UGA Honors Magazine, fall 2015

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I attended an Accepted Students Day hosted by the Honors Program, and was blown away by all it had to offer—incredible opportunities in endless disciplines. The dual nature of being a student of the Honors Program within the University of Georgia gives me the perfect balance with small, focused courses and also exciting research opportunities that are associated with large universities. I have enjoyed forming relationships with brilliant, passionate peers and wonderful professors while also being able to dive into a close community filled with an array of service, cultural, and social events.”

–Sarah Premji ‘15, biology, psychology, Marietta, Georgia

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SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS

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HONORS 14 HONORS IN WASHINGTON 20 CURO 22

FOUNDATION FELLOWS 26

PARENT SOCIETY 30

STATISTICS 33

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KATHLEEN WILSON NAMED 2015 TRUMAN SCHOLAR Kathleen Wilson is one of only 58 students nationwide to be named a 2015 Truman Scholar and is UGA’s fifth recipient of the scholarship in the past six years.

Truman Scholars receive a $30,000 scholarship toward graduate school and the opportunity to participate in professional development programming to help prepare them for careers in public service leadership.

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athleen Wilson, a native of Beaumont, Texas, is an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, and has been named a 2015 Truman Scholar. She is majoring in economics in the Terry College of Business and in international affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs. After graduating in 2016, she aims to pursue master’s degrees in public policy and Middle Eastern studies.

This past summer, Kathleen studied Arabic in Oman. Previously, she studied Arabic in Morocco. Kathleen has also interned twice in Washington, D.C. through the Honors in Washington program and UGA’s Washington Semester program. On campus, Kathleen serves as a Fellow in the International Center in the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

Kathleen is also active in the Roosevelt Institute, a national student-run think tank with chapters at more than 100 colleges and universities. The UGA Roosevelt chapter is sponsored and supported by the Honors Program, and was selected as the national Chapter of the Year in 2014. Through Roosevelt, Kathleen has guided and instructed fellow students in researching and implementing policies that address economic development, education equity, and human rights.

This is only one of a number of organizations and activities that reflect Kathleen’s commitment to promoting gender equality and access to education for girls.

Kathleen is one of the founders and serves as the executive director of the Women’s Outreach and Resource Collective, which works with the UGA administration and student groups to increase access to women’s resources on campus. Kathleen is also the president of Peace by Piece UGA, which promotes dialogue and community between and among students of different faiths. She is one of 12 Better Together coaches for the Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that trains college students nationwide on interfaith dialogue, conflict resolution, and organizational management. On top of everything else that she does, Kathleen has been active in UGA’s Student Government Association and is a staff writer for the student-run Georgia Political Review.

Kathleen’s outreach activities include serving as a tutor for Hispanic children through Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela, and serving as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking parents at Clarke County schools. She has also tutored middle school students through UGA MATHCOUNTS Outreach, a student-run organization sponsored by the Honors Program. .

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TORRE LAVELLE EARNS 2015 UDALL SCHOLARSHIP

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orre Lavelle, from Macon, Georgia, has been named a 2015 Udall Scholar. Torre, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, is majoring in ecology in the Odum School of Ecology, and is also pursuing an Honors Interdisciplinary Studies (HIDS) degree major in political ecology and environmental economics. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in environmental management as well as a Juris Doctor to fulfill her aspiration of becoming a conservation policymaker.

Torre’s studies have been augmented by experiences in the laboratory through UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO), which is administered by the Honors Program, as well as in the field in Fiji through UGA’s Center for Integrative Conservation Research.

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Torre has also studied in England through the UGA at Oxford program and interned with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. She has served as the editor for civic policy for the Journal for Undergraduate Research Opportunities at UGA, presented a white paper on energy efficiency standards at the White House, and served as a panelist for a federal congressional delegation.

