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Finding Greatness: Calabria Turner

Author: News Bureau
Posted: Monday, May 9, 2016 2:18 PM
Categories: College of Arts and Sciences | Students | Pressroom | Finding Greatness | Honors/Awards

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Macon, GA

Grad-school bound honors student Calabria Turner is a member of the President’s Torch Society.

Full Name: Calabria Denise Turner.

Age: 22.

Hometown: Macon.

Residence: Lizella.

High School: She participated in Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and MCJROTC Drill Team.

Family: Parents – Tonya and Paul Giddings, & Jack and Jessica Turner; siblings, Kirsten, Madison, Justin and Makalin; pet, Ollie (cat), better known as Olliebaby.

Employment: Full-time student and Presidential Student Intern at MGA.

Degree Objective: Bachelor of Arts in English, Associate of Arts in Modern Language (French).

Class Rank: Senior

Primary Campus: Macon

Activities:

• President, Honors Student Association
• President, Alpha Rho Sigma, English Honors Society
• Vice President, English Studies Organization
• President’s Torch Society, ex-officio
• Tutor, MGA Writing Center, Macon campus
• Nursery Worker, Mabel White Memorial Baptist Church

Career Goals: “I’d like to become a professor of English Literature with a British Victorian focus. I also have a special interest in children’s/adolescent literature. I become animated when discussing literature. Teaching is enjoyable and seeing engaged students is particularly rewarding. “

She chose 51���� because … “The Macon campus is close to home, and the institution is the most affordable in the area.”

The greatest thing she discovered about Middle 51���� State was … “The wonderful faculty of the English department and the Honors Program.”

Her greatest academic experience as a Middle 51���� State student has been … “Getting more involved in the Honors Program and tutoring at the Writing Center. I also enjoyed being a teaching assistant for Dr. Chip Rogers. Each of these experiences provided opportunities for me to apply what I have been taught and gain professional expertise in the field I will enter.”

To her, “greatness” means … “Striving for improvement. It’s not enough to simply keep going. People should continue to better themselves, their skills and their understanding of themselves at a personal level.”

One thing people don’t know about her is … “I went on a mission trip to Belize, Belize.”

The one person she’d most like to meet is … “Well, I’m not sure there is someone I would most like to meet. We build up these images of who someone is over time, and then once you meet them they inevitably disappoint you because, they too, are human and would have a difficult time living up to the standard the world has created for them, but I might like to meet the Apostle Peter, David Tenant or Grant Gustin.”

In five years … “After graduation I will visit family in Italy and travel to London. In the fall, I will attend GCSU to earn my Master of Arts in English while working as a Conference Center assistant at MGA. I also hope to be a teaching assistant at GCSU. After graduating, I will move on to earning my PhD.”