By Samantha Carvallo

Something about me that is kind of shocking to most people is my origin and ethnicity. It is my favorite thing to tell people simply because I love their reactions and sudden interest. Before I get into that, let me introduce myself. 

My name is Samantha Carvallo and I am a senior graphic design major and mass communications minor here at Piedmont University. I came to Piedmont as a recruited cross country runner and had an interest in athletic training. My science skills, however, were pretty subpar and I did not do so well my first semester here. My art skills have been around since I was little but I always thought of them as a back-up plan. I never thought I could make a career out of it until I discovered my interest in graphic design. I changed my major the following semester and felt like I found my place. Last year, I decided to take my graphic design experience a little further by becoming the publications designer for The Roar and made so many new friends. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to minor in mass communications to pursue a career in design editing. 

How did I end up in Georgia to begin with? Well, I was actually born in Talca, Chile along with my older sister (yes I do speak spanish). When I turned two years old, my family and I moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia which is where my younger brother was born. We moved down to Georgia not long after because my father had gotten a teaching position at the University of Georgia as a spanish professor. I come across as fully white because of my skin color but that is not the case. I am mixed. My mom is from Lafayette, Indiana and met my dad while they were getting their master’s degrees at Ohio State University. My dad is the one who encouraged my mom to go to his hometown (Talca) to meet his family and learn about the culture. She became fluent in spanish not long after she moved with my dad and they got married not long after. 

Whenever I ask about why we left Chile, I am always told that it was so my siblings and I could have a better life and work for things that not every chilean can have. I am thankful and so happy to be here. It is crazy to think about how a simple decision affected my whole life up to this point, but I will never forget where I am from. 

I graduate next spring and it sends chills down my spine even writing this because I have no clue what my capstone is going to be on. I haven’t determined if these are excited chills or anxious chills but I know that I will make it out okay. Piedmont will always have a place in my heart. 

By Samantha Carvallo

In hopes to reshape the coffee shop standards, Lawrence Bridges decided to put his business hand forward and build Temperance House Fine Coffee in 2019 in Demorest, Georgia.

 “My buddies and I would go up to another coffee shop every morning…and we felt like we weren’t getting the service we would have liked,” said Bridges. “One of my other friends looked at me one day and said, ‘Why don’t you open a coffee shop and we all would have a place to go?’ and I decided to give it a shot.” 

After approaching Demorest City Hall about a new potential business, Bridges was able to get a lease in April 2019 for the vacant space that used to be the Piedmont Bookstore. 

“When I took the building over, it looked very sterile,” said Bridges. “The walls were gray, the ceiling was bright white and the floor was covered in tile. It was difficult to find anyone to do the renovations at the time so I ended up doing it all myself. I wasn’t even fully ready to open come August 1st of 2019, but I just had to get the business started to get some money flowing.”

But why stop at having just a coffee shop? On Aug. 1, 2021, Bridges opened up the Public House Brew in addition to the coffee shop to further his business plan.

“We had a five-year business plan in place that included beer and wine at our two year point,” said Bridges. “Now I am waiting to hit my three-year point to add further changes.”

Junior mass communications major Rowan Edmonds worked as a barista at Temperance for a little under a year and learned a lot from her time there while serving customers.

“I really liked my coworker and my boss, Lawrence. Meeting new people was awesome,” said Edmonds. “I got really good at making coffee and lattes. I learned to be a lot more patient with people during my time there and it was a great experience.”

Junior biology major Catherine Mote is still currently working at Temperance as a barista and bartender. She has been able to make a lot of friends and gained new organizing skills since she started working there in 2020. 

“I’ve definitely learned to be better about organizing and planning due to the schedule making,” said Mote. “I’ve also gained a lot of friends and had some neat conversations with people I never would have met otherwise. Temperance is actually where I started to become friends with one of my current roommates because she would study there all the time.”

The aim for growth continues for the Temperance House as Lawrence Bridges progresses through his business plans. Adding another business to the area impacted the tiny town that Piedmont University is located in. 

“The coffee shop added another aspect to Demorest being a destination,” said Bridges. “We’re moving along. You will be amazed by what’s to come in downtown Demorest.”

By Samantha Carvallo

April 2022

What you do in the bathroom is not something that people like to talk about, but senior applied health science major Josey George got personal while talking about gastroenteritis at the 2022 Piedmont Symposium. 