Torre is active not only in UGA’s chapter of the Roosevelt Institute, but also at the organization’s national level. She has served as director for the Rethinking Communities Initiative in UGA’s Roosevelt chapter and as the Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment for the Roosevelt National Campus Network. At UGA, she co-founded Campus Scouts, a student organization committed to mentoring Girl Scouts in local troops.

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Udall scholarships of up to $5,000 are awarded annually to outstanding sophomores and juniors pursuing careers focused on environmental or Native American public policy.

Torre Lavelle is one of 50 Udall Scholars nationwide chosen from 464 nominees. She is the thirteenth UGA Honors student to be awarded the Udall scholarship since 2003.

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HONORS STUDENTS NAMED 2015 GOLDWATER SCHOLARS

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hree UGA Honors students and Foundation Fellows—Lauren Dennison, Erin Hollander, and Karishma Sriram—have received 2015 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, the premier undergraduate scholarship in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. All three students are enrolled in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and plan to earn doctoral degrees related to biomedical research.

Lauren is a fourth-year student from Raleigh, North Carolina, who is pursuing a double major in biochemistry & molecular biology, and genetics.

She aims to earn a Ph.D. in cancer biology to explore the pathology of leukemia and the mechanisms that lead to drug resistance. She conducts CURO research in the lab of Dr. Stephen Hajduk, and spent summer 2014 researching at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. She returned last summer to New York to work at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her overall research has resulted in a paper that she has submitted for publication, and she has presented her findings at a national conference.

Erin Hollander

research findings at the 2015 CURO Symposium, an annual event to showcase the best research being conducted by UGA undergraduates. Erin spent last summer conducting research at New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

Karishma, a fourth-year student who is also from Athens, is pursuing a degree in biochemistry & molecular biology and plans to enroll in a combined M.D./Ph.D. program to pursue research in the use of stem cells in healing bone injuries and other tissue damage. She has conducted research through CURO in Dr. Steve Stice’s lab. In addition to her research in the Stice lab, she conducted policy research under the mentorship of Dr. Bryan McCullick through the Roosevelt Scholars course, offered by the Honors Program. Her policy analysis and proposal focused on effective ways to address lack of physical education in high schools.

Like Lauren, Erin, a third-year student from Athens, Georgia, is pursuing a double major in biochemistry & molecular biology, and genetics. She plans to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering with the goal of conducting research in treatments for neurological disorders using gene therapy techniques. She has conducted research through CURO in the lab of Drs. Michael and Rebecca Terns. She also conducted research through the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Lübeck in Germany via the DAAD RISE scholarship program. Erin presented her

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Lauren Dennison with Dr. Stephen Hajduk

Karishma Sriram

I am very thrilled for all of these students.

They are dedicated researchers and wonderful people. It is a pleasure to work with them, and I know that this investment in their futures is well advised and well deserved.”

– David S. Williams, Associate Provost and Director of the Honors Program

Lauren Dennison, Erin Hollander, and Karishma Sriram are among a group of 260 recipients of one- and two-year Goldwater Scholarships that recognize exceptional sophomores and juniors. The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. UGA students have received the Goldwater Scholarship nearly every year for the past 20 years, and the 2015 recipients bring the University’s total number of Goldwater Scholars to 49.

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TWO UGA HONORS STUDENTS AWARDED BOREN SCHOLARSHIPS Brent Buck is a fourth-year Honors student from Columbus, Georgia who is majoring in international affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs and history in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Brent recently traveled to Morocco as a new Boren Scholar, where he will spend six months in Fez studying at the Arabic Language Institute and six months in Rabat, where he will be at the Qalam wa Lawh Center for Arabic Studies. This will be Brent’s second time in Morocco, since he spent the summer of 2014 at Morocco’s Center for Language and Culture as part of UGA’s Study Abroad in Morocco program in Marrakech.

