saturday in June, Tasciotti developed a special activity for younger visitors to the plantation.

“Families would arrive for the house tour, but many of the children found the history of the rice plantation and family that had lived there a bit dry. So I created a mental scavenger hunt – a kid-friendly worksheet directing them to activities more specific to their interests,” she explained.

“There would be a few kids every Saturday.

We might draw furniture, discovering what made it special to that period of history. We might shuck and sift rice, so they would understand the work involved.

Or we would take a natural history walk of the grounds, learning about live oak trees, Spanish moss and other features 7

surrounding the house.”

Tasciotti also discovered boxes of archives detailing the history of the plantation as a historic site – guest logs, old posters and letters of appreciation. “Each box was like a treasure chest. I’d be exclaiming ‘Oh wow, this is so cool’ and I’d begin organizing and cataloguing the material. This is the project that requires my long-term commitment.”

Tasciotti discovered more than boxes of history – she experienced the potential for a new direction. “Internships open your eyes to all kinds of new jobs and possibilities. Rather than a master’s in English, I’m now considering writing interpretive guides for state parks,” she admitted.

“I’m falling in love with public history,” Tasciotti concluded, “and even though this has not been a paid internship, it has still been a wonderful, worthwhile opportunity.”

College of Coastal Georgia

Pluff Mud, Muck Boots & Vernier Calipers Coastal Conservation, Biology 4020

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he Conservation Biology class members, 14 upperclassmen in the coastal ecology track of the B.S. in Biological Sciences program, stood at the top of the bank overlooking saltmarsh and a bend of the tidal Lawrence Creek at Cannon’s Point Preserve on St. Simons Island. The smell of bug repellant overpowered the distinctive scent of pluff mud. The October 3rd morning temperature was warm enough for shorts and sandals, but most of the students were in jeans and either muck boots or old sneakers.

They were prepared to get down and dirty; a few expected to be wet.

“Do you remember what Seabrook [author and environmentalist Charles Seabrook] said he did when he got stuck in the pluff mud?” Dr. C. Tate Holbrook, Assistant Professor of Biology, asked. A couple of students immediately posed in an arms-spread-forward lean to illustrate the technique.

But not everyone was planning to foray into the muck and water. Mary Freund and Drew Weldon were among the handful that climbed down the bank. Others, such as Jessica Wolff, stood

at the top, poised to record counts and measurements as they were called out by those at the water’s edge. Chris Thornton was marking off a quadrat grid along a transect that passed through the lower, middle and upper intertidal zones of the bank.

The counting and measuring of living macro-invertebrates – oysters, mussels and barnacles – to determine their abundance and size began at low tide. The students worked quickly, knowing how soon and how high (six to nine feet) the tide could rise.

“Remember, we want to minimize human impact and habitat destruction,” Dr. Holbrook cautioned as myriads of tiny fiddler crabs scuttled across the top of the bank, popping down holes that pocked the hard surface with the first vibration of a foot step.

A Systematic Field Study

This morning’s project was a biological monitoring of a section of the Lawrence Creek shoreline at Cannon’s Point Preserve. From that morning’s work, a baseline would be established for the oyster reef habitat and bordering plant community. Students estimated

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the area and density of each existing oyster bed and oyster size, as measured by Vernier calipers. They also recorded the density of smooth cordgrass (Spartina)and the percent cover of other plant species growing upland of the creek. Later, they would monitor water quality and take photographs to document the eroding shoreline.

The College has made a multiyear commitment to partner with the St. Simons Island Land Trust, Cannon’s Point Preserve and the Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to assess impacts of a Living Shoreline installation.

As a new approach to combatting tidal creek erosion, Living Shorelines use bioengineering and native vegetative plantings rather than rock revetments or bulkheads. In addition to stabilizing creek banks, they are designed to provide habitat for wildlife and to promote ecosystem services such as natural water filtration.

“But we need to conduct long-term monitoring, before and after the Living Shorelines installation, to demonstrate that these benefits are actually occurring,” Dr. Holbrook noted. “That will be our task over the next several years. We’re just getting started.”

The campus Biology Club has adopted Lawrence Creek as part of the DNR’s Adopt-a-Wetland program and will be continuing water quality monitoring at

Cannon’s Point Preserve monthly. Biology Club Secretary Jennifer Jenkins ’16, also a student in the Conservation Biology class, is leading that effort.

The Biology Club also organizes volunteer opportunities to fill mesh bags with oyster shells at Cannon’s Point for use in restoring oyster bed habitat as part of the Living Shoreline project.

Cannon’s Point Preserve is only the fourth Living Shoreline project to date along the Georgia coast. The three pilot projects established since 2006 include two sites on Sapelo Island and one on Little St. Simons Island, according to Professor Jan McKinnon, an adjunct professor of biology at the College who has worked as a biologist with the Coastal Resources Division of the DNR for 15 years. McKinnon oversees the division’s wetlands program and also coordinates the College’s internships with the GADNR division.

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Not only does the Living Shorelines project provide fieldwork and experience for the biology students, but it also serves as a practical platform for service-learning, as the students attest. [Please refer to student comments in the accompanying profiles on these pages.]

“The students are engaged in a meaningful research experience, applying what they have learned in Conservation Biology and other courses to collect and analyze real data that will contribute to a larger project. At the same time, our class is serving the needs of our community partners, who are extremely supportive and grateful, as well as the natural coastal environment, which sustains our economy and wellbeing but unfortunately is threatened by human activities,” Dr. Holbrook pointed out. “It’s a win-win all the way around.”

This is the first year Dr. Holbrook has taught the class. Prior to joining the faculty

Meet the Mariners Drew Weldon ’16 grew up in Valdosta but now lives on St. Simons Island while working on his biology degree in the coastal ecology track.

The non-traditional student works as a cook at Delaney’s Bistro. He likes being outdoors and doing coastal things such as kayaking in the saltmarsh. But he also likes to ask why questions.

“It’s one thing to go walk on the beach, but another to understand what is happening there,” he said. “I want to understand beyond the experience.”

So Weldon gets out of the kitchen to pursue a degree in a completely different field. “We’re a pretty focused group. We’re goal oriented and we understand the need for degrees.” He finds that to be true not only in the conservation biology class, but across the biology major. “Small classes, accessible faculty and we like to talk about what we are studying – that sums it up.”

Once he graduates, he’ll be deciding whether to pursue graduate school or work as a naturalist. “I’d like to intern with the Land Trust.

I’m interested in the marine extension service on Sapelo Island. I’m also interested in non-game invasive species. So maybe I’ll get to work with the coastal resources division of the DNR. Or maybe I’ll teach. I still have time to discover and decide. I’m not the oldest person in the class,” he laughed. of Coastal Georgia, he served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Lynchburg College in Virginia for two years. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from Arizona State University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a B.S. in Biology, concentration in ecology and evolution.

His primary research area is the behavioral ecology and sociobiology of insects, but he is becoming increasingly involved in coastal conservation, including research at Cannon’s Point and service on the Georgia Coastal Management Program’s Coastal Advisory Council.

Charles Seabrook visited the Conservation Biology class in December. The students shared their experiences and findings from the Cannon’s Point service-learning project with the environmental author. One of Seabrook’s books, The World of the Salt Marsh: Appreciating and Protecting the Tidal Marshes of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast, was named one of the ten “Books All Georgians Should Read” for 2014 by the Advisory Council for the Georgia Center for the Book. Seabrook also writes the “Wild Georgia” column for the Atlanta JournalConstitution, where he worked as a science reporter for more than 30 years.

Chris Thornton ’15 earned an A.S. in general biology in 2007 and is on track to receive his B.S. in biology, coastal ecology track. He grew up in Jesup, but now lives and works in Darien.

A non-traditional student, Thornton works full time as a natural resource technician in game management with the wildlife resources division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He takes two classes per semester at Coastal Georgia.

“When you have a family and a full time job, it’s a great opportunity to be able to earn a four-year degree locally. I don’t have to travel five or six hours to get a degree,” he said. “It’s become so competitive, I need a B.S. or even a M.S. for career advancement.”

He appreciates that the coastal ecology course work is specific to the region. “I’m out in the field, hands on, with experiences pertinent to my future career,” he explained. “I live and work on the coast and this program is tailored directly for that. We live in a diverse ecosystem – a living lab - and this program is appropriate to many of the management and research programs carried out by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources here on the coast and it prepares students well for future employment. We’ve needed this local program for a long time.”

