I am Matthew Kodrowski. I am from Lawrenceville, Georgia. I was born March 23, 2002. I grew up an only child. I enjoy being part of the “Klimbing Klub” and the “Labyrinths and Lions Club” at Piedmont College. I am a Sports Communications major and plan to minor in Religion.

My parents have really shaped me into who I am today. We went to church every Sunday, they would help me when I would struggle with homework, and I developed my love for sports from them. More importantly, they taught me to have a love for God. My Dad raised me to be a big Philadelphia sports fan. We would always watch Philadelphia Eagles, Flyers, and Phillies games. I also have a love for our local Atlanta Falcons, Thrashers, and Braves teams. Collegiately, I am big fan of Michigan State Spartans, Penn State Nittany Lions, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and Georgia Bulldogs. In our home office, my parents would show me their collections of record albums primarily from the seventies and eighties. It really infused the passions I had for “oldies”, as they have been termed. Some of my favorite artists were Journey, K.I.S.S., Prince, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, as well as many others.

I think of myself as a joyful, happy-go-lucky guy. I worked hard in school to get into the position I am in today. I like sarcastic jokes, sports of course, but most of all, being a friend for others. I currently attend 12Stone church, a place where I have found deep community, and creative ways to enjoy learning about God. Last year I had the opportunity to be a leader in my church’s middle school program, where we impact the next generation. Originally, I was raised in the Catholic church. My mom worked for the church doing book-keeping, and so our family became very close to our fellow church members. While I no longer I attend there, I am thankful because I believe that church set the foundation for me on how I was to treat people and also grow spiritually.

From the outside, our lives appear to describe a normal family, but things weren’t always tulips and rainbows. I have faced a lot of adversity, grueling challenges, and plenty of closed doors. I have had what some would call a traumatic experience. I have undergone high pressure scenarios, but I have been able to overcome them all with faith and family.

When I was in Kindergarten, my dad was out getting the newspaper one morning when he was shot in our driveway. I was the one who found him, and while it allowed us the time needed to call help, it was still hard to see my dad in that state of pure terror. I promise not to go into details, and for the record, my dad is still alive and well today. However, that crisis marked me in ways I didn’t even realize. I see it sometimes as a blessing in disguise to have gone through this as a little kid because I was young enough to not fully grasp the severity of the situation while also being old enough to remember it and the good that came from it. I missed a few days of school while my dad was in the hospital, and in the meantime I was being cared for by my Aunt and older cousin, whom I grew even closer with during that time. While my dad was recovering at home, he was unable to go to church, so the church would come to our house; they would pray over us, comfort us, and reassure us that everything was in control. I believe that time helped me to really grow in maturity, in faith, and in love for others. It introduced me to how sinister the world can be sometimes, but it also taught me values of strength, determination, unconditional love, grace, mercy, positivity, and how to keep a smile on my face despite adversity.

Heading into my senior year, the school I had attended since the sixth grade, Covenant Christian Academy in Loganville, Georgia, closed midsummer. Instead of visiting colleges that summer, I was visiting high schools, a place for me to finish high school strong. We discovered a school called George Walton Academy from a former teacher of mine. I attended that school for my senior year determined to come in and out with a bang, a “one-hit wonder” so to speak. I played football, and while I by far was not the best player, I played each game with my heart out. I had the opportunity to work hard on the field, and even harder off of it. Things couldn’t have been better, and then a little thing called Covid-19 debuted. I finished online like many others like me across the nation. I graduated in late July, two weeks before my scheduled move-in for my first semester at Piedmont College. Piedmont had a new set up for schooling with hybridized classes due to Covid-19. I grinded through first semester well, and was surprised to have ended first semester with straight A’s.

If there is anything I want people to learn about me, It’s this: I am a fighter who is willing to overcome the odds. I have learned that you are not defined by your circumstances, but how you respond to them. The great football coach Vince Lombardi said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” To get up is a response and a choice you have to make. What I plan to do with my life is to inspire people to become their best self. It’s a choice people make. It’s a choice I’ve made. The question is: How about you?

