College of Arts & Sciences

There was a dark moment in Monica Lichtenwalner’s college years when things seemed bleak. In fall of her sophomore year, 2021, she got COVID-19 the first week of class and felt “very sick” for two weeks. A month and a half later, she still didn’t feel fully recovered and dropped half her classes, because she was falling behind. She knew this would delay her senior capstone project and cause her to graduate later than she planned. It was disheartening at the time. But Lichtenwalner...

Scientist Annsli Hilton, ’22, has been fascinated by the ocean and its wildlife for as long as she can remember. Her earliest memory of exploring ocean wildlife is a project she made in kindergarten on great white sharks. In her current role as a research associate with the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, she’s contracted with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Southeast Science Center.  Hilton was a...

Some professors at Georgia College & State University go national with their research. A few get global attention. Others? They reach for the stars. Like Georgia College’s astrophysicist Dr. Arash Bodaghee. He first suggested what eventually became—after improvements from his science team—one of the winning proposals for using NASA’s next-generation space telescope. That’s quite a mouthful. Let’s put it more simply: His idea emerged among the top contenders. On how to use the next...

Since 2014, the United Nations has set aside the 5th of December to educate people about the importance of healthy soil. In time for this year’s international World Soil Day celebration, students in Dr. Bruce Snyder’s soil ecology class finished their final project for the semester—children’s books about dirt and critters of this unseen underworld that help nourish the Earth’s soil, water, forests and air. For the UN, it’s a day to focus attention on the ground beneath our feet, while...

  To say something ‘has legs’ means it has longevity and staying power. That surely fits millipedes then, because they’ve been around forever. Thought to be earth’s first creature to leave water and breathe on land—the creeping, burrowing arthropods are essential for healthy soil and forests. Then there are those legs. Lots of them. Their legs help millipedes forage and feed, making them the ultimate composters—nature’s No. 1 soldier in waste management. They’re responsible for breaking...

Afew years ago, if you’d told Army veteran and former microbiologist Arron Holland that he would be studying music education at Georgia College & State University, he probably would have laughed.   After 14 years in the military and an injury in Iraq—coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic—Arron was pushed out of the only field he’d known. And changed the trajectory of his life.  “Coming to campus was like I was colorblind and seeing through corrective lenses for the first time,” Arron...

Letterpresses went from heavy to light. Then, they were replaced altogether.Now, words are everywhere. On every laptop and cellphone.But a group of art students at Georgia College & State University sees value in the past and a future for these old machines.“It's vital to recognize the strides we've made—not only with technology, but with the press and art in general,” said senior art studio major Emma Grace Avery of Suwanee, Georgia. “There was a time when letterpresses were the only...

Georgia College & State University students, faculty and staff are celebrating El día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in several locations on campus this week. Working with faculty in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, students in SPAN 1002 built an altar—called an ofrenda—in the front atrium of Arts & Sciences. Members of the GCSU Latino Student Association (LSA) built their ofrenda in The Hub last week, where it has since been on display. According to The Mexican Museum,...

Walking campus this fall, you might’ve seen some peculiar sights. On Front Campus, student groups were moving on and off tarps, touching and calling out numbers. Students were seen building tall towers, piece-by-piece with plastic piping. On the walkway between Arts & Sciences and Beeson Hall, groups moved slowly, tightly gripping brightly-colored bandanas and balancing cups of water. These activities are being used in Dr. Lee Gillis’ senior capstone class “Experiential Therapies.”...