Engage, Fall-Winter 2022

FALL/ WINTE R 2 0 2 2

engage THE GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Volume 8, Issue 1

Army Veteran Sets Out to Save the World PAGE 6

Campus Community Celebrates Return

HEROIC ATLANTA POLICE OFFICER DOES DOUBLE DUTY AS GGC STUDENT

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PAGE 9

College Establishes Care Pantry PAGE 10

Rahama Abdulkadir, ’21, nursing, is shown participating in the School of Health Sciences’ fall 2021 semester pinning ceremony for nursing graduates. During this ceremony, graduates receive a nursing lamp and a GGC nursing program pin they will wear throughout their careers. Abdulkadir will soon begin working in the progressive care unit at Northside Hospital Gwinnett.

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In this issue

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President’s Message.............................................................................. 2 On the cover: Jimmy Cenescar, ’23, criminal

justice and criminology, pauses for a photo after a night shift as an Atlanta Police Officer.

College News Notables .......................................................................................................... 3 Campus Community Celebrates Return.......................................................... 9 Alum Named Teacher of the Year.................................................................. 13 GGC Adds Versatile New Degree................................................................. 16 Student Hobby Evolves into a Music Course................................................. 16

Our Four Pillars in Action Service Heroic Atlanta Police Officer Does Double Duty as GGC Student.......... 4 Scholarship Army Veteran Sets Out to Save the World............................................... 6 Creativity Faculty Develop Innovative Second Chance Summer............................ 11 Leadership Unabia Excels with GGC Community Support..................................... 14

Advancing GGC College Establishes Care Pantry..................................................................... 10 GGC Community Gathers for Grizzlyfest.................................................... 12 Corporate Affiliates Program Strengthens Connections.................................. 13

The Gallery............................................................................................... 17 Fall/Winter 2022

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President's Message

GGC Maintains its

Forward

Momentum Dr. Jann L. Joseph President

I remain excited to be president of Georgia Gwinnett College – a organization known for fast-paced change and focus on student success.

The excitement and challenge of maintaining the forward momentum of a college on the rise was one of the things that attracted me to GGC. It’s also one of the things that invigorates campus leadership as we make strategic decisions about our goals and the steps needed to achieve them. I am also proud to say that we have not allowed the ongoing pandemic to distract us from our focus on the future.

The provost, deans and faculty have expanded our academic offerings with new bachelor’s degrees, minors and articulation agreements despite the pandemic. These new programs allow our students more educational and career options, and we continue to evaluate new programs.

Teams consisting of leadership and staff continue to seek avenues to optimize our facilities.

For example, we have begun paving our gravel parking lots and installing permanent lighting. This project will not only improve but also increase our parking capacity. We deeply appreciate the city of Lawrenceville for providing access to these properties until the college had resources to purchase them.

Last summer we thoroughly reviewed and developed a schedule to improve and enhance the campus’ technological resources including upgrades to classrooms to equip them for hybrid instruction. Many classrooms and multiuse spaces have already been upgraded, and we will continue implementation to completion over the next few years.

The college’s early leaders were persistent in positioning GGC and its students for success. Our current and future efforts are building upon that foundation. The future we foresee for Georgia Gwinnett College is indeed exciting.

Go Grizzlies!

Dr. Jann L. Joseph

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engage.ggc.edu Georgia Gwinnett College

Notables Biology student wins prestigious ACS Award Evelyn Calina, ’21, biology, received the American Chemical Society Undergraduate Student Award for excellence in undergraduate studies. She is the fifth GGC student in the GGC Environmental Research Cluster to win the prestigious award, which is given to only about 20 students per year. Her research involved a continuation of the research cluster’s work on biodiesel fuel production from waste oil and grease collected from campus dining facilities.

THE GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE MAGAZINE

We Value Your Input Send your ideas and comments about Engage to engage@ggc.edu or call 678.407.5549.