My name is Abbey Grace Venham and I’m a mass communications major and a tennis player at Piedmont college. I’m 18 years old and I’ve lived in Covington, Georgia my entire life with my mom and brother. Covington is a very small town and I went to a fairly small high school called Eastside High School. Most of my life, I’ve dedicated myself to tennis. I played competitive tournaments from the time I was 10 until I was 15 and then I decided I didn’t want to play competitively anymore. I was pushed extremely hard by coaches from various places in Georgia and tennis academy’s in the Athens area. Tennis became more work than play to me, so I took some time off and by the time I was a junior in high school, I was ready to put my skills to use again and try to get into a good school. Luckily, one of my coaches from my competitive days is friends with Trey Martin who is the head women’s tennis coach here at Piedmont. My coach Matt Williams reached out to coach Trey and gave him my name and after seeing Piedmont and meeting my teammates and Trey I knew that this school was perfect for me. The small town feel of Piedmont reminded me of my home town and it gave me lots of hope for my success in the future whereas if I had ended up at a big school, I would get lost on campus! I owe all of my greatest accomplishments and my proudest moments to my family. College tennis and Piedmont wouldn’t be possible for me had it not been for the unconditional support of my entire family. I do everything for my mom, brother, and grandparents. I came out to my family as a freshman in high school and our relationship was rocky for a while. As time went on, each and everyone of my family members not only showed their love and support to me, but their acceptance of who I was. I am extremely blessed to say that I have a family who accepts me and I understand that more than most people considering where I grew up and how my family was brought up and how they raised me. Family is most important to me and always has been. If I could, I would write this entire autobiography about them but that would be way too much for you to read, so I hope you get the gist. I can’t wait to see where the future takes me and I can’t wait to grow as a person here at Piedmont.

When Juliet asks Romeo, “but what is in a name?”, her point was that we are not our namesakes; we are individuals. But, are we truly individuals? Are we completely free to chart our own course? Do our names only affect us because of who we are associated with: is it a choice, or does the name bestowed upon us somehow determine the path on which we travel in life?

My name is Toi Mekhi and names may matter. Toi is a Hebrew name meaning “one who wanders.” Mekhi has a few translations. The Polynesian translation is “toward the water.” In Hebrew, it means life source or like G-d, and finally, the Japanese translation is “of the underworld.” Let that sink in a minute.

Having spent my entire life wandering, most of it in a daydream, I have to wonder if there isn’t more to a name. A copy of my Kindergarten report card reveals, ” Toi spends her day with her head in the clouds,” and my first grade report card notes, “Toi is very talkative and distracts other students by speaking her own language which only she seems to understand, and always at inappropriate times.” In hindsight, I was in a dual language school for those two years and I did not come from a dual language home, so I was not versed in the second language that was required to be spoken every other day. Maybe I thought that was what everyone else was doing. Maybe I decided that since I had no idea what people were saying, I should be challenging them too. Who knows.

As I grew older, I wanted to explore, create, and perform; but I lacked focus, day- dreamed too much, and had horrible stage fright. In addition, I could not articulate exactly what I wanted to do. I just knew that I wasn’t a “rules” person, tended to lose interest in things rapidly, and I wanted to be creative. It wasn’t until I reached high school and registered for a speed reading class that I started to feel I wasn’t the only space cadet on the planet. One day in class, my teacher declared, ” If you don’t like the view, change your seat.” I have been changing my seat ever since.

Having changed my seat often, I now possess a plethora of life and work experience. Traveling, Teaching, Sales Management, and even a bit of Acting, are all in my professional repertoire. Deciding to wander into College at this stage in my life may seem odd, but I enjoy the challenge and I still have much to learn. Reminiscent of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I am being born now, in my prime. Equipped with wisdom, I have no interest in what the underworld can offer. If I travel toward it, I assure you, it is for research only. I like to think that my being an empath and my genuine care for others is a God-like quality, but I have also gone through a self- absorbed, materialistic stage. I would now refer to that version of me as having a God-like complex. What matters is, I wandered beyond that. Continuing to learn and being creative is my life source. Piedmont College is watering my soul. I am indeed one who wanders. At times my wandering is calculated with a specific destination in mind, but more often than not, I am just floating along in the clouds. In the words of the wise J.R.R Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost.”

My name is Leonardo Galarza, but everyone calls me Leo. I was born and raised in a small town called Douglas, Georgia. I was born on October 17, 2001. I am majoring in sports and mass communications. I’m currently on the men’s tennis team for Piedmont University.