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Meet the Mariners Thornton also appreciates the service-learning component integrated into the conservation biology class. “I gain valuable experience in the natural resources field while also serving my community. I like that. Service-learning also lets potential employers see the caliber – and recognize the names – of Coastal Georgia students.”

He concluded, “I feel good about what I’m going to be able to do with this degree and what I’m learning.”

Mary Freund ’15, a biology major in the coastal ecology track, grew up swimming, fishing and playing in the mud of the blackwater Satilla River. The flow and fortunes of the Satilla River are as important to her as the blood flowing through her veins. No surprise, then, that she chose a service-learning internship with the Satilla Riverkeeper which morphed into a part-time job. She continues data collection and for her senior project during spring semester she will present her research: an investigation of water quality and plankton communities in the Satilla River.

The conservation biology class with Dr. Holbrook is her third service-learning project. “I like service learning. My initial research didn’t feel like service, but I get it now,” she admitted.

“I’m gathering real-life data and putting it in context. The data can be used to inform policy decisions and to monitor the health of the river. Plus I like the hands-on experience of fieldwork.”

She cited additional benefits to service-learning, such as opening the door to other non-profit organizations, networking with community leaders, and providing in-field experiences beneficial for graduate school applications and resumés. “Servicelearning puts you to work,” she said, “and it helps you figure out where you want to be as well as what you do – and don’t – want to do.”

Freund isn’t concerned about getting muddy or wet in fieldwork. She not only has the appropriate equipment, such as muck boots, but she also is scuba-certified. There isn’t much in the water she doesn’t like. Although most of her diving has been in the freshwater springs of Florida, she recalls with zest a handful of saltwater dives on Palancar Reef off Cozumel Island in Mexico. “My zoology textbook came to life right in front of my eyes.”

Marine invertebrates intrigue her. “I research the things that fish eat more than the fish,” she laughed. As a result, she is checking into the six-year Ph.D. program in zoology offered by the University of Florida. And with her keen interest in tropical Brightwork 12

conservation and development, she would like to be a research diver for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“What we’re doing in conservation biology at Cannon’s Point is the preliminary analysis for a living shorelines project. I appreciate the long-term investment and the continuity of that kind of project. All my work has been for something. There’s satisfaction in that.”

Freund concluded, “The College of Coastal Georgia has shaped me, and it’s a much different me than the music education major who started at Valdosta and then transferred back home to my river and the coast after freshman year.”

Jessica Wolff ’15 took an environmental sciences class in 2011 with Dr. Rebecca Yeomans at Coastal Georgia and, at the end of the term, changed her major from education to biology in the coastal ecology track. “I may yet teach,” she admitted, “but I’m going to get my B.S. in biology and then pick up teacher training. I love the science classes. I won’t deny they are hard, but you just buckle down and do it.”

Wolff graduated from Brunswick High School in 2006.

She attended Coastal Georgia for one year, while it was still a community college, but she then moved to Bowling Green, Ky. When she returned to the area in 2011, she enrolled at the College, which had become a baccalaureate school during her Kentucky sojourn.

She has the credit hours for her biology degree and she confirms she’s ready to graduate, but she readily admits she’d like more classes with Dr. Holbrook and with Adjunct Professor Jan McKinnon.

The conservation biology service-learning project at Cannon’s Point is providing an interactive demonstration of the importance of shoreline stabilization to protect biodiversity, according to Wolff, overlapping her interest in aquatic biology and ecology.

She is also learning more about invasive plants. “Even what you plant in your flower garden can impact the coast long term,” she noted.

In addition to her fieldwork and modeling of statistics for conservation biology, she is conducting independent research on Little St. Simons Island’s coyotes, studying the changes in predator relationships.

“I would encourage students to take service-learning course work,” Wolff added. “It’s experiential. You apply the techniques you learned in class out in the field and I find that really cool.”

Crystal Clear

Crystal Jones ’16 has a clear plan for success

C

rystal Jones ’16 makes the saxophone wail and sing. She puts her passion into her playing, often shocking people with the big sound the little lady in the wheel chair belts out, then dropping to a soft, plaintive riff of low notes as sad as the sigh of the wind in the pines.

If her dreams come true, some day she’ll play on stage with Kenny G. She has played at campus events as half of the saxophone duo Jones-a-phones with her father as partner.

Her father, who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, started playing the saxophone in junior high. Jones, who grew up in Woodbine and attended Camden County schools, picked up the saxophone the summer before middle school and played with the Camden Middle School Band and Camden County High School Concert and Jazz Band. She performed solo for a couple of years before teaming up with her father approximately nine years ago. She’s a seasoned pro, playing for churches, weddings, the Disney cruise lines, for a revival service with gospel recording artist Luther Barnes in Brunswick, and as the opener for gospel singer Tramaine Hawkins when the recording artist appeared in Savannah.

“Music has been part of me since childhood. I was singing in public by the time I was two years old. Around the age of eight, my interest in singing began to fade but my love for music remained. It was just time for something new,” she says. That’s when she decided to play keyboard, doing so for nearly a decade at her local church.

Jones was born with spina bifida, a disabling birth defect of the spinal column, and depends on a wheel chair to get around, on campus and on stage. In 2010, she lost one of her legs when the device used to straighten it cut off circulation to her leg and foot, requiring amputation. She says that was the hardest time in her life, emotionally, but she was still determined to continue her college career and took online classes during her hospitalization.

In 2013, she received an Associate degree in art. She’ll complete her B.B.A. coursework at the end of fall term 2015 and realize

13

another dream when she participates in the spring 2016 commencement.

“For me, the most difficult aspect of college was financial – not social or academic,” she admits. She credits the scholarship she received through the Jabberwock Pageant sponsored by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority her senior year of high school and the Emory Dawson Scholarship, funded by the Elks Club of Brunswick, with making her college education affordable.

“I’m shy until you get to know me,” she says. “I’m also creative, strong in faith and very determined. And I’m blessed – my family is always there for me.”

The creativity is manifest not only in Jones’ music, but also through her three-dimensional sculptures, oil paintings and drawings. “I’m planning to own my own business in music and art. That’s why I want that B.B.A.” One aspect of the B.B.A. degree is required service-learning course work. During fall term 2014, she was in the Leadership 4000 class taught by Dr. Jim Fullerton, Assistant Professor of Management, School of Business and Public Affairs. She has been working with Golden Isles Live!, a not-for-profit corporation formerly known as the Brunswick Community Concert Association, assisting with concert marketing and volunteer recruitment. Her service-learning work blossomed into an internship with the association.

“I want people to know that no matter what obstacles I’ve faced, I’ve never given up on accomplishing my goals in my college and music careers,” Jones concludes, “and I’d like to be remembered on campus as talented, gifted and humble.”

College of Coastal Georgia

Smashing Success!

I

By Kevin Price, Sports Information Director

n a season full of big performances and highlights for the College of Coastal Georgia women’s volleyball team, the defining moment and most precious memory from the 2014 season was probably the opening-round match against Embry-Riddle in the 2014 NAIA National Volleyball Championship.

In front of one of the biggest and definitely most raucous crowds to ever pile into Howard Coffin Gym for a school athletic event, the Mariners punched their ticket to the final site of the national championship tournament with a thrilling 3-1 victory over the Eagles, a perennial power in NAIA volleyball and the only team that had beaten the Mariners to that point during the 2014 campaign.

That victory, coupled with the big-game atmosphere, made for an afternoon on campus that won’t soon be forgotten.

“It’s what we wanted to have happen and what we’ve worked to have happen. It’s been a process, but it was very humbling and exciting to see all the people in the gym and all the energy that Brightwork 14

they provided,” said Coastal Georgia coach Jeff Huebner.

The Coastal Georgia team credited the spirit of fans, the school pep band and cheerleaders for providing them with extra motivation to get the job done on the court and earn the biggest win in the history of the program.

As it turned out, that victory would be the last of the season for the Mariners, who came up short in all three of their matches at the final site of the championship in Sioux City, Iowa.

Nonetheless, the chance for the Iowa experience that topped off a breakout season for the Coastal Georgia program made the program’s fourth campaign an ultra-successful one which now becomes one that future Mariner outfits can strive to best in the years to come.