Production Editor-in-chief: Sally Ramey Photography: Rod Reilly Graphic design: Libby LeBlanc Writing: Sally Ramey, Jackie Todd, Ken Scar Online team: Rycca Blanton Other support: LaKeidra Veal Hill, Laurie Hudson, Hoang Huynh, Barbara Martell, Allana Walker Collaborators Jennifer Hendrickson, associate vice president for Advancement Sloan Jones, associate vice president for Communications Jackie Todd, director of Public Relations Mailing List To be added to or removed from the Engage mailing list, email engage@ggc.edu or call 678.407.5549.

Diondra Burgess, ’21, human development and aging services, received the 2020-21 Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers’ Jack Mangham Experiential Learning Award. She is the first GGC student/alum to receive this award.

Dr. Joseph Ametepe, professor of physics, and Dr. Neelam Khan, associate professor of physics, published “Teaching physics during COVID-19 pandemic: implementation and report of teaching strategies to support student learning” in the “International Journal of Physics Education.”

Dr. Dovile Budryte, professor of political science, recently presented the Annual Lithuanian Program Lecture at the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Georgia Gwinnett College was awarded a $249,000 National Science Foundation grant for undergraduate research that could lead to new chemical products like insecticides and antibiotics that have a more benign environmental impact.

1000 University Center Lane Lawrenceville, GA 30043 678.407.5000 • www.ggc.edu

See more Notables at www.ggc.edu/notables Fall/Winter 2022

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Service

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hether immigrating to the U.S. when he was four, leaving college to become a police officer, or ramming his police cruiser through a closed gate to save a man’s life, Cenescar has chosen the high road over the easy road every time.

In 2000, Cenescar’s family came from Haiti to Orlando, Florida, for a better life. His father, Helas, found work at a taxi company and his mother, Wisleine, became a health care professional who cared for elderly patients. They not only raised Jimmy and his five siblings, but his father put himself through college and earned several degrees.

Heroic Atlanta Police Officer “Hard work and the tenacity to never give up was instilled in me from both my parents, and my dear grandmother, Ervilla,” said Cenescar.

Jimmy Cenescar has never been one to follow the path of least resistance.

The family moved to Georgia in 2008.

Cenescar graduated from Paulding County High School in 2015. When he toured potential colleges his senior year, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) was the last campus he visited.

“From the moment I stepped onto the campus, I knew I wanted to be part of the Grizzly family. My tour guide was very informative and made me feel like a Grizzly from day one.

I knew I would grow and thrive here.”

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“ Hard work and the tenacity to never give up was instilled in me from both my parents, and my dear grandmother, Ervilla.”

There was never any doubt what Cenescar would study. “Criminal behavior and the American justice system have been topics of interest from a very young age thanks to my aunt, Agnes, and my grandmother, Ervilla,” he said. After migrating to the U.S. from Haiti, his aunt wanted to become a police officer herself.

A year later, he re-enrolled at GGC as a full-time Atlanta police officer.

Cenescar become a hero last October when, during a night shift, he used his police car to ram through a large, locked gate to rescue a man who had driven his car off a bridge and onto a train track about 50 feet below.

“The incident was intense,” Cenescar said. “But while I was trying to ram through that gate, everything seemed like it was going in slow motion. On the third try, I was successful.” It was a scene straight out of a TV show – a heroic act by a first responder that thrilled his aunt and grandmother.

“Due to the nature of being a police officer in a major city like Atlanta, sometimes I may have to work more than eight hours if I am working on a case. When such events do occur, I notify my professors and tell them I may not make it to class. All of my professors are always understanding and willing to help,” he said. “Having such understanding, caring and supportive professors at GGC has made balancing school and work that much easier.”

Cenescar is on track to graduate in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in political science. He plans to continue his career in law enforcement, and his family will be cheering him on.

Does Double Duty as GGC Student

“I remember spending hours reading her policing books and magazines as a young kid,” he said. “When my grandmother and aunt lived in Haiti, being a police officer was a very noble profession. My grandmother loves seeing bad guys get arrested, and my aunt loves the American way of policing. Still to this day, their favorite TV show is ‘COPS.’” That enthusiasm for policing powered him through his first two years as a criminal justice/criminology major at GGC, after which he stepped off the predictable path once again and enrolled in the Atlanta Police Department Training Academy.

