Jenna McDaniel

Number 31, August 4, 2015

Jenna McDaniel ’16 of Hazlehurst volunteered to be an orientation leader during the summer. A student assistant working with Jaime Parker-Lewis, Director of Campus Center and Student Life, McDaniel said she is a frequent visitor to the Admissions Office and helping her friends out sounded like a fun thing to do.

“In addition to conducting campus tours, I tell students about all the organizations and student services available on campus. Students are interested in athletics and about campus life in general,” she said. “I stress the importance of being active on campus – going to different activities to meet and make new friends. There is more to college life than homework.”

McDaniel also stresses that students should get help as soon as they realize they are having difficulties with a class or coursework. “I tell them not to wait. The sooner, the better. We’ve got lots of resources and tutors just for that purpose – to help them.”

The most frequently asked question, according to McDaniel, is what to do in Brunswick. “I pull out the Mariners Mates brochure and tell them about the student discounts.”

She said they also ask about the cafeteria food (“all you can eat, with a huge fresh salad bar”) and what she thinks it takes to be successful in class. “I stress taking good notes, asking questions in class, and going to the ATTIC for tutoring.”

Her brother is a CCGA graduate, Bradley McDaniel ’15. “He loved it at CCGA, so I decided to follow him. He was an education major and will be teaching 8th grade Georgia history classes in Jesup.  I’m an education major as well, in the early childhood/special education track. Eventually I’d like to become a school counselor.”

She is the recipient of a Hites-Dinos Family Higher Education Scholarship, awarded by the College Foundation to students pursuing a baccalaureate in the teacher education degree program.

On weekends when she’s not on campus, McDaniel can frequently be found perched on the counter in her grandparents’ kitchen, mixing ingredients together. “My granny has taught me how to cook and how enjoyable cooking and baking can be.” She is also active in her hometown church, teaching children’s church and vacation Bible school for the past six years.