The Mariners finished the season with a program-best 35-4 record, surpassing their record of 26-11 from last season which stood for just one year as the team’s best finish. They were ranked 23rd in the final Top 25 poll for the season after earning their first-ever national ranking during the season.

Coach Jeff Huebner

Cayley Meiners

The team also finished a perfect 18-0 during the season in the Southern States Athletic Conference to claim the regular-season league title before then going 5-0 at the league’s postseason tournament to capture the tournament championship as well which earned the team an automatic bid to the national championship.

As one might expect, a championship season led to several individual awards for the Coastal Georgia players and coaches.

Sophomore setter Cayley Meiners and junior outside hitter Emma Anderson were named to the NAIA All-America teams after the national tournament. Meiners was picked for the second team while Anderson was tabbed for the third team.

They are the first Coastal Georgia players to achieve AllAmerican status in volleyball.

Meiners had already been named the SSAC Player of the Year and Setter of the Year while leading the all-conference selections.

She also made the SSAC All-Tournament Team.

Anderson also was a first-team all-conference selection and MVP of the conference tournament.

Also for the Mariners, four other players were first-team all-conference performers including junior Kara Neisen,

A Coffin Gymnasium packed with students, faculty, and staff cheered the Mariners on to their first NAIA tournament victory.

15

Emma Anderson sophomores Rachel Amundson and Allie Shannon and freshman Maddie Bounds.

Shannon also was named to the all-tournament team. Bounds was named Freshman of the Year in the conference to lead the All-Freshman Team, which included Coastal Georgia’s Jennifer Johnson. Johnson also was chosen for the conference second team.

Huebner, who started the Coastal Georgia program four years ago, was chosen as the SSAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Mariners to their championship campaign.

Coastal Georgia players have been equally successful in the academic arena. Neisen was chosen as an Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete, a yearly honor that is awarded to those who have reached junior status and have a 3.5 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale while attending their institution for at least a full academic year.

Neisen was one of eight Coastal Georgia players to make the SSAC All-Academic team, an honor that goes to those in at least their third term of attendance who own a 3.25 GPA or better. The others making the conference team were senior Holly Hammer, sophomore Na’Chanelle Brown, juniors Latasha Fizer and Jessica Fujimoto, along with Meiners, Shannon and Anderson.

Seniors Kansas Robison, Holly Hammer, and Amanda Kline with Assistant Coach Alli Kirk (l) and Head Coach Jeff Huebner (r) College of Coastal Georgia

It’s an Honor...

The College of Coastal Georgia Honors Program takes shape.

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all semester 2014 introduced a pilot program targeting top for full launch in fall 2015. Bleil also anticipates a junior-year freshmen – the honors cohort. seminar and a senior-year thesis or capstone project as the The honors curriculum, developed using national standards, cohort progresses. The National Collegiate Honors Council is a retention tool and recognition program for high academic (NCHC) recommends basic characteristics of an honor achievers. Dr. Robert Bleil, Assistant Professor of English program include experiential learning opportunities or serviceand Director of the Honors Program, describes each of the learning and leadership, undergraduate research opportunities 14 students in the inaugural honors cohort as having “certain or other independent-study options, and learning communities. exceptional qualities.” Qualifications for an invitation to Acknowledgement of academic excellence is important to participate in the program include a minimum 3.5 grade point serious students, Dr. Bleil maintains, and the NCHC requires no average in high school, minimum test scores of 1,100 for the less than 15% and typically 20-25% of a student’s classwork be SAT or 24 composite for the ACT, and in the top 20 percentile at honors-specific in order to be awarded an honors diploma upon graduation. graduation.

Designated honors classes and an honors seminar provide But an honors program can also provide meaningful opportunities for independent student research and closer professional fulfillment and recognition for faculty, Dr. Bleil collaboration with faculty. The focus of the first honors seminar stresses. “NCHC standards emphasize honors faculty selection is leadership in an international based on exceptional context, complementing the global teaching skills, “An honors seminar is enriching, for both awareness specified in the College’s intellectual leadership students and faculty, and adds a special vision statement. and mentoring dimension to our curriculum. An honors The inaugural classes for the pilot of students, and program include Honors First-Year component provides a framework that enables a agreement with the Experience in lieu of CCGA 1101 (the deeper engagement between the student and the mission of an honors first semester college success seminar education.” faculty member in many ways. The interaction required for all first-time, full-time National criteria also degree seeking students) and honors stipulate a rigorous and intellectual sharing that result is a hallmark sections in global issues and political external review process, of a truly collegial academic environment.” science, providing six honors credits. dedicated office space The global issues for the fall 2014 and an advisory - President Gregory F Aloia, Ph.D. honors sections will focus on food and committee or council global distribution, according to Dr. of faculty members Bleil. involved in honors curriculum. According to Dr. Bleil, space “Typically an honors section will require expanded readings, has been allocated on the third floor of the Nunnally Building multiple books and additional philosophical content to take the and the advisory committee is in place, chaired by him and subject matter and discussions to a higher level,” he noted. including Dr. Leon Gardner, Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Honors sections in English, mathematics, history, philosophy, Dr. Sarah Hartman, Assistant Professor of Education; Dr. psychology and select science courses are being developed Laura Lynch, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Dr. Kimberly

Brightwork 16

Maria Alejandra Pareja

Kinsey Mannahan, Assistant Professor of Psychology; Dr. Don Mathews, Professor of Economics; Dr. Michael Morris, Assistant Professor of History; Dr. Lisa Noetzel, Associate Professor of Spanish; Dr. Lydia Watkins, Assistant Professor of Nursing; and Dr. Chris Wilhelm, Assistant Professor of History. Several of the advisory faculty members are also actively involved with the College’s service-learning program.

“The addition of an honors program to the College of Coastal Georgia’s academic culture is an exciting development,” College President Greg Aloia said. “An honors seminar is enriching, for both students and faculty, and adds a special dimension to our curriculum. An honors component provides a framework that enables a deeper engagement between the student and the faculty member in many ways. The interaction and intellectual sharing that result is a hallmark of a truly collegial academic environment. I am very pleased with how the honors program has grown in its first year. Its presence provides another affirmation of the strong commitment of our faculty to provide our students with an outstanding education.”

Maria Alejandra Pareja ’18 didn’t know about the honors program when she enrolled at Coastal Georgia, but she was delighted to be invited to participate. Her choice of college stemmed from her application to the international Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) and the scholarship she received with it.

Pareja is from Cartagena, Colombia. Because Cartagena is a peninsula, Pareja was familiar with – and preferred – the coastal environment. Her mother is an attorney; her father is a zoologist and owns a pest control company, but his abiding dream is a farm with cattle. Pareja is interested in the humanities with a long-

term goal of law or foreign affairs.

“I like the honors program because of its focus on global issues,” she says. “I also like the additional challenge. Education is an important value to me and my parents have always encouraged me to do more, not less.”

Pareja says time management is required, but that is not an issue – just a factor in her planning and prioritizing. As a participant in GRSP, she travels every month to a different city in Georgia, so she opted to take some courses online to minimize missing classes.

In addition to missing her family, she admits she also misses the Colombian style of cooking, especially seafood, and the salsa music. “I am glad the College offers zumba! In Colombia, it is a very serious social activity, not just for exercise.”

“Choosing an experience abroad entails meeting many people and making new friends. The honors cohort has provided an important support network for me. People have been so friendly and helpful -especially my first week, when I kept getting lost on campus,” she laughs.

Derek Woolard ’18 took advanced placement classes during his junior and senior years at Glynn Academy. A College Foundation HOPE and Dreams scholarship recipient, he was intrigued by the idea of participating in the inaugural honors cohort.

“I saw it as an opportunity to help build the program – to give as well as to get,” he explains. “I like to push and challenge myself.

The leadership component of the honors program interested me as much as the academic.”

The push includes balancing a full-time job as a full-time student. The B.B.A. major works as a shift supervisor at the St. Simons Island Chick-fil-A restaurant with the intent of minimum debt at graduation and securing his own Chick-fil-A franchise.

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College of Coastal Georgia

(L) Derek Woolard (R) Alexis Bell

The challenge is the personal academic growth engendered by the honors cohort. He relishes the opportunity to explore differing opinions about complex issues through civil discussion and exchange of ideas.

He also likes the small class size, getting to know other honors cohort students with a similar focus on academic commitment and service learning.