With an interest in Middle East democratization and state development, the Presidential Scholar’s career plans include working as an intelligence analyst for the United States government, specializing in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Given my aspirations and experiences, I envision my eventual role in the U.S. national security apparatus as one of an intelligence analyst, working in the FBI as an area studies specialist,” says Brent. “The combination of my studies at UGA and my time abroad are preparing me well. The language skills I am gaining are helping me progress towards my end goal: serving U.S. national security by understanding the people and processes necessary for peace.”

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Chenee Tracey is a fourth-year Honors student and Foundation Fellow from Lawrenceville, Georgia who is pursuing a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program in international affairs and international policy in the School of Public and International Affairs. She was awarded a Boren Scholarship to study Portuguese in Brazil.

With the goal of becoming a Latin America regional expert in order to have a strong hand to play in the evolution of relations between the United States and Brazil, Chenee has spent the last eight years focusing on learning Spanish but is now expanding her linguistic reach to include achieving fluency in Portuguese-speaking Latin American countries.

Funded by both the Boren Scholarship and a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, Chenee is spending the summer and fall studying Portuguese, first at the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil, and then at Universidade de Sao Paolo in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with coursework in Portuguese, political science, and international affairs.

Chenee says: “Studying in multiple regions of Brazil throughout the summer and fall provides a holistic perspective of rural, urban, coastal, and interior communities and their respective issues. Through my studies of various regions of Brazil, I hope to learn about not only the cultural variations, but also the linguistic variations that occur in the different regions.”

When her sojourn to Brazil ends and she returns to UGA, Chenee is determined to continue to polish her language skills and will no doubt have every opportunity to do so. “When I return to the United States, I will continue my language studies through local Portuguese conversation tables in Athens,” she explains.

Since 2005, Boren Scholarships have been awarded to 24 UGA students. In the last two years, ten University of Georgia students were offered Boren Scholarships, which will be used to enhance language skills abroad. Boren Scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program and offer up to $20,000 for language study abroad in areas of the world deemed critical to United States interests.

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FOUR HONORS STUDENTS RECEIVE FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE 2015-2016 YEAR McKinley Alden ’15, from Decatur, Georgia, who majored in linguistics and Germanic and Slavic studies, will travel to Bulgaria to work as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA). With his Slavic heritage – his parents are Polish and Russian – McKinley has plans to learn as much, if not more, than he teaches during his Fulbright term in Bulgaria. “As an ETA in Bulgaria, I will also spend time studying Bulgarian language and literature in order to round out my understanding of Slavic culture and prepare myself to be a productive contributor to my field,” says McKinley. “This means producing work that will encourage students and other professionals to pursue studies in less widely known languages, especially ones with historical roots, such as Bulgarian.” An advanced speaker of both Russian and German, McKinley hopes to learn to speak Bulgarian, expand his knowledge of Slavic culture, and sharpen his teaching skills while abroad. He will teach at Peyo Yavarob Foreign Language School in Silistra. At the conclusion of his Fulbright term, McKinley will enroll in a Ph.D. program in linguistics with a focus on Slavic linguistics and phonology.

Tiffany Chu ‘15, from Lilburn, Georgia, majored in English and earned a master’s in English Education.

She will travel to South Korea to work as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. With career plans that include teaching in high school classrooms, she believes that the time spent in South Korea will be beneficial to her future goals. Of the Fulbright Tiffany says: “This will provide me a context for academic and social learning, enabling me, upon returning to the United States, to share informed cultural knowledge with colleagues and students.” She also has a strong passion for photography and hopes to volunteer with a photography civic group. Tiffany is excited to teach English in a country that retains many of its traditions while embracing the modern world. She plans to work with her students in discovering the equilibrium between the two. “As an ETA, I will work with high school students to help them find a balance between maintaining their Korean traditions and values, while still exploring creative and dialogical ways to approach their learning,” she says.

