Think on This

Daija Billingsley is a history major with plans to become a high school teacher. Although she would also enjoy becoming a stay at home mom. Daija currently has 3 jobs: she is a character performer, works in a boutique, and works at Escape Rooms. She considers herself an introvert most of the time, but she tries her best to socialize when she can. Daija's favorite thing to do will always be staying home and watching her favorite shows. Alexis Bland is 19 years old and comes to us from Louisiana. She moved from time to time because her parents military careers. Alexis owns a small clothing line business and will be graduating college in a few weeks.

Truc-Mi Hoang is a freshman, pre-nursing major. She describes herself as an avid consumer and sometimes creator of content. She enjoys going down Wikipedia rabbit holes, binging manga, drawing when she can find the time, baking, and folding origami.Keefernee Manalac is an Information Technology major from Macon GA. She enjoys drawing (traditionally and digitally), Cosplaying, cooking, sewing and makeup and alternative/goth fashion.

Beatrice Jackson is a double major in Music and Communication. She is also a vocal performance student and an honors student.Samuel Bailey is an Information Technology Pre-Med Honors student. He was homeschooled in Thomson, Georgia, and following high school, he spent a few years in Canada where he met his future wife, Mary. He has a passion for people, computers, Braves baseball, and recently aviation. Samuel and Mary are expecting their first child in June.Zack Kimel was born and raised in Georgia, graduated from Harlem high school, and he is the first in his family to attend a traditional college. He is part of a military family and this is his first year at Augusta University.

Andrew Sand was born on February 5th 2003 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He describes himself as a Roman Catholic, Right-leaning Libertarian. He follows the life motto that happiness is a choice you make every day. It is not always easy, but if you don't try to be happy, you never will be.

Caroline Jackson has spent her whole life in the Augusta area. She attends Thomson High School in McDuffie County, where she has cheered for the past four years, and will graduate this coming May. She is also a dual enrolled student at Augusta University. Caroline loves to travel, enjoys hiking with her dog, swimming, mountain biking, spending time with her family and friends, meeting new people, and loves to work. The reason Caroline loves to work is because she works at a vet's office and wants to earn a degree in veterinarian medicine. Lizzy Sapp was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, and attends Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School. She is also a dual enrolled student at Augusta University, and plans to attend AU full-time after she graduates from Davidson this year. Lizzy wants to become a psychology teacher, however, her passion lies with visual arts. In fact, she is working currently on a web comic called, Patrona, which is set to release in 2025. She is the oldest of 3, by 14 years, and has 2 sisters and 1 brother. Not to be forgotten, Lizzy also has 3 dogs that are all husky mixes. Aubrey Corley is from Hephzibah, Georgia, and attends Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School. She is also a dual enrolled student at Augusta University. Aubrey's main interest is in visual arts, specifically in animation. In truth, Aubrey works on drawing whenever she can. And, if you don't find her working on her drawing skills, you're likely to find her spending time with her family. She has two siblings, a younger sister, Taylor, who is 15, and a younger brother, Luke, who is 7.

Lyle Wolfgram was born in Traverse City, Michigan, and was the youngest of 5 children. His father built the family a modest home on a piece of property right on Lake Michigan that was purchased by his mother, who was a nurse. Unfortunately, Lyle's father died when he was just 5 years old. Lyle describes his mother as a very earthy woman, a free spirit and woodsy. These traits came in handy not having much growing up. The family hunted and fished not as a hobby or for fun, instead they were done to help a lot with feeding the family.Lyle made many friends in school when he was young, and he is still close with many of them to this day. By the time Lyle was 15 years old, the war in Vietnam was very active. He lost a good friend in 1966, so Lyle and 5 of his friends decided to go into the Marine Corp. Revenge was their youthful mindset. 6 of them went in, 3 of them made it out.Lyle was married to the mother of his 3 children while in the service. In 1968, he finished high school in the Marines, then went to college. Along the way, he learned the skill of carpentry. Then Lyle's life became crazier because of his wild ways and his drinking. But, a life changing experience occurred when he was introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ.Lyle is retired now, still has a wood stove, still loves the look and feel of wood, and enjoys spending time in his shop building, creating, and working on other hobbies.

