The Graduate School at Georgia College recognizes students in programs across the university each spring semester in several ways. They are celebrated for their contribution both in the classroom through their research as well as their work as graduate assistants. 

Six students recently received the Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award. In its third year, the award is designed to recognize the contributions graduate assistants provide in supportive roles to students, faculty, staff and the university as a whole while pursuing graduate studies. 

“Graduate Assistants are vital in supporting and promoting the institution, whether they are teaching assistants, tutors or supporting faculty and staff in their work and/or research,” said Dr. Holley Roberts, interim associate provost of academic affairs and director of the Graduate School. “Graduate assistants bring knowledge, skills and experience with them but are able to further develop through their roles as graduate assistants.” 

• Taylor Chapman is pursuing a Master of Science in Biology and worked in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. She collaborated with Dr. Al Mead on a manuscript accepted by the Journal of Environmental Quality. She’s also worked on a competitive grant to US Egg and Poultry, which made it to the last round of review, and serves as a science tutor at Georgia Military College. 

• Madisyn Coty is working toward a Master of Accountancy and served as an assistant in the Department of Accounting. She helped coordinate Constitution Week events this year, which included professors from across the country. Coty also provided support in organizing a regional conference and worked as a moderator in key sections of the conference. 

• Cheng Lam Ku worked in the Department of English and is pursuing a Master of Arts in English. During the COVID-19 spring 2020 shutdown, she went back to her home of Macau, China. Ku went to great lengths to get back to Milledgeville and finish what she had started: Introducing a group of Georgia College students to the fundamentals of Chinese language and culture. She taught courses synchronously online from Macau, which meant teaching in the middle of the night, due to the time difference. 

• Samuel Mullis has worked for the Department of Management, Marketing and Logistics. He’s pursuing a Master of Accountancy. Working with several faculty members, he became a coauthor for a conference paper that involved in-depth research into the history of Artisan Vendors and Brand Communities. This research won best paper in the “Branding, Research and Strategy” track at the Marketing Management Association Conference. His research has also contributed to professors having four journal articles under review this semester and five conference presentations. 

• Denechia Powell worked in the Office of Grants and Sponsored Projects and is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Her work has been essential in helping the Andalusia Institute to grow as a public arts and humanities institute for central Georgia. She partnered with a dean, a department chair, the Deal Center executive director, an associate provost, a major donor and a gifts officer to produce a powerful statement of strategy and effectiveness in the crafting of the Institute mission, vision, values and goals statement. 

• Catherine Woodall has worked in the Center for Health and Social Issues and is pursuing a Master of Science in Health & Human Performance- Health Promotion. She was integral in the promotion and implementation of community stakeholder needs assessments, chronic disease health education programs and a flu vaccination and diabetes screening clinic. As part of her work, she became certified as a CDC Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) Lifestyle Coach.

These graduate assistants were nominated by faculty, staff and administrators. The award winners received $200 cash from the Georgia College Foundation, a framed certificate and a Georgia College lapel pin.

“Graduate assistants are vital to the success of many of our academic programs and support areas and their efforts should be celebrated,” said Roberts. “Celebrating graduate students also gives us the opportunity to shine a light on the quality of our graduate students and the impact they make at Georgia College. “

The Graduate School also held the fourth Annual Graduate Research Poster Exhibit & Competition—an opportunity for graduate students to showcase their research endeavors to the campus community. This year’s event was a virtual display of posters showcased through the Ina Dillard Russell Library, Knowledge Box. 

Twenty-three students submitted research for the competition. 

The winners are:

• First Place: Taylor Chapman (Master of Science in Biology) for research titled “The Effect of an Acidified-Gypsum Mixture on Broiler Litter Urease-Producing Bacteria and Nitrogen Mineralization.”
• Second Place: Margaret Josiah (Doctor of Nursing Practice) for her poster “The Effect of Lifestyle Modification Educational Intervention on Increasing Knowledge of Hypertension Management among African American Adults.”
• Third Place: Madeline Olliff (Master of Science in Biology) for her research on “Soil Macroinvertebrate Responses to Wildfires in the Blue Ridge Mountains, USA.”
• Honorable Mention: Tara Mosher (Doctor of Nursing Practice) for her work titled “Improving Self-Confidence of Nursing Students Through Implementation of a Workplace Violence Virtual Simulation.”