Woolard grew up in Folkston, where his mother worked for a Charlton County probate judge. A frequent court observer, he is accustomed to presentations of evidence, spirited debate, and conversing with adults, including judges and county commissioners. He is enthusiastic about service-learning and community engagement, having volunteered during high school and as a youth activist in YPAC, a student organization promoting involvement in the election process and knowledge of politics.

“I believe that to be successful in the honors program, a student must be able to communicate effectively, discuss objectively and express civilly. Dr. Bleil moderates, rather than leads, the discussion. The honors program is a forum for exploring knowledge and I appreciate this opportunity,” Woolford concluded.

“The honors program makes coming to Coastal Georgia even better!” Alexis Bell ’18 says. She received a Building Our Academic Talent (BOAT) merit scholarship from the College Foundation and was excited to be accepted in the inaugural honors cohort.

The Pierce County High School graduate from Blackshear has entrepreneurial inclinations. Bell’s father owns Composite Research, a custom boat-building company. Her grandfather founded Shuman Apiaries. “I’m good in math and I grew up thinking in business terms, so I’ll probably gravitate toward accounting or tourism and hospitality,” she says. Since she wants to see more of the world, she thinks a B.B.A. grounded in the hospitality industry may just be her ticket.

Bell likes the community feel of the honors cohort, the closeness with program faculty and the other honors students.

Brightwork 18

“I believe the program will help us grow as individuals.

There is more depth to it than classwork, with leadership development, discussion sessions and research that requires us to think and assimilate. We’re learning how to harness and productively use disparate viewpoints,” she explains. “We’re building on the classic standards, but the work is taken to a freer level as we roll it around in our minds and discuss what we’re discovering. We’re told to think – but we’re not told what to think. We learn to see another student’s viewpoint, even if we don’t agree with it.”

She works part-time at Rainbow Drugstore in Brunswick, but she doesn’t feel the additional study is more than she can handle. “The goal is not to slam you with work, but to help you grow. There’s no rote memorizing material and everything pertains, so you kind of absorb it naturally by participating.”

Still, she can encounter hiccups in some of her other classes.

Even honor students can use occasional tutoring. “The natural sciences are not my strength and I still have to get through biology,” she admits. “I’m excited our class has a supplemental instructor to help me with the material. I’m keenly interested in food production and distribution, a global issuing we’re studying in the honors program, and how it can impact my health. But my biology class isn’t intersecting that interest – at least not yet.”

For Bell, one of the significant differences between high school and college is the depth of thinking required. “College coursework is not repetitive. The professors expect critical thinking and I think you get more out of the material as the result,” she concludes.

View from the Crow’s Nest

On-Campus Beauty

App-solutely

Page 8

Page 4

Volume 2, Issue October 2014

wsnest.com

www.ccga-cro

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surprise was the student diversity he discovered on campus: nontraditional, transcontinental and international. He wasn’t the oldest student on campus nor was he the only student originally from California. And he is increasingly convinced he isn’t the only student wishing for a place to meet and jam with other campus musicians every week.

“Right now, my life is pretty much work, go to school, study, play music,” he laughs. But his view of campus life is changing as he looks at it through the lens of reporter and editor.

“The Crow’s Nest can be the springboard for a broad range of student voices,” he says. “As a newspaper, it represents campus and community communication. Because it is paper-based, the information hangs around, goes into more detail and is seen by people beyond the student body.”

As a result, Miller is trying to develop more informative reporting and less opining. “Reporting is not the same as blogging.

An opinion is not a fact. Sources need to be checked and verified.

We’re accountable for what we print and misinformation would be a disservice to the campus.”

He views social media as serving a different function. “Social media is used to connect,” he explains. “It doesn’t really have responsibility. People use it for self-promotion and marketing.

They use it for news spreading. It may be what is happening at that moment, but you don’t always have a context for what you’re seeing. And so much of it is trivial and self-centered. Do I really care what someone ate for breakfast? As the content becomes tedious, people disconnect as much as they connect.”

With a student audience that is digitally connected, he appreciates the need for The Crow’s Nest multi-media platform using print, website, pod casts, Instagram, Facebook and tweets. “We’ve got to get it out there. Not everyone is going to take the newspaper from a rack and read it in the Galley or a lounge.”

Regardless of media used, he views the role of journalism as getting the facts out and promoting public dialogue. “Content needs to be objective, researched and resourced – not just a muddle of opinions. It should answer the question, ‘Why?’” That’s one reason he believes there will always be a need for journalists - especially journalists who can write in a lively, interesting style and make the editorial deadline.

E7

the but at the heart of for most students, Salad and Pizza Bars. cafeteria rests the any it is impossible for Student opinion Within this heart, it any evil.” ty varies on the quali chef or cook to comm ej Tomic agrees Andr r the of majo nt y conte and Psycholog various offerings The with Vey’s sentiments. dining hall and Mariner’s Galley “You arrive in the ge of dly and seemingly provides for Colle are greeted by frien that but one constant is Coastal Georgia. accommodating staff, on the weekends. ys awful cross a d alwa is iewe food interv the The Crow’s Nest seems to be created g ded dinin provi is us vario what g durin Half of .” section of students g it will not get eaten take on their dinin with the hopes that hours on what their y has all dealing with our “All in all, we are The Mariner’s Galle eria experiences,” experience within nceived school cafet preco best the does been. artwells] are fair and balanced,” Tomic continued. “[Ch oved “The menu options aspects can be impr r Lane Silva. “The they can, but many said Business majo ing keep with .” lent job upon nts staff does an excel improvement stude ed, considering the One major area for the options well round . Most days, the about is the restroom itself have voiced concerns Flaw) menu never repeats are e Cafeteria Design and fewer days they situation.( See articl e on, spot befor Alyssa Keeve are hall ns g optio the dinin ers Galley. Photo by lunch in the Marin Students must leave food consistently stays Students gather for questionable. The rnment and of refuge. Problems as far as far as rating tary of Student Gove reaching their place nts within the B range r Kristopher hours,” said Secre given that all stude Majo rush fact g ation this dinin inistr g with .” arise before lines can get durin Business Adm Mariner systems are concerned ordinarily kind a front desk agent n Merritt. master conduit of extra must check in with ent, American Studies major Brya Harper serves as a “I think the staff is dining hall. No paym the most spot on cut one another off, options definitely proceeding into the populi , providing “Students constantly and friendly. The menu for the most part,” voice on order,” Merrit vox n for the Mariner’s a complete lack of needs no go. is matio ry infor dieta there nt and n rks stude suit Rush rema g his position withi Humphry added to Daniel “Sunshine” campus considerin commented. a Business major Chris cloaked in a air of opinions comprise with a wink and nod nt Affairs. the The dichotomy of Silva’s statement.

Mariners nt negative and Stude Mariners Galley is of g stude een “The feelin rum, betw ess, ced spect nding iousn the resou facet .” sliding scale balan food On the other side of but hardly “The campus. It is great experience is that nts offer testimony, r. third best option on regarding the cafe Matt Vey begs to diffe y diner sophomore positive. Stude Harper said. nny ability to Simultaneously, nearb is good as a whole,” any solutions.

“They have this unca rous, it quality nts voice is the her head in agreement concern many stude ns are varied and nume ruining some of the Alyssa Keeve nods one ge optio rage. n “Yet, beve mana Whe des her how of inclu some fly from could in the minutia rounded menu that ,” Vey said “They as she removes a fruit r to get caught up i.e. ate lack of a wellsimplest menu items t. this moment, and adds, is easie dietary restrictions; on rather than activ s without much effor Rush acknowledges y those students with testimonies and opini ruin the easiest dishe cups are continuall options. while sitting ding and use tarian inclu all rware e vege we silve or chees ity e d “The gluten-fre the brain capac gnarly.”

“They made a grille PAG , dered tasted It consi ?

DISH is Why THE n. what SEE es withi caked in through our classes.

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College of Coastal Georgia

Photo Courtesy of Drew Miller

D

rew Miller ’16 is looking for reporters. As editor of The Crow’s Nest, the official student newspaper, he is always in need of curious students interested in writing about what is happening around campus from an objective viewpoint and turning copy in on a monthly deadline during the academic school year. It’s not easy.