Jaewon Lee was born in Incheon, South Korea where he lived until 2009. At the age of 6, he moved to Miami, Florida where he lived for 5 years, and then moved to Duluth, Georgia, where he resides currently. He is a member of the honors program at Augusta University, and majors in Biology with a concentration in Pre-Medicine. Although this is his first year in college, he has earned enough credits to be considered a Junior. When time permits, he enjoys watching and practicing mixed martial arts, watching Youtube and Netflix, and listening to music. Kaiya J. Nave majors in cell and molecular biology, a member of the honors program, and participates in the Cru religious group at Augusta University. Following graduation, he wants to attend medical school at the Medical College of Georgia to become a cardiovascular surgeon. Whenever he can find a break from his studies, he enjoys playing videogames and watching movies. Panthea Fernandez is a sophomore in the honors program at Augusta University where she majors in computer science. She and her family moved from New York to Augusta, GA when she was in the 3rd grade. She enjoys reading, art, tv, and music, and especially loves oil painting and embroidery.

Sangsun Choi is Assistant Professor of Media Production in the Department of Communication at Augusta University.Scott Thorp is Chair of the Department of Art and Design and Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research at Augusta University.Art Berger is Multimedia Director for Augusta University marketing.Wes Kisting is Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean of the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University.Timothy Williams is the Multimedia Producer for the Center for Instructional Innovation, the Television and Cinema Lab Supervisor for Pamplin College, and an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Communication.

Melissa Fuller was born in Augusta, Georgia to Anthony & Gail Barletta, and graduated from Hephzibah High School. Melissa currently works at Augusta University in their Human Resources Department where she has been since 2014. She also works part-time at Wally's in Hephzibah and has spent the past 12 years working with elderly people with dementia and Alzheimer's. She enjoys listening to their stories and hearing about their unique experiences, always believing that there is knowledge at the feet of elderly people. In addition to these 3 jobs, Melissa runs a Facebook page called, Thinking of you Designs, where she displays various items that she has created, such as, T-shirts, Hats, Baby items, car decals, oven mitts, air fresheners, car and table coasters, Santa cams, mouse pads, personalized items, plus much more. She has three children: 21 yrs. old Wesley, 19 yrs. old Mattison, and Brooklyn, who is 16. When Melissa is able to find extra time, she enjoys softball, crafting, fishing, and spending time with friends and family.

Danny Parker was born in Augusta, GA. His mother gave birth to 11 children. For 30 years, Danny worked at the local detention center for the youth. While there, he was able to share part of his journey in faith with the young. Currently, Danny continues to share God's message of love for the world, and hopes that through God's messages, we as a people can repent for not trusting him a little more, and learn how to not hold anger within. When Danny finds time for himself, he enjoys playing drums for his church, writing poetry, and reading and listening to music. In the future, Danny wants to learn to play the guitar and work on singing.

Lara Hrabota works as a Regional Recruiter, Trainer, and Senior Sales Representative for W.W. Norton Inc, America's largest independent and employee-owned publisher. She graduated (cum laude) from Wofford College with bachelor's degrees in English and Philosophy, and then obtained a M.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College. Originally from Tampa, FL, Lara now lives in Charleston, SC with her husband, young daughter, and mother. She enjoys cheering on her daughter's soccer team on cool fall days, vicious Scrabble matches with her husband, and all things Ted Lasso.

Mario Lett is a dancer, interpreter and entrepreneur from Pensacola, FL who has been teaching dance since 2011. He is a graduate of Full Sail University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Business. He is a competitive ballroom dancer and instructor specializing in West Coast Swing. Mario is the owner of Lett's Dance 360 and Lett's Talk 360: A Sign Language Interpreting and Translation Service. His passion is to entertain, educate, and empower every student that he encounters. He has had the privilege of competing on the World Swing Dance Circuit across the Southeast in cities such as Miami, New Orleans and Atlanta earning top placements. Mario Lett resides in Augusta, GA. When not working one can find him in front of a TV watching anime!

