With Fall 2025 Weeks of Welcome wrapped up, new and returning Mariners are settling into classes and campus life. One highlight of the festivities was the School of Arts and Sciences’ annual Open House – a yearly tradition that helps new and returning students get to know all the different majors and disciplines.
Classes within the School of Arts and Sciences are typically held in three buildings – Academic Commons North, the Correll Building, and the Jones Building. Student Life partnered with Arts and Sciences to create a fun, self-guided event. Students mingled with office staff, club leaders, and department heads while exploring the academic spaces.
Thanks to the Psychology Club, Math and Data Sciences, Geology Club, and Astronomy Club, the event earned the playful title “Mariners Make it Float.” Participants built their own ice cream floats with a soda of choice while chatting with the faculty members who will guide their studies in the coming semesters.
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dr. Syvillia Averett called the program a hit, noting how it embodies the College’s mantra of “Every Mariner. Every Time.” She joined the fun herself, welcoming and directing students throughout the bustling quad.
Discover more memories here.
Mariner Memory Lane, where we celebrate the moments that make the College of Coastal Georgia special! Each month, Campus Life highlights a student club, organization, or event that showcases the spirit, achievements, and traditions of our Mariner community. Whether it’s a standout student group, a memorable campus event, or a piece of our history, this is your place to relive and appreciate the milestones that shape our college experience.
“Mariners Make it Float!”
COLLEGE GENERATES $107.6M ECONOMIC IMPACT IN THE REGION IN FY 2024
The College of Coastal Georgia contributed $107.6 million to the regional economy during fiscal year 2024, according to a newly released study commissioned by the University System of Georgia.
The study, conducted by Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, highlighted the College’s vital role in the Southeast Georgia economy. The College has supported more than 960 jobs through institutional spending, student expenditures, and capital investments. This marks a notable increase from the previous year’s impact of $102.8 million, and the highest since 2020. The College has contributed over half a billion dollars to the region in the last five years.
“The College of Coastal Georgia is more than an academic institution it’s a catalyst for regional growth,” said College of Coastal Georgia President Dr. Johnny L. Evans Jr. “From fostering innovation through experiential learning, to preparing graduates for high-demand careers, our mission is deeply intertwined with the economic vitality of the communities we serve.”
The study also demonstrated the long-term value of a Coastal Georgia education. Graduates from the Class of 2024 are projected to earn $1.4 million more over their lifetime than individuals with a college degree.
“Our impact extends far beyond the classroom,” Evans said. “We’re proud to energize the local economy, create meaningful career pathways, and serve as a platform for educational excellence and community growth.”
The full economic impact report is available through the University System of Georgia here. The full lifetime earnings report can be found here.
By Tiffany King
ALUMNI PROFILE: LAUREN COOPER ‘24
“Translating Undergraduate Experiences into Graduate Excellence
College of Coastal Georgia graduate Lauren Cooper ’24 pursuing a master’s degree in soil science at Auburn University in the College of Agriculture. She graduated from Coastal Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, with a concentration in natural resources and a minor in writing. Her time at Coastal not only prepared her for the rigor of graduate-level coursework and research, but her experiences outside of the classroom also gave her the tools for success and leadership.
Cooper is originally from Austin, Texas, and moved to Asheville, North Carolina, around the age of 10. While in high school, she came down to Saint Simons Island for a vacation and loved the area. She heard about the College, and eventually met Dr. James Deemy, associate professor environmental science, who promoted the environmental science program. After enrolling at Coastal, she began her career as a young scientist right away by taking courses in hydrology and coastal research methods in her first year, which she said set her up.
“We did so much work outside in the field, learned how to manage the stresses of being out in the elements and
working in teams, and using instruments we ve never used. We learned the genuine scientific method by being out in the world, observing and making hypotheses, and then doing experiments. We had the exposure of being out in the field and using instruments in real time, and not only in the classroom setting,” Cooper said. “That definitely set me up for what I do now. Almost everything that I’ve done in the field with Dr. Deemy and Dr. (Robin) McLachlan
(assistant professor of geology), I’ve implemented in my research now, including being prepared to work with people when it feels like 105 degrees outside. In the lab, so many instruments and methodology that I learned in the labs at Coastal, I use now.”
Her graduate school research is focused on wetland biogeochemistry. She works in the Soil Physics Lab and feels comfortable understanding protocol, lab safety, correct instrument use, and teaching others. This is due to her hands-on learning and lab experiences from Coastal.
Cooper started graduate school in January 2025. Her project focuses on the reduction and oxidation of iron and manganese in wetland soils and working with problematic smectitic soils and vertisols.
