Deoni Thigpen can still remember the moment she decided to become a teacher. She was in third grade. Her teacher called on her. Thigpen didn’t know the answer to the question. Her teacher made her feel embarrassed. Then and there, Thigpen knew what she was going to do with her life. Now, with a bachelor’s…
Brooke Hollis’s third-grade teacher changed her life. Now, as a two-time Piedmont University graduate teaching third grade at Lula Elementary, Hollis is working to make a similar impact on her own students. “The reason I get out of bed every day is to make sure they know they’re loved, at least for seven or eight…
Books have been written about applying to college because the process can be daunting and the language bewildering. Accepted, admitted, deferred admission, FAFSA, rolling admission, weighted grade point average — what does it all mean? Imagine how much more difficult it would be to do it all in a foreign language and the difference it…
Just weeks after graduating from Piedmont University, Geeth Mahagamage will start a new position in actuarial science that will allow him to be financially independent — a goal he set for himself years ago as a student in Sri Lanka. “I am really thankful to Piedmont for the opportunities it gave me,” he said. “Now…
Piedmont University alumna Taniesha Hines-Pooser is Gwinnett County Public Schools’ 2022 Middle School Teacher of the Year. “It feels amazing,” said Hines-Pooser. “It is extremely exciting to represent my fellow music educators in this way.” Hines-Pooser teaches orchestra at Berkmar Middle School in Lilburn. Gwinnett County Public Schools is the largest school system in Georgia,…
What do seven of the 10 semi-finalists for Jackson County Teacher of the Year have in common? They have degrees from Piedmont University. Jackson County announced their semi-finalists for Teacher of the Year in August. They include: Matthew Bolt, an English Teacher with Jackson County High Laura Diers, a teacher at West Jackson Middle Wendy…
Piedmont University honored several outstanding alumni during its Homecoming festivities on Oct. 23. In addition to the presentation of Alumni Awards and inductions into the university’s Sports Hall of Fame, Homecoming included entertainment by Atlanta Rhythm Section and Ivan Duke Band, as well as an art exhibit honoring deceased professor Leroy Young. “It was an…
When he enrolled at Piedmont University in 2013, Trae Gaines was studying biology. His major — and the course of his entire life — changed with an ankle injury he suffered during a basketball practice early in his freshman year. “The athletic trainers helped me get back in the game so quickly. Watching them work…
When he enrolled at Piedmont University, Nic Johnson knew only three things for sure: He wanted to take voice lessons, learn to play the piano, and start a gospel choir. What he would do next, he had no idea. Now, with three Piedmont degrees to his name, Johnson is proud to say he achieved everything…
Piedmont University will host an exhibition featuring the work of Leroy Young, an art professor who passed away in 2020, from Oct. 7 to Nov. 4 at the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art, 567 Georgia St. in Demorest. Young taught at Piedmont from 2000 to 2008. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Vietnam…