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Peter McDonald ’12, from Decatur, Georgia, majored in mass media arts and earned a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to Greece. After Peter graduated, he moved to Detroit and became a high school teacher as part of the Teach for America program. While in Greece, he will be quite busy: he will serve as a Hellenic-American Educational Foundation Teaching Fellow; work in the Athens College’s Applications and Counseling Office to help students prepare for college; mentor students in the school’s English language theatre and debate club; and act as a camp counselor in the school’s English language summer camp. Peter is looking forward to not only examining and understanding Greece’s vocational education system, but also observing how the country endeavors to unravel itself from its financial challenges. “Greece is the ideal place for me to continue teaching and learning, as it continues to implement some large-scale economic and social reforms,” he says. “While living and working in Athens, I’ll observe the effects of these ongoing social policy changes on students and families, which will broaden my perspective on the role education should play in cities and communities in the United States.” At the conclusion of his Fulbright term, Peter plans to enroll at Harvard Law School where he will focus on public-interest law, administrative law, and social policy.

The Honors Program serves the entire UGA campus by coordinating the application process for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for all UGA students, including both undergraduate and graduate students. This year, ten UGA students in all were offered Fulbright grants: McKinley Alden, Tiffany Chu, Emily Horton, Margaret Johnston, Peter McDonald, Susan Oh, Aaron Sayama, Ashleigh Starnes, Megan White, and Adrienne Winzer.

Aaron Sayama ’10 and ’13, from Columbus, Georgia, majored in international affairs and linguistics, and received a master’s in public administration. He earned the Fulbright-Clinton Scholarship, and will be working in Timor-Leste as a special Assistant in the Ministry of Justice. Aaron is well prepared for his Fulbright-Clinton term. He has most recently served as a planning and policy development specialist for Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), the state’s executive agency for criminal justice and victims services policy. Aaron says his research in Timor-Leste will target the capacity of public and legal institutions in transitional nations to carry out justice for both offenders and victims. “I am most looking forward to exploring how Timor-Leste is developing administrative systems to support the rule of law, and in exploring Southeast Asia and examining the lasting effects of European colonization within the region,” says Aaron. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in public administration at the conclusion of his Fulbright term.

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HONORS STUDENT AWARDED THE 2015 JAMES MADISON GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP

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egan Ernst, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow from Atlanta, Georgia, graduated this past May with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the Grady College of

Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public and International Affairs. Just before she graduated, she was awarded a James Madison Graduate Fellowship, which she is now using to pursue a master’s degree in teaching in secondary social studies education from UGA’s College of Education.

Megan has immersed herself in issues related to education and education policy throughout her years at UGA. She is currently a program specialist in the College of Education’s Office of School Engagement and is a graduate intern at the Georgia Department of Education.

As a senior fellow for education policy for UGA’s chapter of the Roosevelt Institute when she was an undergraduate, Megan conducted policy research, wrote opinion pieces, and worked with the media. In addition, she interned at a policy consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and was co-executive director of Whatever It Takes at UGA, where she worked to address education inequality and helped to develop three afterschool programs in public housing communities in Athens. In addition, Megan was named a Koonin Scholar, McGill Fellow, and Hawkins Scholar in the Grady College, as well as a Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar.

Megan has said: “I hope to leverage experiences from my time at UGA to engage my future students in critical thought about the policies that shape their community, state, and country, while also helping to empower them to use their voice in the democratic process we’ve been afforded.” She continues: “I hope to contribute to good policy and an effective democracy by being a part of educating our electorate.”

The James Madison Graduate Fellowship provides up to $24,000 for graduate study for individuals who desire to become outstanding teachers of the American Constitution at the secondary school level. No more than one student per state can receive the fellowship, and 2015 marks the second consecutive year that a UGA Honors student has earned the award for constitutional history and government for secondary teachers. Megan Ernst was preceded by Matthew Tyler, who is now teaching in Durham, North Carolina after a year at Teachers College of Columbia University.

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CRITICAL LANGUAGE SCHOLARS

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hree Honors students traveled to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia this past summer to study languages considered critical to U.S. interests as recipients of the U.S.

Department of State Critical Language Scholarship.