Nestled on the outskirts of Augusta, GA, Lynn Sligh was raised in a small country town called McBean, GA. Lynn spent most of her childhood outside with her brother and sister finding creative ways to entertain themselves. She was raised by two hard-working parents who introduced Lynn and her siblings to the beauty of nature, including the family's cows and horses. Lynn started to be physically active in her youth, and she has continued this way of life to today. Currently, Lynn is a certified personal trainer who helps women become better versions of themselves, by teaching them about nutrition and fitness. Lynn's approach to fitness is centered on patience, hard work, and helping others recognize that positive transformation comes from developing not only their physical traits, but also from a commitment to spiritual and emotional Self-care.

Sarah Tychsen is a Graduate student at Augusta University majoring in Business Administration. She was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. As a teenager she enjoyed serving in the community and helped at a local orphanage throughout high school. Sarah has fond memories and will always treasure the experiences she had with wildlife and safaris when she was younger. She was raised in South Africa until the age of 21 when she and her family relocated to Augusta, Georgia. She transferred to Augusta University in the Spring of 2017 for women's golf and studied Communication with a focus on Public Relations while at the university.Sarah's parents were both born and raised in Rhodesia and relocated to South Africa when they were teenagers. They met and fell in love at Victoria Country Club golf course, where later she was able to find her passion and love for the game.Sarah's experiences in the US have provided her with a different and fulfilling outlook on life. Her involvement with Lambda Phi Eta Honor Society, Pamplin College, and as the Sports Editor for the Bellringer Newspaper, gave her the opportunities needed to succeed. She cherishes the relationship she has with her sister and the special bond that they share. When she graduates with her MBA, Sarah hopes to enter a leadership position with a company, and in the future pursue a PhD. Outside of her full-time academic program, her interests include listening to self-development books, singing, golf, and kayaking.

Garrett was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1981 and moved to Savannah, Georgia in 1986 when his father transferred jobs. After graduating from the University of Georgia in 2004, he became a financial advisor. He was enamored with the practice of law from an early age, and chose to pursue a career as an attorney in 2012, when he moved to Atlanta to attend law school at the Georgia State College of Law. After graduating, he worked with the Georgia Senate Research Office, where he advised the Georgia Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee. After the legislative session ended, he took a position with the Georgia Secretary of State Securities Division, which prosecuted investment fraud cases throughout the state of Georgia. While in Atlanta, he met an intelligent and beautiful young lady whom he married. He is the proud father to three wonderful children and calls Evans, Georgia home. Garrett currently runs Garrett Murphy Law, a law practice in Evans, and serves as a part time instructor in the College of Business at Augusta University.

Robert Cooper is a senior lecturer at Dartmouth College in the Quantitative Social Science Program, and has taught at the University of South Florida and the University of Michigan in the ICPSR summer program. Robert was born in Atlanta, moved very early on to northeast Ohio, and returned south to Georgia with his family where he completed grade school and all three degrees in the state, including his undergraduate degree from then Augusta State.

Megan Tychsen is a senior at Augusta University majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Applied Economic Analysis. She was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa until she was 20 and came to Augusta, GA to transfer to AU in the Fall of 2017. Her parents were both Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) and moved to South Africa in their teens. She was fortunate to have a lot of amazing experiences with wildlife and the outdoors in her childhood; for example, riding elephants and petting cheetahs. Megan's experiences in the US thus far have been life changing. She enjoys the many opportunities to be involved with campus activities. In fact, Megan has participated and held leadership roles in multiple student organizations, been on homecoming court, competed in the NCSC and Hull case competition, among other things. When Megan graduates, she hopes to enter the field of operations and supply change management. In her spare time, when her student activities on campus are not keeping her busy, Megan enjoys the outdoors, especially biking, hiking, and kayaking.

Grace Welsh is a native Georgian born in Vidalia and raised in Evans. She has an older sister, older brother, and a younger brother. Her childhood was less than boring. She was homeschooled from pre-k through 12th grade, played club volleyball, and was recruited to play for an ACC school but chose Augusta University. In May of 2019, Grace graduated a year early after serving in SGA, as the President of the Honors Program, and the inaugural President of Pamplin Ambassadors. During summers in college, Grace walked the halls of Congress with a bright green intern badge in tow. She was also the youngest field rep for a successful gubernatorial campaign. Currently, she is the Central/Southwest Georgia Admissions Counselor/Recruiter for the Office of Academic Admissions at Augusta University. Grace is passionate about her church, community, and country.

