Category: Student Stories

Relationship with Professor Gives Lightsey Courage to Pursue Dream

On March 17, Vocal Performance major Kristy Lightsey will perform her senior recital in the Piedmont University Chapel. It will be the culmination of four years spent learning from and working with music professor Dr. Andrea Price. Lightsey was a junior in high school attending the Fine Arts College Experience (FACE) on Piedmont’s Demorest campus…

Piedmont University to Premier Original Musical Work About Civil Rights Activist Lillian E. Smith

Piedmont University will premier an original musical work titled “How Am I to Be Heard?” about the life and pioneering work of civil rights activist Lillian E. Smith. Smith was a writer who penned the best-selling novel “Strange Fruit,” about an interracial relationship that takes place in Georgia in the 1920s. She was also active…

Piedmont Student Completing His Degree While Traveling the Country Making Monster Jam Videos

Photo of Tyler Goins using his camera.

Still months from graduation, Piedmont University student Tyler Goins is already traveling the country, creating professional videos to promote Monster Jam, the popular motorsports event. “This job seemed so far out of my hands, like a big jump for me,” said Goins. “I didn’t think someone my age could be doing this, but I am.”…

Piedmont Student Makes Advocating for Disabled Persons His Life’s Work

Piedmont University junior Caden Nelms calls himself “The Wheelchair Dude Who Fights for Accessibility,” because that’s exactly what he aspires to do — both as a student and long after he graduates. “Not everyone with a disability can or wants to advocate, which is fine,” he said. “I get that, but I make it my…

Meet the Social Team: Practicum Students to Provide Inside Look at Piedmont Experience

Piedmont University students will be sharing an inside look at their experiences during the spring semester. Students Noah Aaron, Maria Allocco, and John Dills are majoring in mass communications. Conner Jelley is majoring in sports communications. This semester, they are completing a practicum; a practicum is a one-credit-hour course that allows students to gain hands-on…

Mack Makes His Mark at Piedmont

Michael Mack

Everyone knows Michael Mack. He’s the president of the Student Government Association (SGA) following three years in the Senate at Piedmont University. He’s on the cycling team. He is treasurer of the National Society of Leadership and Success. He is making his mark at Piedmont, including working with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council….

Dia de la Familia Helps Hispanic Families Navigate Higher Education

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…

When COVID Kept Family Away, Brett Loftis Brought Sports Home

Brett Loftis

Six words have made Brett Loftis ’22 a Piedmont University sensation: “Where else would you rather be?” For families who want to watch their student-athletes perform in person, the answer is nowhere else but on campus, but COVID changed the game in 2020. During the pandemic seasons, when Piedmont parents had to watch from a…

For Piedmont Actuarial Science Student, Her Major Is ‘A Path to a Great Life’

As an actuarial science major, Jade Edwards is frequently asked this question: What is actuarial science? In response, Edwards explains that an actuary uses mathematics and statistics to assess risk in industries such as insurance and finance, but for her personally, the field is much more than this layman’s definition. “For me, actuarial science is…

She’s 63 and has just been diagnosed with a learning disability. That’s not stopping Piedmont student Carmen Schuerman.

For 63 years, Carmen Schuerman struggled with mathematics. She failed the second grade. She needed fingers and toes to work problems others could solve with paper and pencil. When the math became too advanced, she had to draw dots contained in circles to help her “see” the sums and quotients. At one of her first…