Georgia Southern alumna and English Language Fellow, Deborah Rodriguez Garcia ('10, '12), recently spent three weeks traveling and fighting against illiteracy. Rodriguez Garcia began in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, at the 2016 Reading Association of South Africa conference. The theme of this international conference was Literacy Connectivity. Researchers, non-governmental organizations and educators from around the globe delivered workshops and presentations on practices to promote literac

On Friday, October 21, Georgia Southern M.F.A. student Cyndy Epps, presented her paper, "Life Lessons in Art," at the Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) in Roanoke, Virginia. Cyndy was part of a panel that discussed Creating Outside the Lines: The Myths, Reality and Fantasy of Art After Children.

Joshua Vinson, senior civil engineering student in the College of Engineering and Information Technology, was featured in the Sept./Oct. 2016 issue of Engineering Georgia magazine in an article called "Positioning Your Firm to Appeal to Millennials," as well as on the cover. "Positioning Your Firm to Appeal to Millennials" informs future employers of what Vinson and fellow engineering students look for in a company.

Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art student, Tyler Lund, of Statesboro, Georgia, won first place in the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) 50th Anniversary Logo Contest for students. Lund, a Graphic Communications Management major, was awarded a prize package worth more than $1,000, which included free registration to the ATMAE Conference in Orlando, free admission to Universal Studios, and a one-year subscription for Adobe Creative Cloud. "The intent of my design was to stay clean and simple, yet give the viewer an appealing visual aesthetic. I used the lines and shapes of the background photo to my advantage by wrapping important text to give variation and emphasis to my design while still taking the clean and simple route," said Lund. "To achieve unity within my design, I used two fonts that had many variations giving my design a stronger appeal. The color choice I went with was the same colors from ATMAEs logo, this was once again done with intent of keeping unity throughout the entire piece and maintaining the feel of the association." Entries were judged on their strong visual impact, clear message relevant to the organization and occasion, effective use of text, images and symbols, and positive relationship and flow between elements. Students were required to submit an Illustrator and PDF file along with a brief written explanation of the design's intent.

The Georgia Southern Model Arab League received three awards in their first-ever appearance at the Appalachia Regional Model Arab League (ARMAL) at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia on Nov. 4-6. The delegation, made up of 11 GS students and their faculty advisor, Jacek Lubecki, Ph.D., represented the United Arab Emirates in the competition.

The Georgia Southern University Army ROTC Eagle Battalion program earned first place in the Task Force Georgia Ranger Challenge Competition on Oct. 21. Seven college Army ROTC programs across the state competed in the Ranger Challenge in Fort Gordon, Georgia, including teams from Augusta University, Columbus State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University and University of Georgia.

Georgia Southern University recently recognized more than 200 students for excellence in academics on the Summer 2016 semester President's List. To be eligible for the President's List, a student must have at least a 4.0 grade point average and carry a minimum of 12 hours for the semester.

Georgia Southern University recently recognized nearly 200 students for excellence in academics on the Summer 2016 semester Dean's List. To be eligible for the Dean's List, a student must have at least a 3.5 grade point average and carry a minimum of 12 hours for the semester.

Georgia Southern College of Education students, Kimberly Smith and Tiffani Mihuta, both Ed.S. School Psychology degree candidates, were recognized at the 46th Annual Georgia Association of School Psychologists (GASP) Fall Conference in Savannah, held Oct. 3-5.

Kathryn Randall, of Alpharetta, Ga., completed the Summer Studio Program with Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University. She was one of just 22 students from across the U.S. and the world who were accepted into the program. The Summer Studio Program has helped propel to great success many previous participants. It included a rush of studio visits, seminars, critiques, immersive studio time, contact with mentors visiting artists and critics directed at developing participants' work and ideas.

Several Graphic Communications Management students in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) submitted work for consideration in the Gutenberg Awards - Print Media Contest over the summer. The Gutenberg Awards recognize exceptional achievement in the field of Graphic Arts. This year, the BFSDoArt had 19 winners in three categories with two first place awards. Alexis Barber, Charles Crawford, Tim Davis, Hilary Luna, and Heather Yeomans received first, second and third place honors in the Flexography Printing category. Luna was awarded first place and Barber took fourth in Screen Printing. In the Litho-Pringing - Spot Color category, Mackenzie Paller and Talia Thornburg each were second place winners, while Yeomans and Daniel Thornton each received fourth place honors. Luna, Caleb Scott and Tommy Martin each placed fifth. In the Litho Printing - Process Color category, Yeomans, Thornton, Chris Upchurch, Ebony Johnson, and Seqouyah Stinson each placed fifth.

The Georgia Southern Chorale and the Southern Gentlemen won in competition at the "Laurea Mundi Budapest" Festival of Choral Music, held in Budapest, Hungary, July 9-13. The Georgia Southern Chorale won the Grand Prix in the mixed choir category and the spirituals category. The Southern Gentlemen won the open category in pop music and was invited to sing against the Georgia Southern Chorale in the Grand Prix.

