Not Waiting to Give Back

College of Coastal Georgia alumnus Peyton Garris ’24 knows what it’s like to have great ambitions, but be limited by resources. He wants to help others reach their full potential, which is why he donated to the College’s cyber defense program and the Art and Lindee Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship. Both programs positively impacted his time at the College, and he wants to ensure that others benefit from the same experience.

Garris graduated in May 2024 with a bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in cyber defense. Originally from Darien, Garris wanted to stay local for college so he could continue to work with his father’s construction company—Garris and Associates, Inc. Garris grew up doing construction work for most of his life and the local commute to Coastal Georgia made it very convenient to attend class then go to work.

“I don’t think kids realize how cool it is to have higher education so close to you. It’s amazing,” he said.

While in high school at McIntosh County Academy, Garris participated in the dual enrollment program at the College. Once enrolled full-time at Coastal Georgia, Garris considered only staying a short time until he completed his core classes, then transferring to another school. However, like many students, he fell in love with the College—particularly the professors.

“I just loved the professors so much—Dr. Don Mathews, Dr. Nelbert “Doc” St. Clair, and Professor Scott Williamson. The professors here have so much personality and real-world experience,” Garris said. “A lot of them haven’t been professors their entire career. It’s nice to learn from people with actual experience. I really enjoyed the professors. That’s probably the main reason I stayed. There’s a sense of community, especially in Doc St. Clair’s class.”

Garris considers the faculty to be one of Coastal’s best kept secrets. He also commended Dr. Bill Garlen, director of business innovation development and assistant professor of management, and Dr. T. Reese, professor of finance and economics, for sharing their knowledge. Garris shared how Reese recommended a book about investing, which has him now thinking about finance in a different way.

Garris didn’t know what he wanted to study at the College, especially since his background was in construction. It only took taking one cyber defense class and Garris was hooked. He started doing so well in class that St. Clair put him on the A-team for cyber competitions. Garris achieved high accuracy scores and showed great promise. Cyber defense students participate in National Cyber League (NCL) competitions to test their skills. The competitions often take an entire weekend, with students coming in early and staying into the night.

“Cyber defense taught me a lot about leadership and how to work with other people. Also, how to design websites, which is great for marketing, and how to be secure online,” he said.

Garris has been using his acquired skills to help his father’s company, doing web design, setting up secure online communications, and organizing financial records.

Although Garris works alongside his father, who builds coastal, cottage-style homes, he also has his own company—Garris, Hamlin, and McGill LLC, which he started right after graduating from high school. Currently, his company only finances houses, but Garris has big plans for the future. He is working on obtaining a contractor’s license so that his company can do construction.

“I’d like to do something a little bigger, like apartment complexes. That’s what really interests me,” Garris said. “I’ve been reading a lot about doing big deals like that and you can see a lot of apartment complexes going up in Glynn. It’s amazing.”

One life-changing scholarship really encouraged Garris to continue in pursuing his dreams. He received the Art and Lindee Lucas Endowed Scholarship in Entrepreneurship. The scholarship benefits students in the School of Business and Public Management who are rising business talents. The scholarship paid for Garris’ last two years at the College, allowing him to graduate debt-free.

“I look up to Mr. Lucas a lot because he’s done so much for Darien. He has invested so much into that community with condos and Oaks on the River (a boutique hotel). It was awesome to meet him as they were just starting construction,” Garris said. “I love what he’s done. Anyone who puts that much time, effort, and money into something must really care about the community. He’s put in the groundwork for something bigger. Many people who stay at Oaks on the River are also looking around Darien to buy homes. We’ve had several people who want to buy our homes because they’ve stayed at Oaks on the River. It sets the area up for development.”

Giving Back to Help Others

His experiences at the College inspired Garris to give back to his alma mater, specifically cyber defense and the Lucas Center. Garris served as the treasurer of the Cyber Club and remembered the struggle of trying to operate a growing club on a tight budget. He recalled going to budget hearings with the club’s requests.

“I didn’t like making a presentation of why I need more money over somebody else,” he said. “I knew how hard it was, and then have to go through so much bureaucracy once you get the funds.”

To help alleviate some of that, he donated $1,500 to the cyber defense program to be spent where it’s most needed.

For the Lucas Center, he admired how Andes Noktes, executive director of the Art & Lindee Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship, took the time to visit every business class and encourage students to become entrepreneurs. The Lucas Center is committed to inspiring entrepreneurship not only at the College, but in the community and region. They connect founders and aspiring entrepreneurs with mentors, peers, resources, education, and partners to make their business goals come to life. After launching in 2022, the Lucas Center has worked with more than 500 entrepreneurs and has produced about 150 mentors. Garris also donated $1,500 to the Lucas Center so they can continue to help people realize their dreams of having a business.