“Now, my aunt is not only living her dream of being an American police officer through me, but thanks to her and my grandmother, I truly enjoy helping people,” Cenescar said.

Back on campus, earning a degree is hard enough without also working as a full-time police officer, but Cenescar said it’s not as difficult as it might seem, thanks to GGC’s supportive faculty and staff.

“ Having such understanding, caring and supportive professors at GGC has made balancing school and work that much easier.”

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Scholarship

Army

Veteran

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Morgan George pursued a degree for herself, her daughter and their future.

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veryone in Morgan K. George’s life knew she could be anything she wanted to be – everyone but her, that is.

When your deepest desire is to help save the world, it can be hard to believe you can ever make that happen.

Through her tenacity and the unwavering support of the people around her, George discovered that destiny has a way of putting you on the path to your dreams despite your own insecurities.

“I was lucky to have unwavering support from my daughter and my parents throughout this journey,” she said.

And what a journey it’s been.

Originally from Carthage, Missouri, she moved to Georgia as a teenager and dropped out of high school when she was 16. She quickly discovered there weren’t a lot of great career options for someone like her. A short period of trial-and-error brought her to a recruiting station, where she signed up to join the U.S. Army.

She became a 68T, the Army’s designation for a veterinary technician, and in 2009, she found herself in Kandahar, Afghanistan, attached to the 101st Airborne Division. She traveled from outpost to outpost, in the most dangerous conditions imaginable, to care for military drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs.

As a female, she was a rarity in the combat zone, so the Army placed her in a Female Engagement Team.

The team’s mission was to work with the Army Rangers, acting as liaisons between Afghan women, who often would not speak to men, and the military units that entered their villages. It was a great responsibility for someone only 18 years old.

George’s Afghanistan deployment would change her forever, but it was her second deployment to Japan after the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami that made the most impact on her life. The magnitude 9.1 quake and

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Scholarship she’d be able to fit in at first, but it didn’t take long to realize veterans are cherished members of the GGC family.

“GGC is 100% supportive of student veterans. Every question I had during the admissions process was answered,” George said. “All of my questions were about being a nontraditional student because I wasn’t just a veteran. I was a single mother with a full-time job. They said, ‘We will make this work.’ After that, I didn’t even tour another college.”

During her freshman orientation, she found inspiration in a statement by a former GGC president: “It doesn’t matter if you go to college. A lot of people go to college. It matters if you succeed in college, finish and graduate.”

“With him saying that, I knew I didn’t just want to go to college,” George said. “I wanted to succeed and graduate from college … for me, for my daughter, for our future.”

“GGC is 100% supportive of student veterans. Every question I had during the admissions process was answered.” continued from page 5

resulting tsunami killed more than 18,000 people and devastated a large area.

“We went out there on a humanitarian mission to help people, especially in the farmlands, with their cattle and other livestock.

We also did pet rescue and rehoming,” she said. “I ended up staying there for about two years.” It was during those years that she developed a passion for service and helping animals.

It was also there that she had her daughter, Dannilee.

George’s dream of helping the world took shape at GGC. She made the president’s list her freshman year while working fulltime at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. Being a full-time student and employee left little time for being a full-time mom, so she quit her job.

“I was very grateful that the GI Bill’s financial support allowed me to fully immerse myself in school,” she said.

She became vice president of the Biology Club and was granted two summertime National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates internships. One was held in the marine biology department at Savannah State University and Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. The other was in University of Georgia’s microbiology department.

“These were outstanding opportunities,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciated my faculty’s advice and encouragement.

The mentors I found at GGC led me down amazing paths.”

As time passed, George gravitated from saving animals to saving entire ecosystems through environmental science, all the while keeping focused on getting her degree so she could move on to make a “Can you imagine a world where my grandreal impact.

George returned to the U.S. with a new outlook. The people who loved her had been right all along – she was capable of much more than she knew.

