Middle Georgia State MVP: Johnathan Yerby
Author: News Bureau
Posted: Monday, September 16, 2013 2:47 PM
Category:
Finding Greatness
Macon, GA
Full Name: Johnathan M. Yerby.
Residence: Macon.
Originally From: "Born in Florida, family is from Michigan, but I’ve been in Georgia long enough
that this is now home."
Job Title: Lecturer of Information Technology and the School of IT Advising & Retention
Coordinator.
Degrees: Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Macon State College; Master of
Management Information Systems (MMIS), Georgia College & State University; Master of Business
Administration (MBA), Georgia College & State University; Ph.D. (In Progress) Instructional
Technology, Georgia State University.
Year he joined the Middle Georgia State (Macon State) faculty: 2009.
Some of his teaching career highlights are … "I’ve enjoyed the time spent with students in the
classroom as well as dozens of extracurricular activities with both Association of Information
Technology Students (AITS) as well as another club, Information Systems Security Association
(ISSA) that a previous student, Charles Garrett, and I started in 2011. We've been able to take
students on visits to the GBI Forensics lab, host video game tournaments, work with ISSA club
members to raise money and donate to the Children’s Hospital, and work with the Mentor’s Project
to tutor high school students and help with an annual Christmas party for the homeless.
"It was a great experience being elected as an officer in Macon State College’s first ever Faculty
Senate, where I served as the Parliamentarian for 18 months. Another highlight came in 2012 when I went to Novi Sad, Serbia, to teach Network Security at another college for the month. I was able to learn several phrases in Serbian, but luckily I was able to teach over 100 students speaking in English with very little translation needed. In 2013 I had the opportunity to return to Serbia with Dr. Alex Koohang to help organize the first annual Knowledge Management conference.
"In 2012 I worked with a team of students, led by Jacob Morrison, to create a functional Networking
Lab at the college that we now use in multiple classes for teaching purposes. Another highlight of
my teaching career was being able to help lead the articulation agreements with SACS accredited
technical colleges. I was one of the students that graduated from a technical college and then was
told that the credits did not transfer to the university system. With our articulation agreements
students are able to continue on to earn the higher degree without having to start completely over.
"The latest things that I am very delighted to be able to lead is crafting a new course on virtual
computing and to be working on a $1.8 million National Science Foundation grant through Daytona
State College to enhance Middle Georgia State College’s digital forensics offerings."
He enjoys teaching at Middle Georgia State because … "Our students really want to be here and want to advance their lives, and the classroom environment allows faculty to really get to know students personally. It is very rewarding seeing someone develop and mature over the course of a series of semesters. I have the opportunity to see lives change because of the opportunities that we are given to reach our students. Many of the classes at Middle Georgia State College are diverse in ethnicity, gender, and age. Having a pleasant meeting place to share experiences and viewpoints provides a richer experience for me as an instructor, as well as my students. I enjoy the classes where I have fewer than 25 students the most because we can really have a semester long conversation while the students learn and grow.
"Another positive about being at MGSC are the beautiful campuses, relatively easy parking and
modern facilities. The everyday surroundings get taken for granted when we see them every day,
but when you have an opportunity to visit other places, you realize that we really have a
pleasant atmosphere."
His favorite course to teach is … "ITEC 4321 – Digital Forensics & Data Recovery, because it is
the most fun to teach students what stuff in movies is real and what is fiction. More of it is real than most expect, but it takes a great bit more time and attention to detail - and less black lighting. In the forensics course we get to see the power of knowledge, technique, and tools. Sometimes I will have fun adding in characters from TV, movies, or books into a criminal or civil scenario."
One thing people don’t know about Middle Georgia State is … "How many people here actually
care about the college and really want to see it continue to fulfill the needs of the region. The college is more than capable and willing to move on to become a university. Oh, and people don’t know about the secret lounge on the fourth floor of the PSC building, but I guess they do now."
One thing people don’t know about him is … "I need very little sleep."
In his spare time he likes to ... "Go on brewery tours when traveling, play golf horribly, watch NFL
football, volunteer for local organizations and ride my motorcycle. I also garden, but I wouldn’t say
that I enjoy it."
The one person he'd most like to meet is … "The King of all Media because he can make anyone
sound interesting. I spend so many hours listening to him during many long drives over the past
several years. I’ve been a fan since I was too young to listen, but he has really mellowed out as he
has aged and become a family friendly network television star."
If he wasn’t a college professor he would be ... "A TV chef / comedian because I enjoy making
people smile and I’ve had people tell me throughout my life that I should do both of these things –
but I am the one who combined them into a show that would end up on ESPN el Ocho, instead of
the Food Network."