Sylvia Cooper-Rogers (on Facebook) is better known in Augusta by her byline Sylvia Cooper. Cooper is a Georgia native but lived for seven years in Oxford, Mississippi. She believes everybody ought to live in Mississippi for awhile at some point. Her bachelor’s degree is from the University of Georgia, summa cum laude where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Zodiac. (Zodiac was twelve women with the highest scholastic averages). Her Masters degree in Speech and Theater, is from the University of Mississippi. Cooper began her news writing career at the Valdosta Daily Times. She also worked for the Rome News Tribune. She worked at The Augusta Chronicle as a news reporter for 18 years, mainly covering local politics but many other subjects as well, such as gardening. She also, wrote a weekly column, mainly for the Chronicle on local politics for 15 of those years. Before all that beginning her journalistic career, Cooper taught seventh-grade English in Oxford, Miss. and later speech at Valdosta State College and remedial English at Armstrong State University. Her honors and awards include the Augusta Society of Professional Journalists first and only Margaret Twiggs award; the Associated Press First Place Award for Public Service around 1994; Lou Harris Award; and the Chronicle's Employee of the Year in 1995.