She left the Army at the rank of sergeant and began what can often be a difficult transition back into the civilian world.

kids would have no idea what a coral reef is?

That’s not the world that I want my daughter to see. That’s why I’m taking this journey – because the world needs more help.”

“I was able to get a decent job, but with no upward mobility because of my lack of education.

I knew I wanted to be a part of research, so I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree,” she said. “But the research I wanted to be a part of was something I had no experience in. I didn’t even know what to call it. I only knew it as ‘saving the world.’

I found out that it was actually called environmental science.”

She enrolled at Georgia Gwinnett College in 2018 as a non-traditional student: a veteran. She said she was skeptical 8

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After graduating this past December with a Bachelor of Science in environmental science, she started the next chapter of her life as a researcher in a pathogen laboratory at the University of Georgia. George said her years at GGC taught her that the world is a very finite place.

“Can you imagine a world where my grandkids would have no idea what a coral reef is? That’s not the world that I want my daughter to see. That’s why I’m taking this journey – because the world needs more help.”

College News

Campus

Community

Celebrates Return A fter a year of limited face-to-face events, students, faculty and staff came back to campus in a big way through activities both traditional and innovative.

As part of the college’s Return to Community celebration, the college introduced a welcome event for faculty and staff. The festive gathering included remarks by Dr. Jann L. Joseph, president, lunch and ice cream on the lawn and a celebration of service awards and retirements.

Crowds of first-year students walked through the

library’s Arch of Knowledge in GGC’s annual tradition, March Through the Arch. They were joined by many returning students who were invited to attend because their own first-year March Through the Arch had been canceled by the pandemic.

Also kicking off the semester was the annual Green Scene, which introduced Grizzlies to student clubs, campus resources and wellness tips and coincided with the International Hot Dog Festival, which offered up hot dogs, bratwurst and Italian sausages with toppings from around the world.

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Advancing GGC

College

Care

Establishes

Pantry After several years as a dream of many students, faculty and staff, the GGC Care Pantry is now a reality.

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t’s hard for college students to meet the challenges of an academic environment.

It’s even harder when they’re hungry and their access to food is limited.

With 81% of its students qualifying for financial aid and 52% qualifying for Pell grants, GGC is working to ensure that its students never have to choose between a meal and a utility bill, with the opening of its Care Pantry just before fall semester.

The pantry stocks food provided by the Lawrenceville Co-Op Food Bank Ministry. Through the GGC Foundation's Student Emergency Fund, GGC can purchase nonfood items for distribution through the pantry.

“The Care Pantry allows GGC to assist members of our Grizzly family who are unable to obtain enough food to sustain a healthy lifestyle,” said GGC President Jann L. Joseph. “Our food pantry contributes to the holistic success of students and is a welcomed relief for those who desperately need this service. The percentage of students who face food insecurity is surprisingly staggering.”

A 2020 Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice report revealed that 39% of the 167,000 students surveyed across the nation in 2019 reported they were “food insecure.”

The numbers across Georgia are consistent with national trends. A 2018 Hope Center survey found that 37% of students participating in the survey reported “low or very low” food security.

A fall 2020 GGC survey conducted by Institutional Research and Analysis indicated that 19% of students knew someone who does not have enough to eat, 43.6% of students struggled to meet a need, and 24.5% of students were worried whether their food would run out before they could get more.

The Care Pantry serves about 30 students/households per week. More than 4,000 items had been distributed as of press time.

Cutting the ribbon to open the Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) Care Pantry are Dr. Jann L. Joseph, president – GGC; Naiya Pate, acting president – GGC Student Government Association; Dr. Joyce Jones, vice chancellor for Student Affairs – University System of Georgia; Paula Anderson, pantry manager – Lawrenceville Co-Op and Glori Smith, communications coordinator – Lawrenceville Co-op.

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To support the Student Emergency Fund, which provides pantry supplies as well as tuition Studentsneeds, participate shortfalls and other urgent visitin a drumming session during the Grizzly Percussion www.ggcfoundation.org/giving. clubs formative years.