The participants were among 550 U.S. undergraduate and

graduate students who spent seven to 10 weeks in intensive language institutes across the globe.

The 2015 UGA Critical Language Scholars are: Alice Naghshineh, a fourth-year student from Marietta, Georgia majoring in economics,

CLS Program participants are among the more than 50,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The CLS Program is administered by the American Councils for International Education.

mathematics, and Arabic, who traveled to Dushanbe, Tajikistan to study Persian.

Kathleen Wilson, a fourth-year student (see page 4 and 5), who traveled to Ibri, Oman to study Arabic.

Tucker Boyce, a third-year student from Alpharetta, Georgia studying economics who traveled to Ankara,

Alice Naghshineh

Turkey to study Turkish.

“I see UGA’s commitment to international engagement reflected in our students’ passion for language learning and eagerness to connect with the world,” said Elizabeth Hughes Sears, a student affairs professional in the Honors Program and

Tucker Boyce

the Boren Awards campus representative. “It is an honor to work with such talented scholars in an environment that so strongly supports their success.”

Kathleen Wilson

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PAVING THE ROAD

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cotty Smith, a fourth-year student from Duluth, Georgia, is totally enamored with everything engineering and has immersed himself in UGA’s new

College of Engineering. He founded a chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers at UGA and attended the 2014 ASCE National Conference in Panama City, Panama; worked in three different engineering summer internships and as a laboratory assistant in the UGA Structures Lab; was an undergraduate researcher in the STRENGTH Laboratory and presented at the UGA CURO Symposium; and traveled to Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he assisted in experimental and numerical studies on non-linear material behavior and characterization for Department of Energy applications. In addition to all of these activities, Scotty is a student ambassador for the College of Engineering and has received several college-based awards. Beekeeping, drawing, and playing piano are his non-engineering hobbies.

Scotty’s CURO undergraduate research project could potentially have a major impact on the state of Georgia.

Scotty wrote the following on the topic of his research: “In nearly all developed countries, concrete is the number one most used non-natural material and as a single industry concrete produces roughly 5% to 7% of the world’s total emitted CO2. Currently, the United States is only using

23% of the available coal ‘fly’ ash in the country, leaving roughly 40 million tons of it to be placed into landfills each year when it could be safely and beneficially mixed into concrete applications.” For the past year, Scotty has been working on an economic, structural, and environmental study of high volume fly ash concrete mixtures and focused his findings on a section of pavement located in Dooly County, Georgia. His research has shown that by increasing the amount of fly ash in current GDOT concrete pavements by 10%, the total energy savings would be equivalent to powering 500 average American homes for a year—a total cost savings that exceeds half a million dollars of raw materials. Further, Scotty has demonstrated that the mixture would enhance the structural integrity of the pavement with improved service life.

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THE CHOICES I MADE:

Meg Babcock-Adams on dance and oceanography At age three I made two important decisions that have shaped my entire life. I began taking dance classes, and I decided that when I grew up I was going to be an oceanographer. Over the twenty years since I made these monumental decisions, my passions for dance and the sea have remained constant though they have evolved.

Growing up as a dancer I took every class my studio offered, including ballet, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, song and dance, ballroom—I even gave breakdancing a try—but at thirteen years old I took my dancing quite literally to the next level when I began trapeze classes at Canopy Studio. I fell in love instantly with the trapeze; it opened a door to an entirely new realm of movement to me, one that existed in midair. My aerial pursuits were put on hold when I started high school and I was invited to join the pre-professional program at the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education. After two years there I participated in a summer ballet intensive at Bossov Ballet Theatre in Maine and was invited to attend their year-round program. I knew this was an opportunity that I could not pass up, so I accepted and danced with Bossov Ballet Theater while attending Maine Central Institute for my last two years of high school. But I never forgot about the world I had discovered at Canopy Studio. I also kept my passion for the oceans alive through reading all types of oceanography books, especially ones about sharks, which I have always been fascinated by.