“What often happens is that wetlands get misidentified. To bridge that gap, my thesis is to take PVC films (polyvinyl chloride), physically painting them with manganese oxides and iron oxides and then deploying them into the soil. All our sites are in Montgomery, Alabama. Then over the growing season, about a 28-day period, we will see if that iron and manganese is chemically reduced off the film by microbial activity. Then we take those films out of the soil, and if there has been 30 percent or more loss of those oxides, we can tell that it is a wetland anaerobic, hydric soil condition. This project will contribute to identifying innovative practices to wetland identification, conservation, and accurate restoration under the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetland Reserve Easement Program,” Cooper said.
The overall objective of the project is to identify wetlands for innovative wetland conservation or protection, and to chemically identify wetlands through the soil so they are not misidentified and built on.
“If you build on a wetland, you’ll run into problems, but it’s also one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world,” she said. “Even our Georgia salt marshes are teeming with life and a lot of threatened species, so wetlands are important.”
For the project, Cooper precisely cut 300 pieces of PVC film within one millimeter for data analysis and imaging. She mixed the paint—one with iron, and the other with manganese and let them oxidize. She then painted all the film, half with iron and the other half with manganese. Her research group went to the field sites and installed ground water wells and metal neutron probe access tubes. The neutron probes take weekly readings of the soil moisture content. They also installed weather stations to monitor precipitation, wind, humidity, and other factors. Next, they dug a lot of holes, which was physically taxing. However, Cooper had the muscle strength to accomplish this due to her starting the Weightlifting Club at the College. The club has grown since she served as founder and president and has earned recognition awards. She still weightlifts, which continues to come in handy particularly in preparing soil samples.
Learn more about Lauren’s journey here.
Hello everyone! My name is Mylynda Gill, and I serve as the Special Collections Librarian and College Archivist for the Clara Wood Gould Memorial Library at the College of Coastal Georgia. For this month’s “Archivist’s Log" I wanted to write about alumni collections.
I first wanted to share about a recent opportunity I had where I was able to use some collections and items donated by a few different alums in a class with students who wish to become future social studies teachers. The class was about defining what primary sources are and how they can be incorporated into lesson plans so their future students can understand history better. For those not familiar, primary sources are records and
By Mylynda Gill, Special Collections Librarian and College Archivist
“Alumni Collections” ARCHIVIST’S LOG: CHARTING THE COLLEGE’S HISTORY
original documents created or witnessed/experienced concurrently or contemporaneously with an event. Examples of primary sources include diaries, correspondence, photographs, etc.
I used some items from the Alumni Collection: Cox, Charles W., 1964 - 1965. This collection has been digitized and is available for viewing online on the Coastal Scholar Repository at https://hdl.handle.net/10675.4/615870. I also shared a few items from a recent donation, Alumni Collection: Persons, Thomas E. This collection still needs to be processed and digitized.
The students enjoyed looking at the items from these collections and other items I pulled from the college archives. It allowed them to learn more about primary
sources and our institution’s history. At this point I would like to make a request to all the alums reading this article. My request is that if you are taking part in the Fall 2025 Alumni Weekend, and if you have photographs from your student days here, then I would like to ask you to bring those photographs with you to campus. I am co-leading a scanning event with Dr. Hector Montford on Saturday, October 25th during Alumni Weekend. We will be set up at the College of Coastal Georgia Alumni Tent located outside of Coffin between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. We will be providing participants with a USB drive with their digitized images. I am also asking alum to please consider donating a copy of your images to the college archives. These images will be preserved and made accessible to help tell the story of our institution to current and future generations. These images may be used in classes in various ways to teach students about our institution’s history. They may be used in other fun ways such as in promotional materials or become a part of the library’s #ThrowbackThursday social media series. I really hope the alums reading this article will consider my request to contribute their digital images to the college archives during Alumni Weekend and our scanning event. If you cannot attend but would still like to donate photos or other items, physical or digital, to the college archives, please feel free to email me at mgill@ccga.edu
Below: Cover of a Brunswick College notebook donated by Tom
Oct. 25: Homecoming Tailgate
Scanning Day Event
Men’s Basketball Game
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: OCT. 2025
OCTOBER FIRST FRIDAY, STARTING AT 5 P.M., IN DOWNTOWN BRUNSWICK AT THE CORNER OF NEWCASTLE ST. AND GLOUCESTER ST.
MEN’S GOLF VS SCAD AT SANCTUARY COVE GOLF CLUB, IN WAVERLY, GA
SWISH & SIP SOIRÉE IN SUPPORT OF THE MARINER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM. LOCATED AT REID’S APOTHECARY FROM 4 P.M. TO 7 P.M. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS.
ALUMNI WEEKEND: CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
OCT. 24: 2ND ANNUAL SALTY’S SPOOKTACULAR GLOW RUN
OCT. 25: HOMECOMING TAILGATE
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, AT THE RITZ THEATRE IN DOWNTOWN BRUNSWICK:
Check out the College of Coastal Georgia Calendar for more events.
STAY IN TOUCH
We would love to stay in touch with you. Please tell us about yourself and what you’ve been up to after college. Update your contact information here. Questions? Contact alumni@ccga.edu.
