Hello, Georgia Southern University, and welcome to the Faces of Armstrong! The selected person for this week is Carol Yarley, a staff member who has been working at Armstrong campus for about eight years at the Lane Library on campus.

Carol, a Circulation Associate at the GSU Armstrong campus, was born and raised in the Savannah Area her whole life. She practically knows Savannah like the back of her left hand, brightening people’s day and friending everyone wherever she goes. When she is not living life in the sunlight of Savannah, she is most likely attending to her pets at home or baking a delicious dessert for her family or friends to pass the time. What’s more interesting, Carol used to attend Armstrong before the merge of Georgia Southern and Armstrong when she was a college student. With this in mind, let’s get to know Carol on a more personal level?

Inkwell Staff: Good Afternoon, Carol; thank you for taking time out of your day to tell us about yourself. Working here at the library and getting to know everyone, what’s the best part about this campus that matters to you?

Carol Y.: The best part that matters to me? The best part about this campus for me is the relationships that we have with the students and the potential relationships that can be made. When I was a student here, I loved my professors; I loved the small classes and getting to know the teachers and other classmates. And they didn’t feel like strangers when I emailed them. The number of professors who I thought may have forgotten me have come into the library saying hi like, “Oh, hey, Carol, how are you?”, And I’m like, “I had your class like ten years ago and you remember my name?”. It could be because they see me in the library, but I just really feel that the professors on this campus care for students.

Inkwell Staff.: When you are not on campus, how do you enjoy your time? Are there any hobbies that mean the world to you?

Carol Y.: Oh definitely! I bake a lot like I would consider myself a pretty excellent baker. I’ve gotten the reputation around the library and other departments that when I bake something, I’ll call a professor and other staff, and they’ll stop by to get a slice. I’ve been baking since I was in high school, and I make all kinds of cakes, but I’ve made cheesecake and other food combination ideas someone may have. For example, my coworker requested a mango cheesecake for Thanksgiving and was very specific. Normally we ask the person what kind of crust do you want? What kind of filling and what kind of toppings?” but the request was traditional, wanting a graham cracker crust, Mango filling, and a white chocolate icing around the edge. So yeah, I take a lot of pride in my baking skills.

Carol Y.: The other hobby I have that means the world to me is taking care of the cats on campus. I feel like most people know me from either seeing me pop out of the woods, here and about on campus or just knowing me in general from the library. An organization on campus called “Friends of Cats,” a non-profit organization on-campus that feeds the cats. Students who live in the dorms probably get emails saying don’t feed the cats and stuff like that. Which would probably spark questions like, “who are the cat feeders?” And to answer that question, some of them are retirees from the university, some of us currently work now, but we also rely heavily on student volunteers. But it’s to get the word out because all of the funding comes from fundraisers that we do.

Inkwell Staff: That’s amazing. I love that.

Inkwell Staff: Is there anything you would like to add or advice to give to the audience?

Carol Y.: Sure, No matter what happens in life, things will always be okay.