Features

  • Igniting a Future of Local Leadership

    Medical emergencies, car accidents, structure fires, hazardous material spills and natural disasters – each unpredictable moment is an opportunity to provide hope on someone’s worst day. Amid the chaos is fire engineer Tyler Barrett (’14,’17). As part of the Savannah Fire Department’s Rescue 1, C-shift, her ability…

  • Owning Your Stage, Sharing the Spotlight

    One Georgia Southern Graduate’s Pursuit of Joy Uplifts Local Community Teresa-Michelle Walker Jackson (’04) is designing a world where everyone feels seen and heard. Today, she serves as the Savannah Black Heritage Festival’s executive director, executive communication advisor of Walker J Consulting and a local director, producer and actress.  However, Jackson has been developing her…

  • Georgia Southern Alumna Finds Peace on The Water

    Looking for Peg Phillips (’87) during the summer months is a lost cause. She’s out on the water and isn’t coming back anytime soon. “It’s the place where I feel most relaxed, and I can forget about what’s happening on land,” said the executive director of the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC).  It’s also where…

  • Finding Purpose as A Peace Corps Volunteer

    When Kylie Scarzafava graduated in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, she wasn’t sure what direction her career would take. However, the Georgia Southern University alumna was sure she wanted to help people and improve communities. “I started thinking about ways I could grow…

  • The Next Generation of Young Men: A Georgia Southern Graduate’s Legacy

    The Well at Benedictine Military School (BC) sits at the center of campus, a central hub connecting the many hallways that spread across the 125-year-old Catholic school.  Almost every student passes through the space during the day. Its tan floor and wood-paneled walls reverberate with the click-clack of dress shoes in the morning as students…

  • A True Blue Love Story Rooted in Georgia Southern Hoops

    For Professor Emeritus Horace Harrell (’69) and his wife, Diane, Georgia Southern University basketball is more than just a sport. The Eagles team has been at the heart of their love story for more than 50 years. Professor Harrell first started attending games as a student in 1965. The atmosphere was electric, he said. “Back…

  • Building Worlds, One Costume at a Time

    Ann Foley (’98) did not set out to design costumes for Emmy® Award-winning television. In fact, when she arrived on Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro Campus to pursue a degree in fashion merchandising, a future in her hometown of Savannah was fully lined up. “I had it all figured out,” she recalled with a laugh. “I…

  • Alyssa Barnes’ Road to Success: A Radio Career Built on Resilience

    Alyssa Barnes is exactly where she planned to be when she graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2010. The multimedia communications major, known as Danie B in Atlanta, is the midday personality and digital coordinator for radio powerhouse V-103. “I’ve always wanted to be on the radio and on TV,” said Barnes, who was raised…

  • Turning a New Page: From Classroom to Changemaker

    Dayle Burns leads Georgia literacy charge When Dayle Burns (‘76) started her college career at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro in 1973, she dreamed of becoming an art teacher to inspire others. She never imagined that one day she would play a key role in Georgia’s literacy movement. Yet from the moment she stepped into…

  • A Def Education: Georgia Southern Alumnus Uses Hip Hop Music to Inspire Curiosity and Learning in Students

    “Def,” for those unfamiliar, is an informal adjective, born out of ‘80s hip hop culture, meaning “cool” or “excellent.” For André Benito Mountain (’98,’24), however, “def” is not simply cultural slang. It is the foundation of his pedagogy. From his days as a Georgia Southern University student, spinning records on the student-run radio station WVGS,…