“Gastroenteritis is a disease caused by pathogens that enter the stomach through contaminated water or spoiled food,” said George. “It was surprising to find how common this disease is in third-world countries. There are roughly 582 million cases per year.”

George went on to add what the effects of gastroenteritis are–dehydration, malnutrition, shock, comas or potentially death–and what treatment options are available for people who have been contaminated with this disease. She also mentioned how gastroenteritis is passed between individuals and the most common symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea or fever. George conducted her research along with several other medical microbiology students under the guidance of Biology Professor Dr. Julia Schmitz. 

“[My] students have worked on these projects all semester long,” said Schmitz. “They researched everything about the disease, starting with the causative agent, the symptoms, the number of people who come down with this disease every year, how to treat, prevent it and what happens if left untreated.”

While gastroenteritis is a common stomach flu, Josey George was able to explain her research thoroughly to her audience in a way that wasn’t overwhelming. This is something most health science majors need to know how to do in their career fields, so any health concerns can be explained to the general public.

“For our presentations, we had to design a pamphlet that was written at a high school reading level because that’s what the general public can normally read,” said George. “After my presentation, I hoped my audience learned how to be careful about their water sources they drink from and how to properly store their food.” 

The Medical Microbiology presentations at this year’s Symposium were deemed successful by Schmitz. Her students, like George, had found multiple sources to aid their findings and were able to get through a variety of different diseases within their given time frame. 

“My students did an awesome job and even found information I didn’t know about the different diseases,” said Schmitz. “I also had some students do a disease I hadn’t known about prior to their presentation so I am able to learn from my own students – which I love.”

by Samantha Carvallo

February 2022

Piedmont University’s Graphic Design and Photography Professor, Joshua McGowan, did not always envision himself as a teacher.

“I always thought I would work for a non-profit that had some humanitarian or conservationist component,” McGowan said. “But then I found out what I was really interested in along the way was helping people reach their full potential.”

McGowan graduated from Piedmont in 2016 with an undergraduate degree in fine arts and became a fine arts recruiter for the art program here. He would travel to different schools and host workshops that highlighted what exactly Piedmont’s School of Art had to offer prospective students who showed artistic potential. 

“There weren’t any difficulties in regard to Piedmont University because I do firmly believe that Piedmont has one of the most exceptional visual arts programs I have ever been a part of. What the most challenging aspect of being a fine arts recruiter was going into high schools that had funding issues and trying to identify talented students who never had access to proper facilities,” McGowan said. “It was fairly challenging to me since this was right after I finished my undergrad. Luckily, our department chair, Chris Kelly, offered me a lot of guidance in terms of what kind of students to look for.”

Later on, McGowan chose to go back to school. He moved to Pennsylvania and completed his master’s degree at Temple University in 2019 when he coincidentally took on the role of being the professor of professional practices at Piedmont. Finally, in 2020, professor McGowan was chosen to be the graphic design and photography professor for the art program, and is in his second semester of teaching both art forms.  

“Higher education seemed like a fantastic avenue to pursue,” McGowan said. “I was always in contact with people who were achieving and striving for their best, so it has ended up being a really good fit for me. So far, everything has worked out wonderfully and I plan to keep on doing it.”

Hey fellow editors! My name is Samantha Carvallo and I am a Junior Graphic Design Major and Mass Comm Minor here at Piedmont. I am looking forward to working with you all.

Something a lot of people do not know about me is that I am from Chile. My Mom (right) is from Indiana and my Dad is from Talca, Chile (left).

They met at Ohio State University while they were getting their Master’s Degrees in Education and moved back to Chile together which was where they got married.

Something funny about my siblings and I is that only my older sister (bottom left) and I (bottom right) were born in Chile. My younger (middle) was born in Virginia not too long after we moved to the United States.

My Dad eventually received a part-time teaching position at the University of Georgia along with another job at Collins Hill High School. My family then relocated to Buford and have lived there ever since.

I graduated from Mountain View High School in 2019 and was committed to Piedmont University to run Cross Country and Track in the fall.

At the time, I had been devoted to running for the last four years and it wasn’t until recently when I decided to step away from the competitive side of the sport. I left the team because I realized I have other passions in life that need my attention.

Closing on door opened another and I found a new joy in Magazine editing. This school year I became the Design Editor (alongside Rowan Edmonds) for The Roar and have felt so welcomed while devoting time to build a magazine that will stand out to students. I know now what I want to do in the future with my Graphic Design Degree and the Mass Communications Department helped show me the way.

I hope you all enjoy this semester and thank you for reading.