Wonderful things come in tiny packages

CCU math lecturer Michael Baron and his wife Chris Todd are the proud parents of Akosua (pronounced Ah-KO-see-ya) Katherine Baron, born prematurely on Jan. 8, 2016, weighing only 3 pounds, 1 ounce. She spent 50 days at McLeod Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) before coming home to Conway.

Now she weighs 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and her parents say she is "a great joy."

Todd, teacher of 3-D design, joined the Coastal Carolina University faculty in 2008. She was also the studio tech for the Department of Visual Arts before traveling to Ghana, Africa, in 2014 where she spent 18 months in the Peace Corps.

During ther time there, the Ghana natives called Todd," which means "born on Sunday,"

"I wasn't using it anymore, so I thought she could use it," says Todd. "The name was a way of encapsulating my Ghanian experience, which was our inspiration for having her."