Daniel Routh has been teaching college students for more than 15 years, seven of them at Augusta University. Before teaching Communication at AU he taught overseas at two different colleges in the People’s Republic of China. While teaching abroad he earned a Master’s degree in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College, doing research into topics such as why Chinese memorize so much poetry in school, the life and teachings of Confucius, and the belief systems of Theravada Buddhism. While living in China for eight years, he traveled to many cities and famous sites in China, from Hong Kong to Xi’an, and from the Yellow Mountains to Tiger Leaping Gorge in Kunming. He also visited some surrounding countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. At a certain point in his travels, a pretty girl from North Carolina threw her shoe at him and they became friends, eventually getting married. His wife Amber also teaches at AU in the Communication Department. They have two lovely children and not very much sleep as they survive the pandemic together.

Rachel Morris serves in a dual role as the Industry Engagement Strategist with the Georgia Center of Innovation for Information Technology (COIIT) and the Georgia Cyber Center. In this dual role, she works to bring industry together and provide vision and focus to the major opportunities for Georgia to accelerate industry growth. Rachel previously worked at Augusta University in the Study Abroad Office. During her six years at the Study Abroad Office, she assisted faculty, staff, and students in obtaining a culturally enriching experience through studying abroad. She participated in five study abroad programs. Rachel graduated from Augusta University in 2019 with a Master of Public Administration. When she is not working or conducting research, Rachel loves watching scary movies, watching more scary movies, and then watching even more scary movies.

Klara Joseph was born in the southern town of Szekszard, Hungary, where she lived until she was 9 years old. Klara and her parents were granted immigration privileges to the United Staes in 1975. She grew up in the Los Angeles area and went to a private, Christian School from 7th grade onward. After high school, she attended UCLA and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.Before heading off to the Midwest for graduate school, Klara did a year of research in Ovarian cancer at UCLA. She then researched for a year at Washington University in St Louis on glioblastoma multiform (brain cancer). While in St. Louis, Klara earned a Master’s Degree as a Physician Assistant at St Louis Univ. Also, while at St. Louis University, she met her future husband, Allan Joseph, where they were anatomy lab partners in medical school.After Klara’s husband finished his OB-GYN residency, they moved to Augusta in 1999. Interestingly, Dr. Joseph had the privilege of bringing the first baby into the world at each Augusta area hospital in the new millennium. Klara and Allan have now lived in Augusta for 21 years and have one son and one daughter.In her spare time, Klara loves to garden and to help foster kittens for Kitty Konnection, a local organization known for their diligent, hard work to help homeless cats receive medical care and find homes.

Wes Kisting is Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University. His scholarly work explores how 16th and 17th-century ideas about the conscience enabled literary authors such as Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, and John Milton to participate in shaping modern views about power, authority, and our inward sense of self. He is married to a talented wife who develops data visualization tools for the Iowa Hospital Association, and together, they have three daredevil girls, ages 10, 8, and 6 who have hiked the entire Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail. In his spare time, he enjoys a wide variety of creative hobbies, including boat building. Currently, he is two-and-a-half years into the completion of his fifth and largest boat—a 28’ trailerable houseboat—which started out as a promise to build his daughters a clubhouse.

Rachel Balducci is the author of three books: Make My Life Simple: Bringing Peace to Heart and Home, Overcommitted: Cut Chaos and Find Balance, and How Do You Tuck In A Superhero and other delightful mysteries of raising boys. She is a newspaper columnist for the Southern Cross and blogs at Testosterhome.net. Rachel is a co-host of The Gist, a talk show for women on Catholic TV and teaches journalism at Augusta University. Rachel and her husband Paul live in Georgia and have five strapping sons and one precious daughter. In a former life, Rachel was a newspaper reporter, and she has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Georgia. These days she writes about faith and family, and how keeping her bathroom clean will make her a saint.

Maribeth brings over two decades of educational experience to Savannah River Academy. She was a classroom teacher for many years in PK through 4th grade before becoming a learning specialist and then a lower school principal. She especially loves developing a challenging curriculum for students and building community within the school family. Maribeth believes strongly in the importance of meeting the specific needs of each learner by providing differentiated instruction. She has a BA in Religion from Haverford College, a Masters in Education from Emory University, and is Orton-Gilllingham certified. Maribeth and her husband Scott, a physician, have two children in college and one in graduate school.