I grew up in a divorced household from a very young age. My parents both became remarried, and I happened to become the oldest child out of seven kids as years go by. While being the oldest does not seem to be all that bad, but in my life, it was a little different. You had to be the role model for your siblings, and you have to prove yourself to your parents. We have to make sure no mistakes are made because one slip up could cause an issue with not only your siblings but also your parents. It was rough growing up in a divorced household because you always seemed to be put in the middle of every situation. I lived with my mother and my two brothers until I was 12 years old. I was kicked out of my mother’s house because I saw things differently from her, and I moved in with my father, stepmother, and other siblings. This all turned out for the better in my life especially for what was yet to come.

If you know who I am, then you know that I always smile. It may be hard to believe based on my happiness that there was nothing wrong. I grew up being bullied because I was different from others. I was confused and lost throughout middle school and even high school. I did have friends that I was close with, but my issues did not seem to be important to them in my eyes. It felt like I was alone because it felt like my parents or friends did not completely understand how I felt.

When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to move away from home after I graduated. I did not want to go to a college that was near my hometown because I wanted to explore new things, and I wanted to find myself. Piedmont College gave me the opportunity to be away from home, and an opportunity to play college tennis. I did not expect being away from home away from family and old friends to make such a big impact on my life. The first few months of college I had gone through a rough time in my life. I was unsure that anyone would listen or understand how I felt. There was one person that I knew I felt like I could talk to, but it still scared me to share my feelings with someone else. It was a hard decision, but I knew it was something that would make me feel relieved and happy. I decided to come out to my friends, and even to my parents. It was hard because I was not sure how others would react, but it turned out that my friends still supported me.

I still face some hard times, but that is life for you. There will be times where things will be thrown at us, and we just have to overcome every obstacle. My story is not all there, but it does show what I had to go through to become the person I am today. I still have places where I need to grow, but it all takes time.

WHO ARE YOU? Now, go back and read the question again. It is a loaded question, and quite frankly, a tad bit scary. The truth is, I have not been around that long, but in my experience, I have found that we fill the quiet space with all kinds of things including social media, friends, and awkward conversation. People tend to avoid questions that make them feel uncomfortable. WHO ARE YOU? I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a friend. I am a teammate. I am a student. However, as I reflect on who I am, I realize that I am a small part of everyone who has poured into me along my 22-year adventure on earth.

I reside in the quaint little town of Winder, Georgia. That is wine-der not win-der. Winder is just a little dot on the map between Atlanta and Athens, but it’s my little dot. Winder gives a 21st century Mayberry aura. You introduce yourself with your last name and who your grandparents are, and a man’s word still carries weight in my little town.

I have lived in the same neighborhood my entire life. I am the oldest of three girls, but as the family started growing my parents decided it was time for us to move. The “big” move was right next door. As I said before, I am coming to realize that my story, who I am, is the summation of who I’ve been surrounded by. Both my parents and grandparents played sports growing up, so naturally I had a ball of some sort in my hand from a very young age. As I enjoy the privilege of hindsight, I can see the indispensable value that sports have had in my life. Through sports I’ve learned that nothing is handed to you. You can and will be successful, but it will not be because you didn’t pay your dues. The teammates will not remember the all-star play you had or the game winning at bat, but they will remember how you made them feel. You will only go as far as your attitude will let you.

These lessons, some learned the hard way, carried over to my academic life as well. What I lack in brilliance, I make up for in hard work. My academic capabilities led me to Piedmont College, where my athletic skills followed. Playing college softball was a dream of mine since I was twelve years old, and as I stepped onto campus, I quickly found that college was not all that it was made out to be. The people who spent hours pouring into me were no longer standing by my side and the challenge of the next four years seemed insurmountable. My first semester seemed to torment me as I painfully adjusted to the life that everyone around me seemed to be enjoying. I missed home. I missed mom’s cooking, my dad’s stupid jokes, and my sisters’ annoying comments. All the while, I was praying to find just one friend. As it seemed the faith that was easy to grasp at home was being held to the fire, the Lord led me to my first true friendship at Piedmont College during the end of my first semester. From that point it seems like the rest is history. This one friendship was an answered prayer for authentic, iron sharpening iron, friendship that I had been praying for since high school. It led to other friendships, belonging, and a renewed fervency in my faith.

              Fast forward and as I am entering my last semester here at Piedmont College. The last .2 miles of a marathon if you will. There have been peaks and there have been valleys through the last four years of my collegiate journey. I entered college as an early childhood education major with a concentration in special education and I am leaving college with a major in psychology bound for Augusta University’s Occupation Therapy program. I am leaving Piedmont with more than a degree. I am leaving with friends who I will continue to walk through life with and teammates who have played an imperative role in molding me into the person I am today. I am a part of every family member, coach, teacher, professor, friend, and teammate who has poured into me over the years.