Miller was a recruit himself. Copy editor Alvin Fernando ’16 asked him if he’d be interested in working as editor-in-chief, a paid position. An American Studies major in the cultural studies and communication track, Miller figured an on-campus job in his area of interest – journalism and news media – would be good experience.

Just getting to Coastal Georgia had been an experience in itself.

Miller was born in Los Angeles and graduated from San Pedro High School in 2005. At the time, he was interested in marine biology. An avid musician, he was also interested in musical engineering and studio work; he plays drums, guitar and other strings. He has a naturally-curious mind that appreciates English literature and journalism. So rather than trying to select one path, he wandered down several, working and traveling. When his parents moved to St. Simons Island, he decided to settle in this area – at least for a while – and return to school. After graduation, joining the Peace Corps is next on his list.

According to Miller, his first

1, 2, 3, Read with Me D

r. Ronald Reigner holds the Community-Supported Professorship in Early Childhood Reading and Language Arts in the School of Education and Teacher Preparation at Coastal Georgia. In that role, Dr. Reigner serves as a community resource.

The professorship, made possible by restricted gifts to the College Foundation, was created to improve early childhood literacy rates and enhance educational success for children in Glynn County and the region. Supported activities include developing and delivering training programs to improve skills and outcomes for area children’s education and care programs as well as facilitating the design and oversight of field and service-learning placements and serving as a College liaison to community childhood literacy programs.

Dr. Reigner is working with Coastal Georgia seniors majoring in education to provide free one-hour tutoring sessions for third and fourth grade students at Goodyear Elementary School in Brunswick. The tutoring sessions focus on reading and writing – sight words, phonics, fluency, comprehension and motivation.

The College tutors are enrolled in the School of Education and Teacher Preparation’s Prescriptive Literacy Instruction course, which is taken by both early childhood/special education and middle grades education teacher candidates. The servicelearning component of the class encompasses working one-on-

one with a young reader in the Goodyear program and writing a parent-friendly case study report to be shared with the parents of each participating youngster.

In describing the program, Dr. Michael Hazelkorn, Dean of the School of Education and Teacher Preparation, noted, “This is a fantastic opportunity for our teacher candidates to put into practice their coursework with a pertinent age group, using their reading and assessment knowledge as well as the other skills they have been developing. And the elementary school students are receiving top-tier tutoring from enthusiastic, highly motivated future educators.”

In September and February, Dr. Reigner partnered with Marihelen Newman, Title I Parent Coordinator, Glynn County School System, to organize two interactive and entertaining events for parents of children eligible for local pre-k, kindergarten and first grade programs: 1, 2, 3, Read with Me. The free events for parents and their children were held on Saturdays at the Risley Annex on Albany Street, not far from the Brunswick campus.

Additional workshop leaders included Dr. Paulette Harris, Director of the Georgia Regents University Literacy Center, in September; Dr. Patricia Edwards, Distinguished Professor of Language and Literacy, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, in February; a puppet show based on phonics; and Early Childhood/Special Education senior students

College junior Taylor Priest assists a young reader in creating her own book.

Brightwork 20

from the College of Coastal Georgia. The Marshes of Glynn Libraries and the Glynn County Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy were among the parentfriendly agencies represented at the events.

An added feature in February was a program on campus with Dr. Edwards that focused on local educators, community literacy organizations and leaders, and College education majors. Following Dr. Edwards’ presentation, a panel of Seniors majoring in Early Childhood/Special Education who attended the literacy forum included representatives from the Georgia (left to right) Dani Flax, Colbi Tyre, Cherie Alston, Rosanna Pullido and Sierra Sharpe.

Reading Association joined her on stage for an interactive discussion with the audience, Clinic. “After earning an undergraduate degree in religion from followed by break-out sessions. Laura Kipp, School Improvement Emory, I took a job teaching a ‘canned’ reading program around Specialist/ELA Consultant – First District RESA, co-coordinated the United States (mostly in military schools) and even Jamaica.

Friday’s program with Dr. Reigner.

But after realizing that many of my students were seemingly Taylor Priest ’16 of Brunswick, an Early Childhood/Special unable to make sense of text, I earned a master’s and doctorate in Education major, volunteered to work at the literacy forum. “This literacy studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. was a new effort, primarily a project for seniors, but I wanted to “I was lucky to have as my mentor Dr. Gene Cramer, co-editor see what it was about and I wanted to support the College,” she of Fostering the Love of Reading: The Affective Domain in Reading said. “It seemed successful to me. The children had a blast and Education. Affect refers to attitudes and motivation and selfparents got good, useful information.” efficacy issues. Dr. Cramer and I were both involved in a special Her favorite of the many activities was distributing free books interest group of the Illinois Reading Council that focused for the children. “They were really excited to get something just on affect, ICARE: the Illinois Council for Affective Reading for them,” she laughed. Priest found the forum beneficial as an Education. We also published the journal from the International education major: “I learned some new techniques for getting the Reading Association’s special interest group with the same goals; parents involved and for improving my interaction with parents.

I edited the CARE journal for ten years.”

I also discovered some new sources for ideas I can use in the His presentation at the annual conference of the International future in my classroom.”

Reading Association in New Orleans during mid-May, Measuring This has been Dr. Reigner’s life work. He grew up in a literary Affect in an After-School Tutoring Program, was based on the family – his grandfather was president of the H.M. Rowe spring 2014 semester’s after-school literacy program at Goodyear Publishing Company in Baltimore – and thrived on classics such Elementary School. as L. Frank Baum’s Oz series and the Hardy Boys. “Of all the His roundtable discussion presented at the 2014 Annual literacy courses I teach and have taught over the past nineteen Eastern Educational Research Association (EERA) Conference years, Children’s Literature and Middle Grades Literature are in Jacksonville last February, Building Resilience to Traumatic my two favorites,” he acknowledged. “When I moved here after Events through Children’s Literature and Bibliotherapy, was teaching thirteen years at the University of West Georgia, I based on his educational research and selected as a result of a brought with me well over 600 children’s books after donating peer-review process. A regional organization affiliated with the even more than that number to the Carrollton Public Library!”

American Educational Research Association, EERA is a platform Dr. Reigner was with the University of West Georgia as for educational professionals to disseminate educational research Assistant, then Associate, Professor and Director of the Reading with the objective of improving education.

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College of Coastal Georgia

Biostatistically Speaking

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uhling Chong ’15 experienced her first lessons in math as a small child. Her grandmother taught her to count and weigh the eggs collected from their farm, using her memory rather than pen and paper, abacus or calculator.

Of Chinese ancestry, Muhling grew up in Malaysia. ”My family was relatively poor and the education system in Malaysia did not allow me to attend public college,” she explains. So after she immigrated to the U.S. with a family of her own seven years ago, she began taking college classes. She will graduate with a B.S. in mathematics this spring, four and one-half years after beginning her college studies.

But she has always studied. She learned to play the piano after she graduated from Chinese high school in Malaysia.

In 2007, she earned a 2nd degree Taekwondo Black Belt in Kuala Lumpur. She speaks English, Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysian, primary conversational Spanish, and Cantonese, Hakka and Hopo – conversational Chinese dialects. She is registered through the Yoga Alliance (2009) as a yoga instructor (sivananda and kundalini) and hypnotherapist. And this year, she mastered aerial silk fundamentals in New York City to become an antigravity fitness aerialist.

“I lacked the flexibility to advance in the martial arts, so I decided to learn and teach yoga. Yoga is flow and beauty of form; it is strength overcoming fear. It is the meditation of movement,” she says. “I do not even think of gravity when I am in the air.” She uses a panel of silk suspended from the ceiling, like the silken line spun by a spider, to move gracefully and fearlessly overhead.

Focus and patience were family values, an aspect of her upbringing which cultivated deep thinking and peace of mind, she believes. “I need to have that to accomplish what I will do. I never give up a chance to learn what can be useful and change my life. I never want to stop improving myself in every way.”

The results of such determination are prodigious. She works as a yoga instructor at FLETC and Anytime Fitness in Brunswick as well as the St. Simons Island Health and Fitness Club. On campus, she has served as president and secretary of the International Association, treasurer of the Math and Engineering Club, as a supplemental instructor and tutor in math, and taught a non-credit Mandarin Chinese class last year. She also volunteers in the community with organizations

Brightwork 22

such as the Golden Isles Youth Orchestra and the Correll Teen Center in Brunswick.