Faculty develop innovative

Creativity

Summer

SecondChance

The innovative program featured smaller classes, student success interventions like tutoring, peer supplemental instruction and scholarships. Faculty teaching the courses were supported by additional professional development.

Michaela John, ’22, biology was one of about 120 participatants.

Michaela John, ’22, biology, works on a class assignment during her Second Chance Summer course.

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hen some students’ grades dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Gwinnett’s faculty wanted to help.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about how to remediate the obstacles presented to our students by the pandemic,” said Dr. Rachel Bowser, professor of English and associate provost for strategic initiatives. “This program came out of a number of us brainstorming about how to give students a hand up.”

Rates of D’s, F’s and withdrawals rose significantly during the worst of the pandemic, particularly in first-year core classes.

Bowser attributed this to how the transition from high school to college was made more difficult by attending college online.

The faculty team partnered with the Academic Enhancement Center to create Second Chance Summer, which invited students who failed or withdrew from core courses in math, English and information technology during 2020 to retake those courses during summer 2021.

“To say that I’m grateful for the Second Chance program is an understatement,” she said. “After COVID-19 hit, and we suddenly had no choice but to be in online school, it was a nightmare.” Without the structure of in-person classes, John experienced difficulties and withdrew. “As I registered for my fall classes again, I still had that fear: What if the problem with my academic performance wasn’t COVID-19, but me?”

Second Chance Summer not only helped students replace disappointing grades, it helped boost their confidence.

“The classes were set up with the premise that we all understand that everyone needed a little bit of grace and compassion,” said Bowser. “It was a very supportive atmosphere: Everybody is doing this again, it’s not something to be ashamed about, and it’s not insurmountable. It’s a blip.”

“There’s no way I can describe how much that’s worth to me,” said John of the opportunity to rebuild trust in her own ability to do well.

“Second Chance Summer is a great example of what makes GGC special,” said Bowser.

GGC plans to seek grants and donations to help continue and expand the Second Chance Summer program.

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Advancing GGC

GGC Community gathers for

Grizzlyfest

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ubbles and music filled the air as more than 400 people gathered to celebrate on the lawn for the 2021 Grizzlyfest this past fall. About 30 student organizations and academic programs provided crafts, games, science demonstrations and other activities for kids and adults.

Entertainment was provided by the Bearly Actors, Grizzly Percussion, the Grizzliettes and individual performers. The new GGC String Quartet debuted with a lively Irish jig.

Dr. Jann L. Joseph, president, welcomed the crowd and Tom Willard, vice chair of the Alumni Association, provided remarks.

The Dean’s Chili Cook-off champion was Dr. Bernard Oliver, dean of the School of Education. His short rib chili not only earned the most votes from attendees, but won the Best Tasting Award, as well.

Votes for the Chili Cook-off raised more than $5,400 for the GGC Fund, which provides important support for the college and its students.

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Corporate Affiliates Program Strengthens Connections

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he Corporate Affiliates Program (CAP) was designed

by GGC Advancement to foster collaborative partnerships between the college and corporations.

Now in its sixth year, the program facilitates high-value interactions with students and faculty through activities ranging from classroom guest speakers, mentorship and coaching, career fairs and much more.

The program also provides priority access to recruiting programs, benefitting both student seeking jobs and helping to meet the employment needs of CAP members.

“GGC and the GGC Foundation are very appreciative of how each of our 2020-2021 CAP members has enriched the educational experience for our students,” said Jennifer Hendrickson, associate vice president for Advancement.

CAP members may choose to focus on one of three areas – the School of Business, information technology or Athletics. Funds raised by the program provide critical support for the college.

For more information about the CAP program, please contact GGC Advancement at 678-407-5588 or advancement@ggc.edu.

Information Technology School of Business CAP Members CAP Members AT&T Assurant GenSpark Georgia Banking Company Mitsubishi Electric Peach State Federal Credit Union Renasant Bank U.S. Auto Sales VoiceNation WIKA Instrument, LP

College News

ALUM

named

Jamie Garcia Caycho, ’14, elementary education, was named Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2022 by Gwinnett County Public Schools. While several GGC alumni have won school-level Teacher of the Year awards, she is the first to win at the county level.