              So, look around. WHO ARE YOU? Wrestle with the question. Evaluate who you are surrounding yourself with. Thank the people who pour into you, they deserve it, I know the people in my life do. Then pay it forward because someone in your circle needs to be poured into.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” Proverbs 27:17

On March 13, 2002, I was born at St. Marys hospital in Athens, Georgia. My parents Laurie and Jamey, decided to give me the Hebrew name Matthew. My birth also resulted in my brother, Dylan, becoming a big brother. Since that foggy and cloudy day of March 13, I have grown a lot and experienced many life-changing events, including a pandemic.
“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” The quote from Babe Ruth can be applied to many aspects of my life. For example, my mother has always described me as fearless, and since a very young age, I would climb up any tree in sight. Calm, ambitious, and brave are three ways that help better describe me as a person. Many people, throughout my short life, have helped me develop these skills. For instance, my parents, my brother, and some coaches have helped me grow tremendously.
Childhood is filled with so many memories that shape our lives. My favorite childhood memories include the birthdays my parents would throw for me and the fun I would have during them. My most significant achievement so far is winning the State Championship for my high school soccer team. Accomplishing that goal was an incredible feeling that I’ll never forget. Furthermore, soccer has given me such joy that I am currently playing in college, and I am trying to become a coach one day.
Overall, events are what shape you as a person. Whether the events are positive or negative, they will ultimately help me grow as a person. I hope to experience a lot more challenging circumstances throughout my life.

Hello, my name is Dante Wilson and a sophomore at Piedmont College. I am 20 years old and am a theatre arts and mass communication major. I was born in Miami, Florida in 2000 then moved to Georgia in 2009 where I lived in Atlanta, Ga for two years then moved to Gainesville, Ga in 2011. I have a little brother named Deshaun, older brother named Dwayne, half-sister named Britney, and amazing mother named Anitra. I have an amazing grandmother which I call “Mema”, funny uncle which I call Uncle Steven, and hyper auntie which I call Whitney. I have a pretty funny family which makes me mostly who I am.

I’m a very energetic person who loves to wake up early in the morning which isn’t typical for people my age , but I just got used to it when I have to for my years from K-12th grade. I am usually called “book smart” than “street smart” because my common sense isn’t that great but my intelligence is strong. I am very well when it comes math and science which I find very entertaining as well. My favorite specific field for math is algebra and chemistry for science because I love playing with equations and love learning the study of matter. I am weak when it comes to history and language arts because tracking historical events and politics are confusing and grammar is my enemy. I love writing and have creative ideas, but hard to format on a page. I am also a very loud person so I heard. I just a naturally loud voice because of my mom which I believe is a good and bad quality at the same time. I can be heard easier, but I can overboard at times. I can also make friends very easily because I’m definitely a people person. I just love to meet new people with same or different interests, same or different personalities, and make memories.

I am proud to say that I am a performer because I don’t have a nervous bone in my body when it comes to performing in front of an audience. I am a theatre performer, but I wasn’t always like that. I always wanted and still want to be a famous dancer. Dancing is like a second breath to me. I’ve been dancing since I was 5 years old and took multiple classes for it. I have took tap for 2 years, took a tango class for 1 year, took jazz for 1 year, and took a step class for 2 years. I do qualify myself as a good tapper, good step dancer, and good tango dancer, but I want to learn more types of genres of dancing. I am taking modern and jazz for my sophomore year at Piedmont College. I did ballet here at Piedmont which was very difficult because I love fast moving steps. I taught myself hip hop and breakdancing because it feels very comfortable to me and my body type which is being 6″6 tall and skinny. I just collect fast movements quick and love doing flips. I’ve been in different kinds of dance crews which relates to church, school, and neighborhood. I have entered a total of 15 talent shows and got 1st place in three of them, 2nd one of them, 3rd place in five them, an honorable mention in two of them so I have danced a lot in front of people. Dancing has always been my passion and that will never stop.