Nursing students from Georgia Southern's School of Nursing spent two weeks over the summer in Costa Rica participating in a yearly study abroad trip. Led by Marian Tabi, Ph.D., professor in the School of Nursing, students learned about the culture of Costa Rica through lectures, host families, site visits and service learning activities.

This August, thirteen Georgia Southern University students and faculty member, Lisa Abbott, took their production of "Do Not Open," a student devised piece, to the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The show was nominated for the Fringe Sustainable Practice Award based on a review of the content of the show and responses to a questionnaire.

On May 6 and 7, Georgia Southern University held its annual spring commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate students at Hanner Fieldhouse and Allen E. Paulson Stadium. Interim University President Jean E. Bartels, Ph.D., R.N., conferred more than 3,300 doctoral, master's, specialist and bachelor's degrees from the University's eight colleges during two separate ceremonies.

Georgia Southern University awarded degrees to its largest graduating class ever during two ceremonies this week. More than 22-hundred undergraduates received their degrees at a ceremony held on Saturday morning. Nearly five hundred doctoral, specialist's and master's degrees were awarded on Friday.

Four Georgia Southern University Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art Students recently were awarded scholarships totaling $11,800 from the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation. The scholarship recipients are Alexis Barber, Heidi McClain, Macie Giordano and Hilary Luna.

Georgia Southern University recently recognized 1,340 students for excellence in academics on the Spring 2016 President's List. To be eligible for the President's List, a student must have at least a 4.0 grade point average and carry a minimum of 12 hours for the semester.

Georgia Southern University recently recognized nearly 2,600 students for excellence in academics on the 2016 Spring Semester Dean's List. To be eligible for the Dean's List, a student must have at least a 3.5 grade point average and carry a minimum of 12 hours for the semester.

The Georgia Southern University Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) recently collaborated with the Augusta University Department of Art to present "Trifecta," an exhibition juried and curated by Georgia Southern M.F.A. students Jessamy McManus and Courtney Ryan, on display at Augusta University's Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art.

Beth Jenkins, a student in Georgia Southern University's Department of Communication Arts, was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Melanoma Foundation of New England (MFNE) for participating in the Your Skin Is In college ambassador program. Jenkins' scholarship was one of six scholarships awarded to college students across the United States for participating in the Your Skin Is In college ambassador program, which is in its first year.

Three Georgia Southern students received Averitt Award for Excellence in Graduate Research and Instruction at the 2016 Research Symposium.

The First-Year Experience (FYE) program at Georgia Southern announced Brandon Lee as the winner of its annual FYE Peer Leader of the Year award in recognition of his excellence in mentoring first-year students.

Georgia Southern Fashion Merchandising and Apparel students took home first and second place at the ninth annual Night of Spectacles on April 2 in Atlanta for creating unique fashions from recycled eyewear. The fashion show benefits the Georgia Lions Lighthouse foundation and challenges designers to create high fashion looks embellished with and inspired by broken eyewear collected through the Lighthouse's recycling program.

Candace Moon, a junior biology major at Georgia Southern University, is one of only 36 national winners of a $6,000 undergraduate scholarship from Phi Eta Sigma, the national first-year honor society. The scholarship funds will help Moon in her senior year at Georgia Southern, where she is studying in the pre-dental professional program, after which she hopes to attend dental school and pursue a career as an orthodontist.

Georgia Southern University's Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art presented a multimedia exhibition, exploring College Street and the west side of downtown Statesboro, by students in the undergraduate studio art capstone class, on April 29. neighborhood's buildings, lots, green spaces, occupants, history, politics and demographics.

The Georgia Southern University Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art presents "B.F.A. Senior Exhibition" May 2 - 6 in the University and Contemporary Galleries at the Center for Art & Theatre.This exhibition features work from senior 2D and 3D studio art majors, enrolled in the BFA Portfolio course taught by Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher, and pursuing their bachelor of arts degrees.

Six Georgia Southern students took home awards at the local level of the 2016 American Advertising Awards (ADDY) in Savannah this month. Sixteen students from Georgia Southern and 50 students from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) participated in the student competition in categories such as mobile app, packaging, integrated campaigns, posters, brochures and logo designs.

Georgia Southern University's Southern Orientation, Advisement and Registration (SOAR) Team recently traveled to Greenville, North Carolina, to attend the Southern Regional Orientation Workshop (SROW) where they won several awards. SROW is a regional conference through the Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher Education (NODA) attended by undergraduate orientation leaders, graduate students and orientation professionals.

Georgia Southern's Model UN delegation returned from the National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference, the largest Model UN conference in the world, with an Outstanding Delegation Award. Georgia Southern was also recognized for Outstanding Position Paper Writing for the 14th time in 15 years. The team competed against more than 200 schools from around the world, and more than 3,600 hundred delegates.