Trish Elsie is a high energy professional with successful experience in municipal government programming and non-profit management, development and fundraising. She is specialized in community and economic development, disaster relief, project management and residential construction. Trish graduated from the United Nations-mandated, University for Peace in Costa Rica in June 2018 with her Master's degree in Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development. Trish's area of focus was Economic and Community Development and she is very proud to share the various initiatives she was involved in during her time at UPEACE and with her internship with Ekojunto de Costa Rica. From building houses made from recycled plastic, constructing a recycling center for impoverished women to earn income, and teaching English as a second language, Trish sought every opportunity to exemplify service above self. Trish lives currently in the Charleston area and is continuing to live her passion for social good, community development and giving back as the ESL program manager with Trident Literacy Association.

Allyson Eidson is the owner of The Aerial Nomad, a local Augusta pole fitness & aerial school. She is an Augusta, GA native but spent many years living in England where she started training pole and aerial. She was also a burlesque performer that performed throughout the UK as well as Sweden and Germany.

Railey Warren, also known as Artsy Rew, is a fifteen year old artist and military child who is on a mission to spread art everywhere. Railey’s passion is to create large scale murals in public spaces. Her latest piece is a giant turtle, named Gatsby the Great. Gatsby can be seen in person at the new Pineapple Ink Tavern in downtown Augusta or on her Instagram, @ArtsyRew. Railey’s mother, Jennifer, is a writer, homeschool mom and a military spouse. She teaches her two daughters through project based learning and hosts activities that foster learning through play.

Mr. Donald Chazelle is a contractor for the US Army for Satellite Communications Equipment Repair at Fort Gordon. He graduated from the US Army Signal School at Fort Gordon in 1997 as a Satellite Communications Operator/Maintainer. He has traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, South Korea, Syria, Uzbekistan, and many other places. He retired from the US Army in 2017 after 20 years 3 months and 11 days.

Kathy Ellis is a special educator by profession. She has worked over 34 years in the field and although retired now...still works part-time in 8 counties serving students who are blind or visually impaired. She completed her undergraduate degrees (bachelors, masters, specialist) at Augusta College/Augusta State University and her doctorate at Georgia Southern. She has spent over 16 years volunteering in the animal rescue field. It was her early experiences in volunteering that led Kathy to seek a certification program in canine behavior/training and sparked her interest in starting her own animal rescue. She has been a certified trainer through Animal Behavioral College and AKC Good Canine Citizen Trainer since 2013. She specializes in fearful and reactive dog rehabilitation, desensitization and counter conditioning.

Diana Brinkman is a 20 year old nursing student at Augusta University. She was born in San Francisco, California and raised in San Antonio, Texas. In 2018, she began her journey to become a birth doula, earning her certification in 2019 from Doulas of North America (DONA International). She has been present at dozens of births including natural unmedicated births and Caesarean section. She has served in San Antonio, Texas, Bali, Indonesia, and now resides and works in Augusta, Georgia.

Mr. Brian McGrath is an artist and musician residing in Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from Augusta University in 2010 with a BFA and has since traveled the country in an indie-rock band, developed a local business, and curated events that focus around creativity and social practice. Brian is currently the Studio Technician for the Art department at Augusta University.

Morgan Hanna, known as Lady Voldehurt on the track, is a real estate paralegal by day and roller girl by night. She hails from Athens, GA where in 2012 she began her roller derby career with the Classic City Rollergirls. During her time with Classic City, who is ranked in the top 100 in the world, she won multiple awards and played in tournaments all across the country. In 2018 she moved with her husband and daughter to North Augusta to begin a new career. She quickly found a new derby family with the Soul City Sirens and was named Captain of the team and MVP blocker for the 2019 season.Staci Reiter, also known as Dimpled Devastation, is a Floridian transplant that moved to Augusta, GA, April of 2012. She first got started with roller derby in January of 2018 after having only skated one other time prior to signing up for bootcamp with the Soul City Sirens. Since then, she's been elected into the role of president of the league while building those hard-earned skate skills. While she hasn't been passed off for playing yet, she continues to work for the league and looks forward to her first bout.