I have always loved acting, but I never tried it. My first acting experience was the Tin Man from “The Wizard of Oz” which was in 4th grade and not that serious but gained my interest. The passion of acting grown when I had to play Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet” in 7th grade. The whole English class had the opportunity to perform it in front of the whole 7th grade class and I loved every second of it. My interest of acting kept growing until I had a realization of my love musical theatre when I played Seaweed in “Hairspray” in 8th grade. The experience of singing also included that because I didn’t realize I would love to sing in front of people on my own. I have a lot of choir singing since I was 7 years old, but never enjoyed singing by myself. The experience changed my whole perspective of what I enjoyed doing. I started doing musicals after 8th grade being in the ensemble, having featured roles, having secondary roles, and having leads.

I have also gained a love to making the morning announcements for two years at my high school. That gained my love to radio hosting and now have become one of strong motivations and goals. My life is just feel with excitement and memorable moments.

My name is Lizzy Carver and I am a senior at Piedmont College with a double major in Theatre Education and Theatre Performance with a minor in Mass Communications. Before coming to Piedmont I first attended a university in Jacksonville, Alabama known as Jacksonville State University. After a quick major shift and the realization that a giant university was not for me I found Piedmont. A native to Georgia, I was happy to find a college that was not too far from my home town of Cartersville, Ga. 

     Growing up I was one of a six person household. Comprised of my mom, my step-dad, my two older brothers, myself, and my younger sister…my house was rarely a quiet location. Of course I was stuck as one of the middle kids with my older brother, but that has just caused me to have a great personality with an exceptional talent for humor. At least I think I’m funny. 

     As far as what I tend to do with my life in the present, I am usually wrapped up in all things theatre here at Piedmont. Between acting in the productions, helping behind the scenes in set construction and lighting, performing with the improv troupe, as well as managing the marketing office – my days are pretty full. When I’m not working on lines or ensuring our shows are being promoted I am working on my various class work and trying to keep my social life afloat. On the ever so rare occasion, I am able to hike some near by trails with my friends or spend some time watching some of my favorite things on Netflix (Criminal Minds, New Girl, etc.). 

     To think about what I would love my future life to hold I have some wild and big plans. The dream would be to hop on a national tour for a production or even make my way to New York and take the stages there. After some time on the stage I would like to transition into working on some of the marketing teams for the larger theatre programs around the nation. In my elderly years, after I’ve taken the stage and gotten my experiences in I would love to transition into an educational field where I can share my experiences with the up and coming performers of the future generations…Now of course this is all if my dreams come true. But no one truly knows what the future has in store for us…sadly.

While I may just look like your everyday boy who lives down the street, I am so much more than that. I grew up in Kennesaw, GA with my mom, dad, sister, and overly cute dog, Baily. Growing up, I was pushed into almost every sport you could think of; baseball, soccer, basketball, and even football. News flash, I sucked at all of them. My family was huge into sports; however, with me, sports never seemed to stick. Instead of being on a court or baseball field, I would much rather play outside with a few friends. I was a very shy kid, so shy that the chances of you to get me to talk were zero to none. Teachers would complain to my parents all the time that I would not talk in class and that they were worried about why I was so bashful to just about everyone. However; that all changed in the 9th grade when I discovered the world of theatre.

From the moment I hit the stage, my personality did a complete 360. I became way more outgoing, confident, and some would even say obnoxious or loud. I loved the attention that being on stage brought me and I fell in love with the idea that I was able to be someone else while others watch. In high school, I performed in every single show as well as participated in over 3 different types of choirs. Theatre has given to a chance to shine in ways that I never dreamed possible.

After 4 years of high school theater, I decided that the stage is where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. College was a very last minute decision for me, however, I’m so thankful that I decided to go. Up until the last week of my senior year summer, I was enrolled at both KSU and Piedmont. I genuinely had no idea where I wanted to go and felt as if it was just not worth all the stress. At the very last minute, I trusted my gut and moved up to Piedmont College.

Here at Piedmont, I have found a new love for Mass communications. Over the last 3 years, I have taken many classes in the mass commutations field and I’m interested to see where this huge career path could take me. While also being up at Piedmont, I have developed a new love for personal fitness and staying active. I work out almost every day and try to live a lifestyle that is both healthy and fun. I have an amazing friend group here at Piedmont, and I can’t believe that my journey here is coming to an end so soon.

When going out into the real world, I still have questions and uncertainties about what I want to do and where I want to go. However; I am fully ready to take on the workforce and make a name for myself in whatever that may be. From theater to mass commutations, I’m eager to see what this world has to offer for the basic boy that lived down the street.