GGC Magazine Winter 2026

GEOR GIA GWINNETT COLLEGE

14 CRACKING THE CODE

PRODUCTION

Editor-in-chief: Tyler Ryan

Graphic design: Phil Smith

Photography: Dan Melograna, Jason Braverman, David Tulis, Andrew Mills

Videography: David Sharp

Writing: Teresa Araque, Dale Long, Tyler Ryan

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

Jarrett Bonner

LaKeidra Veal Hill

Laurie Hudson

Hoang Huynh

Simona Lucchi

Barbara Martell

Allana Walker

COLLABORATORS

Sloan Jones, chief of staff

Jackie Todd, associate vice president for Communications

Teresa Araque, director of Public Relations

MAILING LIST

To be added to or removed from the Georgia Gwinnett College magazine mailing list, email GGCmagazine@ggc.edu or call 678.407.5549.

WE VALUE YOUR INPUT

Send your ideas and comments about Georgia Gwinnett College magazine to GGCmagazine@ggc.edu or call 678.407.5549.

President's Message

Momentum That Matters

Dr. Jann L. Joseph President

1000 University Center Lane Lawrenceville, GA 30043 678.407.5000 • www.ggc.edu

ON THE COVER

A GGC graduate observes the many paths one can take in life with a master’s degree.

It is an absolute pleasure to share the Winter 2026 issue of the Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) magazine with you.

This issue reflects the pride we take in GGC — our students, faculty, staff and alumni — and the meaningful work happening across our campus every day. While we officially concluded our 20th Anniversary celebration at the end of 2025, its momentum continues to guide our work as an access-to-success institution.

Within these pages, you will read about our students and faculty participating in the inaugural Gwinnett River Rendezvous, which brought volunteers together at GGC for a day of hands-on water research and community engagement. You will also meet Michelle Yusupov, ’26, a student who lives at the intersection of art and science as an accomplished pianist and undergraduate researcher preparing for a career in medicine.

Academic innovation remains a hallmark of GGC. This issue highlights significant milestones that advance our mission, including approval by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents to launch a Master of Arts in teaching in secondary education. Pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the college plans to begin offering courses in spring 2027, expanding advanced learning opportunities for future educators.

Our faculty continue to lead in addressing real-world challenges. Dr. Ali “AJ” Kooti is helping accounting students explore how artificial intelligence may shape their profession, while Dr. Umar Khokhar and his students are conducting impactful cybersecurity research to better understand vulnerabilities and defenses in an increasingly digital world.

Beyond the classroom, GGC expanded its athletics program to include men’s and women’s basketball, both enjoying successful inaugural seasons. Our Fall 2025 Commencement was a powerful celebration as more than 500 graduates demonstrated grit, growth and greatness. You will also be inspired by Shelby Welgoss, ’24, whose passion for patient care and public health is already making a difference.

Together, these stories illustrate the relevance and importance of the work we do at Georgia Gwinnett College. I know you will enjoy this issue and take pride in all that our community continues to achieve.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jann L. Joseph President

GGC Makes a splash

DURING INAUGURAL

GWINNETT RIVER RENDEZVOUS

GGC Athletics TASTES VICTORY ON HOME TURF

Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) men’s and women’s basketball teams began their inaugural seasons at home with victories in front of enthusiastic Convocation Center crowds, kicking off what are sure to be outstanding legacies in GGC Athletics. The women’s team achieved a 73-49 victory over Brenau University and the men’s team beat Spartanburg Methodist College 106-70. For both young teams, hard work and preparation paid off in their explosive debuts, which brought supporters and GGC community members together to witness these exciting new beginnings.

The women’s soccer team won its third consecutive Continental Athletic Conference championship and eighth conference title in the last nine seasons with a 4-2 victory over Bellevue University at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

The men’s soccer team won its first conference title since 2019 with a 3-0 win ove Bellevue University, also at the Grizzly Soccer Complex. The team matched its deepest postseason run with a quarterfinal round appearance of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament.

First-year Head Coach Tom Rees joined GGC in fall 2025 to lead the men’s women’s tennis teams. The men’s tennis team begins the 2026 spring campaign with a No. 2 ranking in the NAIA preseason poll. The women’s tennis team, the nine-time defending NAIA national champion, also begins the 2026 spring season ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll.

The baseball team has also climbed near the top of the NAIA preseason poll for the start of the 2026 season, securing the No. 2 spot.

The softball team is set to begin the 2026 campaign ranked No. 4 in the preseason poll.

Gri t, Growth, Greatness

More than 500 graduates demonstrated that grit, growth and greatness pave the way for remarkable achievement as they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. The fall class of 2025 represented the United States and 32 additional countries, with nearly 30 percent earning academic honors. More than one in four graduates were first-generation college students.