“I wanted to give back to them too because of what they’re doing for people—encouraging them to be entrepreneurs and get to where I am now, which is starting your own business, taking risks, doing what others wouldn’t do, and being your own boss,” Garris said.

Garris’ company was in a good place financially and he didn’t want to wait until later in his career to give back.

“I’ve been doing well and hopefully will continue. I thought about when I was in their (students’) shoes, and I wanted to make it easier for them to get what they need to be successful,” he said. “I hate when you have so many smart people in a room and they are limited by their hardware or monetary restrictions. They are not operating at their fullest potential and it’s not their fault.”

Favorite Moments at Coastal

While at the College, Garris was also recognized for his academic achievement. He was selected to represent Coastal Georgia as the 2024 Academic Recognition Day Honoree. Then College President Dr. Michelle Johnston called Garris to inform him of the news and how he would represent the College at the University System Board of Regents meeting in Atlanta, where all the honorees from the system’s 26 institutions were to be recognized.

“Dr. Johnston called me and said, ‘Peyton, I’ve looked through all the applications, and I picked you to represent the College of Coastal Georgia. Are you available on this date to go to Atlanta?’” he said. “Going to Atlanta was cool. I got to meet all the students from the different universities.”

Garris also had the opportunity to meet Chancellor Sonny Perdue and received a resolution that was read in the Georgia House of Representatives, acknowledging all the honorees. Garris was happy to see his hard work and the work of other students recognized. He took his schoolwork very seriously, he said, and strived to do well even in courses he didn’t enjoy. Being recognized felt like an accomplishment. He was again recognized at the College’s annual Honors Day ceremony.

Another highlight for Garris was a trip to Chicago to compete against other colleges and universities in the Department of Energy’s CyberForce Competition. Garris served as one of the team captains.

“I remember it fondly. We were up late every night, crunching on the website, looking at what the vulnerabilities were,” he said. “I’ve never been to Chicago. It was crazy going to such a huge city and I tried the Chicago hotdog. It was the biggest city I’ve ever been to.”

Although Garris enjoyed the trip, he recalled some stressful moments. As the team captain, he wanted to lead his group to success. He had seven people on his team who were looking up to him for direction. Overall it was a great experience, he said, because the competition showed what one would face in the real world.

“A lot of the students competing against us where master’s students. They weren’t messing around and that lit a fire under you,” Garris said. “I think we placed in the middle of the group, like 30 out of 70, which was good for everyone’s first time. Now we have students who’ve done the competition before and can help new students. I hope they place higher than we did.”

What he enjoyed most about the competitions was the camaraderie built among his classmates as they worked together.

“It was always fun to be with everybody, and with the freshmen. If you do well the previous semester, you’re not going to be with those same people. You’ll be with people who haven’t done well in order to teach them,” Garris said of the NCL competitions. “We placed really well and had three teams place top 50. It’s always so much fun because everyone comes together to accomplish one goal. It’s divide and conquer. One person will focus on web application exploitation, while another would do log analysis. It was great and you learned how to delegate tasks.”

Just Go For It

Garris’ advice to his peers is to surround yourself with people smarter than you, and to not be afraid to ask questions.

“Let yourself be humbled by the fact that you don’t know everything. You can talk yourself out of any opportunity by just being scared,” he said.

When Garris became involved in real estate at 18 years old, his mentality was “Other people are doing it, why can’t I?” He saw no difference between himself and Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffet. They were people, just like he was. With nothing much to lose, Garris went for it. When trying to purchase his first house, he couldn’t get a bank loan because of his age and lack of a credit score. Garris explained that he had to drum up capital and convince people to believe in his vision, and found someone to co-sign on the loan with him. He wasn’t deterred and kept at it. He hopes others stay motivated to keep trying.

Although Garris greatly appreciate his time at Coastal and earning a degree, he knows that having a degree doesn’t totally define a person, or make one better than anyone else. For him, it proves one’s determination and resilience. He also believes in using mistakes as an opportunity for growth, and to acknowledge areas where one isn’t using their full potential.

Outside of construction and real estate, Garris enjoys tending to horses with his girlfriend, going to concerts, and playing the guitar. His brother Nash Garris, who is also a student at the College, has a band called Blair. Garris is featured on the song “Happy Dad” and there are plans to shoot a music video for the song. He’s also gotten into analyzing the stock market, as he’s seen firsthand how the ups and downs of the market can directly affect his real estate business. For some down time, Garris will read books by Eckhart Tolley and Robert Greene.

Garris is excited for his future, especially the opportunity to expand his business. The future may be uncertain, but Garris is motivated to keep working hard to see his dreams become a reality.