Garcia Caycho is a first grade teacher at Arcado Elementary School in Lilburn, where she provides opportunities for students to gain an appreciation and understanding of each other’s cultures and backgrounds.

As an immigrant who moved to the U.S. as a young child, Garcia Caycho understands the challenges many Hispanic families face in supporting their children academically. She led efforts to create a parent outreach program that includes professional learning for teachers and community-building and instructional support for families.

Throughout the year at Garcia Caycho’s school, the program hosts special nights for families to share dinner, build relationships with school personnel and participate in workshops led in Spanish. The workshops provide families with important information and resources for supporting their children at home and becoming more involved with school.

of the

Ryan Hawk, executive director of business development and community outreach at Peach State Federal Credit Union, a member of the Corporate Affiliates Program, speaks to a group of students at a monthly School of Business Lunch and Learn session.

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Leadership

UNABIA

EXCELS WITH GGC COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Le Quang Greatzel Unabia grew up in Digos City on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

She lived with her mother, grandmother and aunt – so she didn’t have to look far to see first-hand how strong women can be.

Her mother would get up at 3 a.m. and ride her tricycle into town to buy two baskets of pastries she would sell at a local market. On a good day she would earn a little more than two dollars. But despite such hardships, her mother believed that her daughter would be great, so she named her “Greatzel.”

With the support of her family, Unabia studied psychology in college for three years in the Philippines, but didn’t do well.

“GGC FOSTERS A COMPASSIONATE STUDENT COMMUNITY, AND I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT I AM A PRODUCT OF THAT COMMUNITY.”

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“I REALIZED GREATNESS IS NOT A PERSON – IT’S AN ACTION. FOR ME, GGC BECAME A CATALYST FOR THAT ACTION.”

“I just did enough to pass,” she said. “I never worked hard because I didn’t see any hope of changing our lives.”

In 2016, Unabia decided to attend college in the U.S., moving in with her father in Norcross, Georgia. A family friend suggested she visit Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC).

“He said it might be easier to adjust on a smaller campus, where it wouldn’t be so overwhelming for me,” she said.

“Looking back, I know he was right,” she said. She enrolled at GGC as an information technology (IT) major Attending college in a foreign country filled Unabia with self-doubt, but her classmates and teachers at GGC rallied around her and proved it to be the perfect choice. For example, when she was a sophomore, her car broke down and fellow students gave her rides for the rest of the academic year.

“GGC fosters a compassionate student community, and I am proud to say that I am a product of that community. I was only able to continue college because of my GGC friends,” she said.

The community continued supporting her. When faculty noticed she was attending IT-related events alone, they suggested she join the Women in Technology (WIT) registered student organization.

Unabia struggled with coding and decided to drop out of GGC. However, she still attended a WIT boot camp event for which she had registered – and it became a turning point.

“Dr. Evelyn Brannock taught an amazing session that showed me I could overcome my struggles with coding,” she said.

Then Penny Collins, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based WIT organization, told Unabia how she started her career as a receptionist and worked her way up within the IT industry.

“This inspired me because I realized that if she could do it, so could I,” said Unabia, who was encouraged to re-enroll at GGC

by Dr. Hyesung Park.

“WIT really empowered me. I didn’t think I could do software development, but WIT showed me that maybe it was possible,” said Unabia. As a result of all of the encouragement, she changed her IT concentration to software development to challenge herself.

Unabia flourished, becoming a student leader in GGC’s WIT chapter, being accepted into a Research Experience for

Greatzel Unabia (upper right) volunteers at a 2021 Grizzlyfest activity table.

Undergraduates at Indiana University – Bloomington about climate research, and co-authoring a cybersecurity presentation for the 2020 International Conference on Data Privacy and Information Protection that appeared in the "International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering".

She also won a $12,500 WIT scholarship and a $5,000 Cognizant Pathway to Technology Scholarship. This support enabled her to focus more on her studies and switch from a part-time grocery job to a campus job as a peer supplemental instructor.

