the Magazine, Volume 2 Issue 2 - The College of Coastal Georgia

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Just a Normal College StudentMaggie Bee tackles academics, student government, and varsity athleticsWhat is normal to MaggieBee ‘14?Her hometown, literally.The junior is from Normal inthe central farmlands of Illinois.The main campus of the state’soldest public university, IllinoisState, is in Normal. In fact, that’swhat gave the town its namein 1865 – Illinois State NormalUniversity – when a “normal”school was a teacher-traininginstitute.A hectic schedule is also normalfor Bee, who is a businessmajor, president of the StudentGovernment Association, andthe setter and one of the teamcaptains of the Mariners volleyballteam.“Keeping the proper balancebetween academics, sportsand student governmentis a challenge,” she admits,“especially at the start of fall term, which is volleyballseason.”Her BBA, with a concentration in communications, fitsher long-term plan to open and operate a pre-school. “Iconsidered an education major as well as psychology,but I finally decided knowing how to operate my ownbusiness should be my first priority. Once I have the BBA,I can go back to school for certification in early childhoodeducation,” she explains.“My dad is glad I finally made up my mind,” she laughs.“He said, ‘Whatever, Maggie, just pick something andgraduate!’”Her goals for the student government association hingeon one key word: involvement.“We want to have a full and committed studentgovernment team with a secretary – no one ran forthe office. We want students involved on campus andparticipating in programs over the weekends as well ascoming to SGA meetings to get their information firsthand,not through the grapevine,” she says.To facilitate student participation, the SGA plans tooverhaul their meetingstructure. “We’re going to bemore professional and moreaction-oriented,” she adds.“Our goal is to be a betterforum for new ideas.”The goal for volleyball?“We’re working for nationals!We are so psyched!”This marks the second yearfor the volleyball programat Coastal Georgia and thefirst year the team will beeligible for tournament play.They finished their inauguralseason with a 15-17 record –quite an accomplishment fora new team.Maggie’s court position issetter. Sometimes comparedto a football quarterback,the setter in volleyball callsand sets up the play whenthe opposition serves – butwithout danger of being sacked.Volleyball is what brought Maggie to Coastal Georgia.Coach Jeff Huebner recruited her – or rather his wife, Erin,did.“I played volleyball for three years in high school. Erinwas my coach senior year. In club volleyball, I was in the16-year olds and we regularly scrimmaged against histeam of 18-year olds. I participated in drills he ran, so I wasfamiliar with his style,” Maggie recounts.“My freshman year I attended the University of Illinois inSpringfield, but shoulder surgery resulted in transferringhome. I ran into Erin and she told me Coach Huebner wasinterviewing for a position at a college on the coast ofGeorgia. I was excited to find out he was here.”Maggie says making the move to Coastal Georgia wasone of the best decisions of her life. “It’s the people – thecommunity, the faculty and staff. They genuinely care aboutyou. I’ve not found that anywhere else.”“And it’s not hard to be away from home during thewinter in Illinois,” she smiles. “My dad and mom say they’dlike to move here, too.” u4 College of Coastal Georgia – the Magazine
C*-Algebras and ConeflowersDr. Víctor Vega-Vázquez has a passion for math, mentoring and gardeningAfter a decade of winters in Iowa, Dr. Víctor Vega-Vázquezwas ready to return to a warm weather climate andthe beach. He grew up in Puerto Rico and two of his fourchildren were born there. But he had been accepted intothe postgraduate mathematics program at the Universityof Iowa and Dr. Vega believed there would be more careeropportunities in the continental U.S.So after earning his MS and PhD in Mathematics from Iowaand progressing from Assistant Professor to Professor andChairman of the Department of Mathematics, St. AmbroseUniversity in Davenport, Iowa, Dr. Vega began looking foropportunities in Texas and Georgia.“Iowa winters were cold – and getting colder,” he laughed,“so I began looking for schools that were on the coast andwere growing institutions.” Those preferences led himto the College of CoastalGeorgia in 2010.In addition to transplantinghis family, he also transplantedflowers that he hadlearned to grow in the Midwest– coneflowers, hybridtea and grandiflora roses.An avid gardener, he hasrose specimens noted forfragrance and beds of coneflowerssurrounding hishome on St. Simons Island.The gardening providesa change of pace from theintensity of teaching, studentmentoring, and researching his areas of mathematicalinterest - real and complex analysis, C*-algebras, operatoralgebras, operator theory and graph algebras, Markovchains and Hilbert modules. The article he co-authored withMarius Ionescu and Paul S. Muhly, “Markov Operators andC*-Algebras,” was published this summer in the HoustonJournal of Mathematics (Volume 38, No. 3, 2012; Universityof Houston). The quarterly journal is highly respected bymathematicians in the United States and is refereed by someof the world’s foremost experts in the field.As a member of the National Alliance for Doctoral Studiesin the Mathematical Sciences, Dr. Vega actively mentorsstudents. In October 2011 he successfully nominatedthree Coastal Georgia math majors for the Alliance’s fallPhoto courtesy of Dr. Víctor Vega-VázquezA butterfly visits a coneflower (Echinacea) in Vega-Vázquez’ garden.conference in Tempe, Arizona.Student attendance is byinvitation only and includespayment of travel, hotel andconference expenses.“With our new baccalaureatedegree in mathematics, Ibelieved the time was right tointroduce our students to anopportunity to experience firsthandthe infinite possibilitiesavailable to them in the disciplineof mathematics,” explained Dr. Vega.Dr. Vega also mentors math students interestedin the highly competitive research experiences forundergraduates.During summer 2012,Coastal Georgia math majorDayton Ireland of Brunswickparticipated in a program atthe University of Arizona,Tucson, and Robert Chastainof Woodbine travelled toMorgantown for a programat West Virginia University.“This is a significantachievement and will certainlyopen new venues forthem and for all of our students,”Dr. Vega enthusiasticallynoted. “After instruction,mentoring is probably the most important thing I do– particularly helping math students realize all the careeropportunities their major provides.”His newest venture is the proposed campus math club.“The math club would provide students with an interest inmath the opportunity to also become involved in campuslife and extracurricular activities. The study of math may beintense, but it doesn’t need to be isolated.”Math and natural sciences are almost a family affair,according to Dr. Vega. His wife, Noris Torres, is a labcoordinator at the Camden Center. But he says it is too soonto tell what his sixteen-year-old daughter may pursue. Asfor the other children, they’re just happy dad moved to thebeach! uCollege of Coastal Georgia – the Magazine 5
Page 1 and 2: college ofCOASTAL GEORGIAtheMAGAZIN
Page 4 and 5: Alumni Profile:Jody Carter ’12Mar
Page 8 and 9: MaestroLuis Haza named College of C
Page 10 and 11: Small World - Big DreamsBarbara Nak
Page 12 and 13: Halfway Around the WorldYouTube and
Page 14 and 15: A Public PartnershipCollege partner
Page 16 and 17: A Teacher’s CommitmentDr. Michael
Page 18 and 19: Sharer-in-ChiefReg Murphy named ina
Page 20 and 21: Summer SchoolImproving Teacher Qual
Page 22 and 23: A Greensboro Dreamer Puts HisThey a
Page 24 and 25: Cooking for a CauseC.H.E.F.One of t
Page 26 and 27: on Saturday morning. Trethewey will
Page 28 and 29: Alumni Profile:Mike Hodges ’73Dur
Page 30 and 31: AroundThe new school on campusConti
Page 32: Advancement OfficeOne College Drive

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