The morning ceremony featured student speaker Rebecca Morillon, a United States Marine Corps veteran who earned her bachelor’s degree in public health. International student Sára Ivánfai, a native of Hungary and the afternoon student speaker, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Dr. Deep Shah, vice chair of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, gave the keynote address. The two commencement ceremonies were held in Georgia Gwinnett College’s Convocation Center building on campus.

For Shelby Welgoss, ’24, graduating from Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) with a bachelor’s degree in health science and a concentration in patient navigation represented far more than just the completion of a program. It also marked the culmination of an eight-year journey defined by resilience, loss and a growing sense of purpose.

Welgoss arrived at GGC in 2016, unsure of her academic abilities and uncertain about her future. While her friends left home for large universities, she discovered that GGC’s smaller class sizes and close-knit campus community allowed her to connect with professors and find her place in the field of medicine.

Her path through GGC was anything but straightforward.

“I always wanted to work in health care in some way, but I never thought I was smart enough,” she said. “I went from political science to education. I finally decided to go back to health science when I returned from a break from school.”

Welgoss stepped away from school when her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. Acting as his caregiver, witnessing the compassion of his oncology team, and ultimately losing him in 2019 reshaped her life and career. When she returned to GGC in 2020, she eventually found a new sense of direction. A pivotal course in her GGC journey, Trends in Health Equity, ignited her passion for public health and helping people get access to the care they need. This led her to pursue a master of public health degree at the University of Georgia, where she will graduate in December 2026.

Today, Welgoss works at the University Cancer and Blood Center in Athens, Georgia, as a patient care coordinator, supporting oncology patients and their families through some of their most vulnerable moments. She sees her work, studies and personal history as deeply interconnected, and hopes one day to honor her father by creating a foundation dedicated to pancreatic cancer awareness.

“ I love working with people. I want to make a difference in people’s lives in health care, s pecifically in oncology. “

Cracking the

cking

Imagine breezing through the grocery store checkout without unloading a single item from your cart. Instead of scanning barcodes one by one, scanners instantly tally everything you’re buying — fast, convenient and futuristic.

That future is already taking shape through radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, small pieces of technology that allow objects and devices to communicate wirelessly. From retail and health care to inventory management, RFID systems are widely used because they’re compact, affordable and easy to integrate.

If you’ve ever adjusted your thermostat remotely using your phone, you’ve experienced a similar type of device-to-device communication.

But affordability often comes with tradeoffs.

“With reduced cost and limited hardware, sometimes you have to compromise security,” said Dr. Umar Khokhar, associate professor of information technology at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC).

Because of the way RFID systems transmit data, signals can be intercepted and manipulated. Picture that grocery store again, except now someone has found a way to trick the scanner into reading a $90 coffee maker as a $5 box of cereal.

To reduce these risks, researchers developed lightweight security protocols to protect RFID systems by ensuring data security, integrity and authentication. One such protocol, known as the Ultralightweight RFID Mutual Authentication Protocol (URMAP), became a standardized solution. Khokhar and a team of fellow researchers decided to test it.

Their experiments uncovered serious vulnerabilities, including attacks that allowed counterfeit RFID tags to be created.

“In other words, we hacked it,” Khokhar said.

The team published their findings in the International Journal of Information Security in September 2025. They proposed an improved protocol, URMAP+, designed to withstand the attacks that compromised the original system.

At GGC, this research directly informs courses such as ethical hacking and information security. Khokhar has seen students become more engaged and motivated as they explore real-world vulnerabilities and defenses.

As technology continues to evolve, staying ahead of potential threats is critical — and GGC students are gaining the skills to do just that.

Code

CLASS NOTES

Abigail Adams, ’25, biology, is an animal care technician at the Emory Primate Research Center, just a few miles from Georgia Gwinnett College’s campus.

Oprah Adou, ’24, exercise science, recently started a new position at NBCUniversal in Los Angeles, and began graduate studies online at The University of Alabama.

Dinah Akrong, ’22, special education, was named Teacher of the Year at Kanoheda Elementary School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Wendy Arnoux, ’22, special education, was named Teacher of the Year at Partee Elementary School in Snellville, Georgia.

Kristen Cork, ’25, business administration, works part-time at Rea CPA firm in Tucker, Georgia, and plans to enroll in a master’s program.

Daisy Dumler, ’14, psychology, was named Teacher of the Year at McKendree Elementary School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

John Foshee, ’20, elementary education, was named Teacher of the Year at Gwinnett Online Campus.

Michelle Samson Folson, ’19, history, graduated cum laude from Georgia State University College of Law in 2025 and is now a family law attorney at O’Neal Heikkila in Atlanta.