“I was once ready to give up on myself,” she said. “But my GGC family would not give up on me.”

A December 2021 graduate, Unabia plans to become a software engineer and later “pay it forward” to tomorrow’s students as a teacher or college professor.

“I grew up in the hands of strong women,” she said. “But it took me time to figure out that I’m one of them myself.

I realized greatness is not a person – it’s an action. For me, GGC became a catalyst for that action. For somebody like me, that was very important. GGC was the right place for me.”

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College News

Student Hobby evolves

into a Music Course

GGC ADDS VERSATILE NEW DEGREE

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eorgia Gwinnett College (GGC) has launched a versatile degree program offering students more ways to customize their education.

The Bachelor of Integrative Studies (BIS) program allows students to build a degree with three concentrations, or two concentrations and a minor.

This broad-based education positions students for today’s multidisciplinary workplace and gives them the skills to compete for a wide range of careers.

The BIS is a good option when one degree doesn’t fulfill a student’s academic interests and career goals, or when an accumulation of college credits in multiple disciplines don’t easily put a student on track to earn a traditional degree. Transfer students with credits that can’t be applied toward a GGC degree may be able to apply them toward the BIS program’s concentrations or minors.

Being able to use credits toward a BIS degree may save students time and money otherwise spent on replacement credits for a more traditional degree.

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n GGC’s earlier years, rhythmic sounds of percussion often echoed from the Building B courtyard as a group of students practiced drumming techniques, sometimes even using pickle buckets.

The Grizzly Percussion club arose from this group in 2012, and today plays for both campus and community events.

GGC recently established its first percussion ensemble class, something that would not have happened if not for the club, according to Dr. Todd Mueller, associate professor of music and club advisor.

Last year, the club mastered the Bodhran, a traditional Celtic drum.

Members wrote a song for the Bodhran and entered it into the American Conference for Irish Studies Southern Conference. Today, GGC is one of the few Georgia institutions to offer Bodhran instruction.

Mueller said future plans include several ensemble courses, a drumline, addition of steel drums and a larger presence in the community.

Grizzly Percussion has come a long way from pickle buckets.

“ I believe everybody’s got a bit of rhythm in them,” said Mosley. “You could just be riding down the road in your car and tapping the steering wheel. It’s something simple that everybody can do.”

For more information visit www.ggc.edu/IntegrativeStudiesDegree.

Students participate in a drumming session during the Grizzly Percussion club's formative years.

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The Gallery

break. er winter lunch aft r e v o p es u nts catch of stude A group

s and Wellnes gram. t GGC’s ight Lights pro a l o o p e N th y a s d y ri jo F nt en g its A stude n Center durin tio Recrea

GGC representatives prepare to cut a ribb on at the Gwinnett Ent (GEC) opening. Show repreneur Center n are Dr. Jason Gordo n, associate professor management; Dr. Ph of legal studies and illip Hartley, associate pro fessor of marketing and and director of the GE C; Stephanie Sokenis, global business manager of the GEC; president; Kat Kyle, vic Dr. Jann L. Joseph, e president for Huma n Resources and chief director of Governm of staff; Haley Howell, ent Relations; Jennife r Hendrickson, associ Advancement and Slo ate vice president of an Jones, associate vice president of Co mmunications.

This stu d one of ent works on Buildin g A's g his studies in atherin g spac es.

eremony. cement c commen 1 2 0 2 ll ing the fa te follow ily celebra m fa r e h te and A gradua

Office of Public Relations 1000 University Center Lane Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) provides access to targeted baccalaureate- and associate-level degrees meeting the economic development needs of the growing and diverse population of Gwinnett County and the northeast metropolitan Atlanta region.

GGC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of Georgia Gwinnett College. Visit www.ggc.edu.

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FIND YOUR FUTURE With 20 bachelor’s degree programs, dozens of areas of study, small class sizes, engaged faculty and affordable tuition, Georgia Gwinnett College is the smart choice for higher education in Gwinnett.

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