Macon State College MVPs is a web feature that profiles notable students, alumni, faculty and staff.

High School: Central High School, where she was a member of the orchestra.

Family: Parents, Richard and Della Jolly.

Current Employment: Full-time student.

Degree Objective: “My current degree objective is an associate’s in music, and I will be in the bachelor’s program in early childhood education, hopefully, in fall 2009."

Class Rank: Junior.

Macon State Activities: “I sing with the Macon State Chamber Singers.”

Career Goals: “I would like to be a music teacher in a public school and offer private lessons on the side.”

She chose Macon State College because of … “The low cost of tuition and the convenience of being close to home.”

The one thing that surprised her about Macon State was … “How beautiful the campus was! The variety of flowers and trees and the landscaping of it all were just gorgeous.”

Her favorite professor is … “That's not an easy call, but I'd have to say Rebecca Lanning (associate professor of music). She is an outstanding teacher and mentor. She is always more than willing to make herself available to a student in need of advising, scheduling issues or even department references. She has registered me for any class I needed, at almost any time I needed advising. She is also an accomplished performer and an experienced music instructor. She has introduced me to the world of singing and revealed talents within me I had no idea I was capable of. And to top it all off, she is quite amiable. Her constant bright and bubbly personality makes her very easy to approach and above all things, a very likable person.”

Her favorite place to study is … “The Macon State College Library. The library is bright and quiet.”

One thing people don’t know about her is … “My earliest aspiration was to be an artist. I was about 4 or 5 years old and I wanted to paint. I had several art kits, an easel, a collection of paint brushes and a paint pallet. My first artist’s smock was one of my father’s barbering smocks. I was really serious about it…until I discovered the violin. The more I focused on my music, the less I painted. I’m still an artist, just a different kind.”

Her friends make fun of her because … “I make fun of them! I believe that a mutual understanding of little verbal sparring makes for a more fun and interesting friendship.”

The one person she’d most like to meet is … “Verdine White, the bassist of Earth, Wind and Fire. For those who don’t know, he’s the one with all the energy. He is a very interesting person who clearly loves what he does, and if I ever wanted to learn bass guitar, he’d be the one I’d go to.”

Five years from now she sees herself … “Teaching an enthusiastic class of young aspiring musicians! I do realize that not everyone will keep their musical interest strong throughout the years, but I hope to at least inspire my class, or classes, to want to make music, understand music and, most importantly, feel music. I think people, particularly from generations later than my own, should be ‘introduced’ to ‘older’ music. I think the element of feeling has been somewhat reduced in today’s music, and it would be helpful for younger people to know what ‘feel-good’ music sounds like and the deep and powerful messages it sends. When the music is good, you know it because you can literally feel it in your soul, and I would like to be a tool for bringing an understanding of where certain aspects of music come from so that at least my students won’t be inclined to give credit to artists who give credit to originators. I believe that if I can get students to listen to and really analyze different music than they would chose on their own, they could appreciate music on a whole new level.”