When Josiah Palusky sees a cemetery, he doesn’t see a haunted place. Instead, the 18-year-old Georgia Perimeter College student sees a treasure trove of past lives filled with rich histories.

That’s in part thanks to his professor, Dr. George Lonberger. The GPC Newton Campus sociology instructor regularly takes his students to old graveyards to study the names, dates and symbols on the headstones. The project is so ingrained in Lonberger’s classes that it’s earned him the nickname “Cemetery Guy” from his students, says Palusky.

As part of his class project, Palusky, who lives on the border of Walton and Morgan counties, recorded the names and dates of the some 340 people buried in the Studdard Cemetery in Rutledge.

Although he grew up near the Studdard cemetery, Palusky says he never really studied the headstones until taking Lonberger’s class. “Studying these tomb markers was fascinating. It helps me understand what life was like back then—what people believed and how they lived.”

Lonberger sees cemeteries as one of the best ways to teach sociology.

“I ask students to think about contemporary society through an examination of 19th and early 20th century society of Newton and our surrounding counties,” says Lonberger. “It’s not difficult to see that life expectancies are much longer today than in the past, but I also want them to think about social stratification of society and how the headstones depict that with symbols and lists of accomplishments.”

It is professors such as Lonberger that make Palusky appreciate Georgia Perimeter.

“My sister went to GPC and transferred to UGA. She talked about how great all the professors were here; she said she misses the small classes,” he explains. “It was a no-brainer for me to come to GPC. It’s more affordable, and I love the professors.”

Palusky is pursuing his associate degree in computer science at GPC’s Newton Campus.