David (Bradley) Hardemon, ’25, English and writing studies, is employed full-time with BeCore, a marketing company contracted by Red Bull, as an event vehicle operator organizing events across Georgia and the Southeast U.S.

Enrique Huerta, ’23, political science, works at Aldridge, Pite, Haan, LLP in Atlanta, and is

Notables

Dr. Chavonda Mills, Georgia Gwinnett College’s senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs and provost, has joined the 2025-2026 cohort of Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) Academy for New Provosts, focused on developing leadership strategies for new provosts at state colleges and universities.

preparing to apply to law school. He and his fiancée, Cindy Serrato, a current nursing student at GGC, recently purchased their first home and will be married in summer 2026.

Naveed Khan, ’16, history education, earned his doctorate in instructional technology from Kennesaw State University.

Keneisha McCombs-Fuller, ’24, psychology, is pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Clark Atlanta University while working in regional adoptions through the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.

Jazzmyne Mitchell, ’22, business administration, completed her MBA in 2024 and will be graduating from Augusta University with her Master of Arts in teaching degree in spring 2026.

Ryan Newbury, ’25, business administration, was recently married, traveled to Honduras and Cozumel, and started a new job as a logistics specialist at RXO, Inc.

Jessica Rantamaki, ’24, political science, was promoted to marketing director and director of Georgia Business Development at Geo-Hydro Engineers in Kennesaw, Georgia, where she has worked for over nine years.

Miranda Robinson, ’24, exercise science, works as a strength and conditioning coach in Atlanta and will marry fellow GGC alum Sam Hunt, ’23, exercise science, in fall 2026.

Laura Rupprecht, ’18, biology, was married in Dahlonega, Georgia, in November 2025.

Aizaz Shaikh, ’17, business management, was awarded 2024 Southeast Region Character Development Officer of the Year by Civil Air

The Georgia Association of Nursing Students held its 73rd annual convention at Kennesaw State University Nov. 1. The Georgia Gwinnett College chapter, Gwinnett Grizzly Bears Association of Nursing Students, received the East District Chapter of the Year award for the second consecutive year.

Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Shaikh will be entering Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Master of Science in space operations program in spring 2026.

Ashley Still, ’12, criminal justice, spoke at the IAEM University & College Caucus on safety and preparedness initiatives at Georgia Gwinnett College. She was inducted into the Order of the Sword and Shield, Omicron Sigma Sigma, the national honor society for homeland security, intelligence and protective studies. She recently completed her master’s degree in homeland security and disaster management at Liberty University with high distinction.

Randal Taylor, ’17, special education, was named Teacher of the Year at Discovery High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Courtney Valis, ’12, management information systems, was promoted to director specialist of AI Workforce at Microsoft and recently welcomed her second daughter, Gwendolyn Valis.

Hannah Wilson, ’19, chemistry and psychology, was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Class of 2026 in Transportation and Aerospace. She is CXO at Yellow Diamond Logistics in Atlanta, where she engineered a compliance program now being implemented nationwide.

If you have news you would like to share with the Georgia Gwinnett College community, please email it to alumni@ggc.edu.

Dr. Dovilė Budrytė, professor of political science, was elected to serve as the editor-in-chief of Lituanus, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to Lithuanian and Baltic art, history, language, literature and related cultural topics.

Scene Around GGC

1 Students from Mountain View High School won a game of Kahoot at Future Georgia Educators Day, hosted by GGC’s School of Education in collaboration with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. Local high school students learned more about their potential futures in education.

2 Keren Zhang collects resources from a free student wellness fair held in the Convocation Center, where GGC students learned how they can prioritize their mental and physical health alongside their studies.

3 Andrew Manriquez shares his research about the effect of caffeinated drinks on athletes at the 25th Creativity and Research Education, Arts, Technology, Enterprise and Science (CREATES) Conference, which featured 146 poster, oral and online student presentations.

4 During International Education Week, the Consul General of Lithuania visited GGC’s campus to lead a riveting and informative discussion with students about international relations.

5 Michal Atkinson sings her heart out as GGC’s Grizzly Bearly Actors rehearse their production of Legally Blonde: The Musical at the Lawrenceville Arts Center.

1000

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) provides access to targeted bachelor’s degrees meeting the economic development needs of the growing and rich, global community of Gwinnett County and the northeast metropolitan Atlanta region. GGC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of Georgia Gwinnett College. Visit www.ggc.edu

Connect with us on Social Media

HIGHLIGHTS AND SPOTLIGHTS IN ONE MINUTE

Check out GGC’s YouTube channel and watch our new video series: GGC in :60 for campus highlights you won’t want to miss. It’s one minute well spent.