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

High School: Southeast High School, where she was in the Marine ROTC.

Family: “My parents, Sandra and Ronald Francis, live in Macon. I live with my Grandfather, B.C. Musick. My sister lives in Warner Robins with my beautiful niece, Faith.”

Current Employment: Full-time student. “That is plenty of work by itself.”

Degree Objective: Bachelor of arts in English, secondary education track.

Class Rank: Junior.

Activities: English Studies Organization; volunteer at Bernd Elementary School.

Career Goals: “I want to teach literature at a local high school. I want to help kids enjoy and appreciate literature again. These days, with television and everything else, kids don’t have the patience to read a book. I want to change that and make kids want to read again.”

She chose Macon State College because … “It was close to home. I was never the type to go away to college. So Macon State seemed to be the best place that was close to home and affordable.”

The one thing that surprised her about Macon State was … “The professors. I always imagined college professors to be brutal. But once I got here I saw how kind and genuine these faculty members are. They will do anything to help their students succeed. They want us to learn something.”

Her favorite professor is … “A tie between two great literature professors. I took English 1101, 1102, and American Lit I and II with Dr. Sharon Colley. She is the one who inspired me to be an English major. Dr. Colley made me see that I have potential as a writer. She saw the potential in me when I didn’t see it in myself. I took a special topics course and British Lit with Dr. Monica Young–Zook. Her fun and slightly wacky personality makes even the most somber subject fun and interesting. She makes her classes so much fun and entertaining that it is impossible to find the literature boring."

Her favorite place to study is … “In the back of the Library by the vending machines. It is so quiet back there so I can just get lost in my work.”

One thing people don't know about her is … “I am a writer. I write short stories and poems. It is my release. I write to relieve stress. So I write a lot during the semester.”

Her friends make fun of her because … ”I have little quirks. I often joke that I have a sign on my back that says ‘Pick on me, please.’”

The one person she’d most like to meet is … “Any of the great writers - Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, or William Blake. I can’t imagine what sitting down and talking to them would be like.”

Five years from now she sees herself … “Sitting in front of a classroom teaching a bunch of 17-year-olds about Victor and Elizabeth from Frankenstein or about Romeo and Juliet."