She will graduate this spring with a B.S. in Mathematics and a keen interest in pure mathematics and biostatistics.

Her academic research includes working under Dr. Jacob Oleson for seven weeks at the 2013 Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Iowa. The research project, Music Perception and Appraisal by Cochlear Implant Users, used data to evaluate how children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compare with children and adults wearing cochlear implants in perceiving and recognizing emotions and movements presented with musical stimuli.

She is also doing an independent research course in Bayesian statistics with Dr. Gracia Toubia-Stucky, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Coastal Georgia, whom she identifies as her mentor and inspiration to continue her studies as a nontraditional student.

“I wish to attend graduate school,” she says determinedly. A College Foundation Rose Scholarship recipient, she has been on either the President’s List (4.0 GPA) or the Dean’s List (3.50-3.99 GPA) every semester. “I know that I never got any good grade by accident, nor did any of my achievements come by accident.

It is by 100% hard work.”

This delicate woman who can hover in air, suspended by her own strength and a panel of silk, continues softly, ”I have just scratched the surface of this intricate field, but with my strong will and strong mathematical foundation, I am positive that I will excel as a graduate student.”

College of Coastal Georgia Day at the Capitol Georgia State Representative Alex Atwood hosted “College of Coastal Georgia Day� at the Capitol. A group of CCGA student leaders, faculty, coaches, alumni, administrators, and the new College mascot traveled to Atlanta for the event. The morning included touring the Capitol, viewing the legislative process, meeting with their representatives and senator to thank them for supporting higher education, and being recognized by a House invitation resolution and Senate acknowledgment from Senator William Ligon.

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College of Coastal Georgia

“Hot Days, Cool Nights” Nick Bryant ’14 Tunes In To The Local Music Scene

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lumnus Nick Bryant ’14 (B.B.A.) is putting his business degree to good use in managing his music career as a singer and songwriter.

“I knew I would need it to be successful as a musician. There are the accounting aspects: organizing expenses and revenues, keeping track of every aspect of my business for tax purposes,” he explained. “But the marketing has been most critical. That’s effectively communicating who I am, what I can do and what I can offer – even in a brief phone call to a new prospect.”

Bryant plays three to five times weekly between Savannah and Jacksonville, including occasional local gigs in Brunswick (Zachry’s Restaurant, Tipsy McSway’s, Moondoggy’s) and Cilantro’s Grill & Cantina on St. Simons Island.

He is recording regularly at RockBot Studios in Jacksonville, and recently releases n a full-length CD, “Nick Bryant.” His music video of “St. Augustine” is posted on Youtube as well as RockBot sessions of “California.” He writes all his own songs, performing on acoustic guitar, in a style he describes as a mix of folk and alternative – between John Mayer, the Lumineers and Jack Johnson.

A graduate of North Cobb High School, Bryant grew up in the Acworth-Kennesaw area. His grandmother lives in Brunswick and after he compared the tuition costs for Kennesaw State and Coastal Georgia, he chose Coastal.

“I never regretted it. I got an on-campus job as a student assistant in the receiving department. I played regularly, mostly off campus, but got additional exposure through open-mic nights on campus,” he said.

Bryant is making a living, but he’d like to travel the world as a professional musician, building an international fan base. “I want to play and share my music for the rest of my life,” he concluded.

“You can start anywhere. It’s where you go from there that matters.”

Downloads of his music, videos, and performance dates are available on his website: www.NickBryantOnline.com

ACCELeration

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heyenne Brundage ’15 (A.S., Psychology) is graduating from Brantley County High School and receiving her two-year Associate of Science for Transfer from the College of Coastal Georgia in the same month – May 2015.

She is able to do that because of the University System of Georgia fast-track program known as ACCEL. As an active participant in the ACCEL program, the College works with regional high schools to enroll their top students in college coursework while they complete their high school graduation requirements. So Cheyenne has been completing college coursework and racking up USG credit hours since summer term 2013. In fact, she hasn’t taken classes at the high school since she completed her sophomore year, although she is a member of her high school’s marching band.

“I had already completed two advanced placement (AP) classes in high school and there weren’t many other options. With ACCEL, I was able to compress and accelerate my college education,” Brundage explains. “I had a strong financial incentive, too. My ACCEL credit hours are underwritten by the program, so I saved my family a lot of money by taking the college classes while I am still officially a high school student.”

“AP classes don’t make sense if you’re staying in the USG system Brightwork 24

for higher education,” she contends. “You get real credit hours through ACCEL – higher education without the higher price tag!”

She doesn’t think accelerating to college course work as early as she did is for everyone. “ACCEL requires real dedication and persistence. You can’t give up. The college coursework has to be your #1 priority,” she warns. “You have to be flexible, too. I scheduled my life around my college class schedule and my assignment deadlines.”

She recommends high school students start the ACCEL program during summer term. “The pace is slower and you can kind of ease into college. By starting in the summer, I avoided culture shock and I had a good perspective on what college faculty expect and require.”

But she also cautions about the importance of maintaining focus.

“There’s a difference between confidence and cocky. I shouldn’t have been so over-confident my second semester. Just because you’ve earned a few credit hours, don’t assume you’ve got it or that it’s going to be easy. It doesn’t work that way.”

Flashing a big smile, Brundage concludes, “This was definitely a great experience. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Student Service Junior Jessica Fujimoto serves volleyballs, healthy food and the CCGA student body

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essica Fujimoto ’16 says it was love at first sight when she arrived on the Coastal Georgia campus.

“I knew I wanted to be here after my first campus visit as a junior in high school.

Coach Jeff Huebner recruited me; he had been my club coach in Normal, Illinois. I was excited about participating in a new program and laying the foundation of volleyball at Coastal,” the server on the 2014 SSAC championship volleyball team began. “Then I experienced a sports injury, but decided to come to Georgia whether I played volleyball or not.”

She became involved in campus life as soon as she arrived. As a freshman, she was appointed to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Board and currently serves as vice president of the campus FCA chapter. A friend on the tennis team talked her into running for a Student Government Association at-large position as a sophomore and now, as a junior, she is SGA vice president. Again, it was the idea of influencing the future that motivated her.

“I view SGA’s role as providing feedback to the College administration. We represent the voice of the traditional students and athletes, helping to shape the college experience here,” she continued. “We’re blessed with a College president who encourages student involvement. We have a phenomenal team on SGA and I see changes on campus that are based on students’ issues and input.”

Fujimoto is the recipient of a Brunswick Rotary Club scholarship and works part time, baking gluten-free goodies for Wake Up Coffee in Brunswick.

“I stayed with a local family in Brunswick between my freshman and sophomore years.

I kept wishing for gluten-free brownies at Wake Up. I’m allergic to dairy, eggs and gluten, so I ended up developing my own recipes,” she explained. “My chocolate

peanut butter gluten-free cookies were such a hit, they won me a place on the coffee shop’s menu.”

Her summer job this year at Take A Bite, a vegan and gluten-free restaurant in Bloomington, Illinois, confirmed her dream of pursuing the restaurant business as a career. “Students with allergies need to feel safe. They also need affordable food. That’s become a mission – and an opportunity – for me,” she declared.

A business major, Fujimoto switched tracks from culinary arts to general business. “I really didn’t want to be preparing foods I couldn’t eat myself, so I decided to concentrate on learning the skills to operate my own business. I hope to spend spring break looking at a broad perspective of food cultures, beyond the Midwest, and I’d like to intern with World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms to get a better understanding of the food system, from farm to table.”

For this summer, she is applying for an internship with the California Fellowship of Christian Athletes Volleyball (FCAV).

The 10-week summer internship includes playing and training in both indoor and beach volleyball, coaching volleyball in South Carolina and developing areas of the Southern California FCAV ministry. “This opportunity connects volleyball players from all around the country to sharpen leadership skills, both on and off the court, and to keep learning about God.” She concluded, “I want every student to love Coastal Georgia as much as I do. I want this to be their best possible experience – absolutely no regrets. The staff and faculty are amazing. They are always willing to help, always reassuring and connecting. This College isn’t just taking my money. They are committed to my success, even after graduation!”

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Fujimoto is at home in the student government offices.

Fujimoto’s gluten-free offerings are available at Wake Up Coffee.

On the volleyball court, Fujimoto specialized in service aces.

