Macon State College MVPs is a web feature that profiles notable students, alumni, faculty and staff.
Full name: Glen Paul Johnson.
Residence: Macon.
Family: Parents, Glen and Helen Johnson; sister, Allison Johnson; grandmothers, Virginia Taylor and Merle Johnson (all of whom live in Macon); and nieces, Alyssa and Savannah, nephew, Anthony, sister, Holly, and brother-in-law, Sal DiDomenico, who live in Bradenton, Fla.
Job Title: Academic resource specialist in the Academic Resource Center.
Degrees: Master of business administration from Georgia College & State University; bachelor of arts in social sciences/history from Thomas Edison State College; and associate of science in elementary education from Macon State College.
Year he joined the Macon State College staff: 2004.
What he does on the job: “I work as a tutor in the Academic Resource Center on the Macon campus. I am one of two full-time tutors in the ARC. The subjects that I tutor include mathematics, statistics, management, English, reading and history. Each semester I give COMPASS mathematics workshops for Learning Support students. In addition, I help create tutoring schedules, answer computer, printer, and scanner questions, oversee the ARC laptops, conduct workshops and create ARC reports. I also help teach the ARC tutor training sessions certified by CRLA (College Reading & Learning Association).’’
One thing people don’t know about Macon State is … “Some people still may not know that the ARC offers FREE tutoring for formidable subjects such as literature, statistics, calculus, chemistry, physics, and anatomy and physiology. The ARC is also for students who want to keep their A or B. Also, some students are not aware that the ARC offers supplemental streamed video lessons over the ARC webpage for many subjects that are correlated to textbook sections (statistics is an example).”
One thing people don’t know about him is … “I enjoy looking for wild birds (the study of ornithology or ‘birding’). I have seen about 470 species of birds in North America (out of approximately 900). I have seen over 300 species of birds in Georgia, and over 200 species in Bibb County alone. I have been to Arizona, Colorado, Ontario, New Jersey and places in between to look for bitterns, magpies, avocets, owls, spoonbills and ptarmigans, to name a few. I won the American Birding Association’s Young Birder of the Year award, the American Museum of Natural History’s Young Naturalist Award and best of show in Georgia for the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest in my senior year.”
In his spare time he likes to … “When I am on vacation, I enjoy traveling to Florida to see my nieces and nephew. On trips I will draw and do watercolor sketches of birds, animals and plants. I like to exercise outside, so I prefer bike riding and jogging. Occasionally I canoe or play tennis. Camping and hiking in the North Carolina mountains near Mt. Pisgah is a favorite summer activity. I also use my spare time for birding and researching birds; I have written a book, Annotated Checklist of Birds of Middle Georgia, and I have contributed to the Georgia Ornithological Society’s journal called The Oriole. I also enjoy music and I listen to classical music, especially music in the Baroque and Classical eras. For reading material, I usually choose biographies and historical fictions.”
The one person he’d most like to meet is … “ John Bunyan, the Englishman who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress in the 17th century. His allegory is filled with clear metaphors, analogies, and word pictures that tell a timeless story. Many authors impart their own life stories into the lives of their characters, and as I have read Bunyan’s autobiography, I believe this is true for Bunyan in the character of Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress. It would be interesting to hear John Bunyan in person and have a chance to ask him questions. He had little formal schooling and was a tinker early in his life, but he became a very learned man; as a young man he served in Cromwell’s army in the 1640s.”
What he likes best about working at Macon State is … “Meeting a wide variety of students each semester in the ARC. I am able to help students academically, but I am enriched by their life experiences and friendships. I have met Macon State students who have come from Caribbean, Africa, India, Europe and the Far East. Tutoring has given me the chance to know people on a more personable level than many other jobs would allow. Students have goals and dreams to pursue, and it is a pleasure to help students get closer to accomplishing their goals.”