College of Coastal Georgia

College of Coastal Georgia • Brunswick Junior College • Coastal Georgia Community College

Class Notes Richard Moore ’69 (A.S., Business) has been tapped to serve a three-year term as a College of Coastal Georgia Foundation Trustee. Moore retired in July from AGL Resources where he worked in corporate community relations and economic development. After graduating from Brunswick Junior College (now CCGA), he completed his B.B.A. at Georgia State University in 1972 while working full time at Atlanta Gas Light and he later graduated from the Economic Institute of the University of Oklahoma as his career with AGL focused increasingly on economic development, marketing and government relations. He served as a working partner Rev. Glenn Thomas Carson ’80, Richard Moore ’69, on Georgia Allies, a public-private Foundation Vice Chairman Jack Kilgore partnership formed to help promote the state’s marketing efforts. He is a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, Brad Holloway ’98 (A.S., Math) continued the Georgia Professional Lobbyist Association, taking classes at Coastal Georgia in upper level a board member of the Georgia Youth Science math and business after graduating from UGA and Technology Centers and serves on the Boy with a B.S. in math in 2002. The Coastal Georgia Scouts Corporate Classic Committee. Moore is math department convinced him to apply to the recipient of the Georgia Lobbyist Lifetime graduate school and he is now pursuing an M.S. Achievement Award and was named 2014 in Statistics at UGA and interning with State College of Coastal Georgia Alumnus of the Farm Insurance as a research statistician, a paid Year. Moore lives in Marietta, Georgia, with his position with fulltime work during the summer wife Mitzi. and a 20-hour/weekly schedule during the academic year. State Farm will cover his tuition Mel Baxter ’71 has been named the interim and most of his fees, he reports, in exchange for executive director of the Brunswick-Glynn his continued employment with the company County Development Authority beginning for two years following receipt of his graduate in January. Baxter, who has chaired the degree. In his correspondence with Dr. Skip development authority in the past, was planning Mounts, Dean of the School of Business and to retire as the chairman and CEO of United Public Affairs, and Nicki Schmauch, Coordinator Community Bank in Brunswick, according to of Academic Services (CAS, ATTIC), he wrote, a Brunswick News article posted November “I have had much help and instruction along the 19, 2014 by reporter Lindsey Adkison. Baxter way. I could not have achieved this without the continues to serve his alma mater as a College experiences and guidance I have received here over of Coastal Georgia Foundation trustee and a the past three years. My wish is that others will member of the Alumni Association Leadership follow in my footsteps and help promote the image Group. of CCGA. I hope you all realize the greatness

Brightwork 26

of what you are doing here and the lives that you are enriching.” A firstgeneration college student, Holloway was also a mentor in the CAS program and had served as a supplemental instruction leader and tutor for the past three years.

Kristee Glace ’12 (B.S., Middle Grades Education) is working at Brunswick Christian Academy teaching 6th-8th grade science. “I love it,” she e-mailed Dr. Sarah Hartman, Assistant Professor of Education. “It’s such a blessing to be able to teach the Word and not have to dance around what I believe.”

Candice Boyette ’13 (B.S., Middle Grades Education) is teaching 8th grade science and Georgia history at Arthur Williams Middle School in Wayne County.

Chef Thomas Waldrop ’13 (A.S., Hospitality Management) was the featured caterer for the Camden County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours hosted by the College at the Camden Center in August. His restaurant, Red Moose, is located on 112 North Gross Road in Kingsland and is touted for the burgers and hand-cut fries. Nick Bryant ’14 (B.B.A.) was also on hand, providing the music for the evening event. Read more about Bryant on page 24.

Elizabeth Jill Crumbliss ’14 (B.S., Middle Grades Education) and Timothy James Andrews were married September 27.

Crumbliss is working as a unit director for the Boys and Girls Club of St, Simons Island.

Briana Collier ’14 (B.S., Middle Grades Education) is working as the ESE Math

Teacher at Lake City Middle School in Lake City, Florida. At the beginning of the school year, she wrote to Dr. Sarah Hartman, Assistant Professor of Education, noting, “I’ll have to admit I was unsure of how prepared I was going to be as I began my teacher career. But, because of you and the teachers in the education department I am very well prepared. You taught me how to effectively manage my classroom!

While I see others around me struggling, I have not run into any problems because of the great guidance and instruction that you and your colleagues provided…I have veteran teachers and administrators asking me where I went to school because of the great program that has been created at Coastal!”

Christian Liggin ’14 (B.S., Health Informatics) was the inaugural recipient of the Mary B. Dinos Endowed Scholarship for Women’s Golf.

The Dinos family endowed the scholarships in April 2010 to assist the College in recruiting “the best and brightest athletes from across the Southeast.” Jack Dinos was so impressed with Liggin’s performance as an athlete and a student, he established an endowed scholarship in her honor this summer: the Dinos-Liggin Endowed Women’s Golf Scholarship. The scholarship represents a first for the College, with the honoring of an

individual student-athlete by a Foundation benefactor. As a Mariner, Liggin helped her team to four wins her senior year, including the SSAC Championship. She won two of her six career wins as a senior as well as playing in the team’s first appearance at the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship, where the Mariners finished tied for sixth overall.

Liggin made the All-Tournament Team for the second consecutive year by tying for eighth individually at the national championship.

She was also named an NAIA Second-Team All-American and selected for the SSAC AllConference and All-Academic teams. As a junior, Liggin played in nine tournaments and set records by finishing with a 77.21 stroke average (the lowest single-season average in the Mariners’ program history), scoring 69 in the Coastal Georgia Winter Invitational (the lowest single-round score in the program’s history), and recording five top-5 finishes (tying the most in the program’s history).

Liggin was named the team’s MVP for both the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons.

Tyler Mimbs ’14 (B.S., Early Childhood/ Special Education) is teaching at East Laurens Elementary School in East Dublin, Georgia, and living in Sandersville. Mimbs recently received a $1,000 Georgia Power New Teacher

Assistance Grant to use in conjunction with his 5th grade social studies classes. Mimbs presented the charge to the Class of 2014 at commencement in May. Rebekah “Ambie” Watson ’14 (B.S., Middle Grades Education) also received a Georgia Power New Teacher Assistance Grant during October. Watson, who lives in Jesup, is teaching 7th grade math at Arthur Williams Middle School in Jesup. Both Mimbs and Watson were nominated for the grants by the faculty of the College’s School of Education and Teacher Preparation.

Chef Whit Ward, who attended Coastal Georgia during 2008-2013, and Culinary Arts student Sean Smith teamed for Tramici Restaurant at the 2014 Shrimp and Grits Festival on Jekyll Island the weekend of September 19-21 and walked away with the “Consumer Choice” award in the professional cooking competition. Chef Ward was one of the original founders of C.H.E.F., the Culinary and Hospitality Educational Fellowship on campus, and served as president during the 2012-2013 academic year.

To submit a class note, email Peggy Golden at pgolden@ccga.edu.

Glynn Academy Class of 1967 Endowed Scholarship

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ommemorating the 50th Class Reunion of the Glynn Academy Class of 1967, class members are rallying to establish an endowed scholarship at the College of Coastal Georgia by fall 2017. In December 2014, a generous classmate sponsored a $25,000 challenge grant to the Class of 1967. The Glynn Academy Class of 1967 Endowed Scholarship would provide financial assistance to recent Glynn Academy graduates attending the College of Coastal Georgia.

“Through the years we have participated in many worthwhile projects as a class, assisting classmates in need, honoring our distinguished teachers, and providing funds for the Glynn Academy PTA. All these projects have brought our class together and helped us all to understand how fortunate we are to be part of the 1967 class,” Gene Ussery said, in support of the scholarship. “It would allow us to create a legacy in memory of our class, commemorating not only our graduation 50 years ago, but also honoring our classmates who are no longer with us. I believe it would allow us to give back to the community that gave us so many

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memories and opportunities.”

Billy Brewer, who attended Brunswick Junior College for two years following his Glynn Academy graduation in 1967, counted 123 Glynn Academy Class of ‘67 classmates when he reviewed his BJC yearbooks and noted there probably were more who attended but weren’t on campus when class photographs were made.

“BJC was a starting point of choice for many of us,” Brewer said, “and now, 45 or 46 years later we have the opportunity to apply our blessings and pay it forward for those who could use a helping hand. Our newly created Glynn Academy Class of ‘67 Scholarship Fund may be just the starting point for those deserving achievers and scholars who may not have the family financial resources needed to pay for their place in a CCGA freshman classroom.”

Contact Elizabeth Weatherly, Vice President for Development of the College, or make a gift online at www.ccga.edu and specify it is for the Glynn Academy Class of 1967 Scholarship Fund to participate.

College of Coastal Georgia

College of Coastal Georgia

Faculty and Staff News Reg Murphy, the chair of the College of Coastal Georgia’s Athletic Futures Committee, is one of eight Georgians selected for induction in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

“This is an amazing Murphy compliment to a person who has shown an abiding commitment to the state of Georgia, to sports in general and to this campus,” College President Greg Aloia said.

“We congratulate Reg and join in celebrating his many accomplishments.”

Murphy’s contributions to the College athletic department have been substantial. During 2009, he headed a campus-community Athletic Futures Committee that created the vision and strategy for athletics at the College, which had just become a baccalaureate institution. Since 2009, the athletic department has seen the addition of six intercollegiate sports offerings and became a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

In addition to serving as chair of the Athletic Futures Committee, Murphy is a twotime College of Coastal Georgia Foundation Volunteer of the Year award winner (2011, 2014), executive-in-residence for the School of Business and Public Affairs, the moderator of the Coastal Conversations series on campus, and continues his work and advocacy for the College’s athletic department as a founding member of the Friends of the Mariners. The College’s Murphy-Kuchar Putting Green was named in honor of Murphy and golfer Matt Kuchar, another benefactor of the College campus sports program.

Murphy’s selection was announced in a Georgia Sports Hall of Fame press release in September. As a member of the Class of 2015,

he was inducted in a ceremony at the Macon City Auditorium in February.

Slow Food USA tapped Chef Matthew Raiford, Assistant Professor of Culinary Arts and Program Coordinator, School of Business and Public Affairs, to be a U.S. delegate for the 2014 Terra Madre Raiford and Salone del Gusto, an international food and farming conference, in Turin, Italy during October 23-27. Additionally, he served as an official U.S. chef in the Terra Madre Kitchen.

The biennial conference brought together delegates from more than 130 countries to display the diversity of food from around the globe and to network small-scale farmers and artisans who share the principles of “good, clean and fair.” This year has been designated the International Year of the Family Farmer, so the conference theme was food diversity as an alternative to industrial agriculture.

“It’s an honor to be recognized both personally and culturally by being the U.S. chef-presenter at Terra Madre,” Chef Raiford said. “It also gives me great pleasure to have come full circle, back to my hometown, and be featured for the work that I am doing now.”

His connection to the family land in Brunswick runs deep. The land he plows and plants with his sister Althea, Gilliard Farms, has been in his family since 1874 and is recognized as a Georgia Centennial Family Farm. The farm is also organic – chemicals have never been used to grow crops there.

He and his sister are both military veterans (Chef Raiford is a 10-year Army veteran with three tours in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm and Althea is a 20-year Navy

Brightwork 28

veteran), so one of their first connections was the Farmer Veteran Coalition, founded after 9/11 in Davis, California, to provide education, mentoring, scholarships and grants. The duo are convinced that farming is yet another way to serve their country and they advocate farming as a career of choice, particularly for veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning to civilian life.

Although trained in classic French cuisine at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Chef Raiford has a personal affinity for Mediterranean flavors, a splash of the Caribbean and the connection to the Gullah heritage and African American foodways.

“I’m into just caught, just harvested, farm fresh, delectable, decadent, and whole-animal consumption from snout to tail,” he laughed.

“For Terra Madre, I created dishes using Ark of Taste products from the U.S. and Italy.”

Ark of Taste is a Slow Food Foundation program to identify and champion distinctive foods that could face extinction, promoting agricultural biodiversity, and celebrating the culinary heritage and cultural food traditions around the globe. American examples range from artisanal aged apple brandy originally distilled in the American Colonies by such notable farmers as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to yellow-meated watermelon grown by the Tohono O’odham and Hopi in Arizona.

For his Terra Madre menu, Chef Raiford prepared Bradford Watermelon BBQ Sauce, Whiskey Pulled Pork, Buttermilk Biscuits, Reezy Peezy (Sea Island Red Peas with Carolina Gold Rice), and Sweet & Sour Shooters made with American Rye Whiskey syrup and Sorrento Lemon from Italy. His experiment with growing the Carolina Gold Rice was featured in a recent New York Times article about cooking rice by food writer Kim Severson.

In describing Chef Raiford’s role as the featured U.S. chef in Terra Madre Kitchen, Jovan Sage, Director of Network Engagement for Slow Food USA, wrote in mid-July, “…we believe Matthew Raiford is an important voice in representing the diverse U.S. food movement to the international community…Taking charge of the ovens are 40 chefs and cooks who sustain food communities through their daily work, transforming local and regional products with inspirational creativity. It will be a melting pot of languages and culinary art…serving up dishes that best represent the native countries of the network’s cooks.”

Dr. Jason Tondro, Assistant Professor of English, and Dr. Chris Wilhelm, Assistant Professor of History, developed an academic panel discussion for presentation on December 13 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center: the inaugural Jekyll Comic Con. At the Jekyll Comic Con, Dr. Wilhelm presented his work on the depiction of the swamp and marshland in comics such Wilhelm as Swamp Thing and ManThing. Dr. Tondro presented some of his work on the animal superhero, part of an article he is writing for an essay collection on funny animal comics. Dr. Tondro is author of Superheroes of the Round Table: Tondro Comics Connections to Medieval and Renaissance Literature published by McFarland in 2011. A third panelist, Melissa Loucks, is a graduate student at the University of Florida, which offers a Ph.D. program in comics studies.

“I teach courses on comics every semester, as part of global issues [International Comics and Graphic Novels] and in conjunction with the American Studies degree,” Dr. Tondro said. “Last semester I attended an academic conference on comics with four of our students, held at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where we were panelists. Our students did very well, holding their own with graduate students and fulltime faculty from across the country.

My hope is to have another student panel at the next University of Florida conference on comics and graphic novels in the spring.”

The Con benefited the Wounded Warriors Project and the Shriners Hospital for Children, Dr. Tondro said.

The Department of Arts and Humanities of the College’s School of Arts and Sciences received special recognition in the program for the Gold Key Ceremony of the MidCarolina Region Art and Gray Writing Competition held in the McGloghan Theatre of the Spirit Square Center for Arts in Charlotte in early February.

Dr. Jennifer Gray, Assistant Professor of English and Writing Center Director, served as a judge and five of the Writing Center’s student coaches served as judges for the midCarolina regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The Writing Center coaches who participated were McKenzie Bree ’19, Ashley Cain ’16, Hannah Carmichael ’16, Shayna Dragotta ’17, and Elizabeth Tasciotti ’16. The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, which sponsors the awards, partners with visual- and literary-arts organizations around the country to stage the regional competitions. According to the event program, teens in grades 7

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through 12 can submit art and writing for the opportunity to earn scholarships as well as have work published or exhibited. The mid-Carolina region includes the CharlotteMecklenburg schools.

Dr. Elizabeth Wurz, Associate Professor of English, School of Arts and Sciences, has been named the interim director of the College’s Center for Service Learning & Community Engagement.

Wurz Her appointment was announced during the Fall Launch for the new academic year.

“Service learning is the cornerstone of our College’s vision. The program has helped to shape our campus culture. As a service-learning award winner, Dr. Wurz has personally demonstrated and witnessed the power of this learning-enhancement program.

She recognizes the benefits, as a participating faculty member, and has both the experience and the enthusiasm necessary to provide leadership as the Center’s interim director,” Dr. Aloia said. “We will be looking to her to expand faculty integration and student engagement in the program.”

Dr. Wurz received an Excellence in Service-Learning Teaching award in 2013.

She joined the Coastal Georgia faculty in 2010 after three years as Assistant Professor of Learning Support Writing at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga. She holds a Ph.D. in English with a concentration in creative writing/poetry from Georgia State University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from New York University and a B.A. in English from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

College of Coastal Georgia

Advancement Office One College Drive Brunswick, Georgia 31520 ccga.edu

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID BRUNSWICK, GA PERMIT NO. 245

Sophomore Deshawn Jamison takes notes during the College of Coastal Geoegia’s debate club scrimmage at Valdosta State.