After I graduated, I came back to my hometown of Athens and began my college career at UGA as a declared chemistry major with plans to create an Honors Interdisciplinary Studies (HIDS) degree major in marine sciences and to return to the aerial arts, which is exactly what I’ve done.

I entered into the Honors Program as a first-semester entry student, started as an HIDS student in marine sciences in my second year, and was accepted into the marine sciences combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program the following summer. My undergraduate research work with Dr. Patricia Medeiros and Dr. Bill Miller has taken me to six conferences and on four oceanographic research cruises. In April 2014, I was selected to present my undergraduate research at the Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill event in Washington, D.C. along with 59 other undergraduates nationwide. While there, I spoke with other students in all research areas and had the opportunity to interact with Georgia legislators. Last August, I was selected to be the student speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony for UGA’s new Science Learning Center. I shared the podium with Governor Nathan Deal, University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby, and UGA President Jere Morehead, which was such an honor and an incredible experience.

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This past summer I attended a graduate-level program at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment in Oldenburg and Wilhelsmhaven, Germany, where I learned about the microbiology, chemistry, and physics of the water column of the southern North Sea coast along with the fifteen other participants from all over the world. Not only did I learn new lab techniques from prominent professors in the marine sciences, but also I met other early career scientists from all the marine science disciplines, made friendships, and built a network for future science collaborations.

My time at UGA and in Athens has been a whirlwind of opportunities that have opened many doors and experiences that have fostered my growth in both the sciences and the arts. All of my experiences here have reinforced and have allowed me to begin to realize my childhood dreams. UGA has been a place of learning, growing, and of providing me with a world of opportunities. I am now looking at graduate schools and will pursue a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography, but I will continue doing trapeze wherever I end up.

— Lydia “Meg” Babcock-Adams ’16, chemistry, marine sciences with an emphasis in marine chemistry (HIDS), M.S. in marine sciences, Athens, Georgia

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PLAYING TO HIS OWN TUNE

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hird-year student Ethan Langston has always loved music. He sings and is a multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums. Growing up in a musical family that attended a very large, contemporary church, he was able to learn from professional musicians who were very active and successful in the music industry. High school provided another source of training by offering a touring musical theater group and music theory courses.

Last fall, Ethan started his own band, The Welcome Home (an indie rock/ indie pop group), which plays mostly original music. They have been fortunate enough to play in several different venues over the last year. He is also a guest player in other bands around town and even tours with a Grammy award-winning artist.

Ethan is excited to start taking classes in UGA’s music business certificate program and delve deeper into the careers that he is interested in, including music production and artist management. Although these are two areas he is seriously exploring, being a professional musician is still the dream in the back of his mind. This summer, his band started to work on their first album. Looking back on his first two years at UGA, Ethan said: “All in all, Athens has been the perfect place to be creative and investigate what exactly I want to do with my life after I walk under the Arch in a couple of short years.”

— Ethan Langston ’17, management and music business certificate, Peachtree Corners, Georgia

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HONORS STUDENTS FORM UGA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

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his fall, the UGA Chamber Music Society is being launched as an official student organization. Its primary mission is to facilitate the creation of small music ensembles for university students with varying levels of experience, regardless of major or minor. By participating in these ensembles, students will gain invaluable performance experience while also fulfilling a much-needed service in bringing music and joy to their community, notably in places such as nursing homes and hospitals.

As experienced musicians themselves, third-year Honors student and Foundation Fellow Krystal Lo, an economics major, and second-year Honors student and finance major Nathan Li recognized that many UGA students are highly talented and have had musical experience prior to attending the university. However, they noted that due to time constraints, students may not be able to commit to degrees in music. Having founded a chamber music society in high school, Krystal was excited to learn that Nathan was interested in starting a similar organization at the university level.

“Ever since I started playing at age seven, piano has remained an integral part of my life both musically and socially,” says Nathan. “As a non-music major or minor, I realized how much I missed performing with my peers and having an outlet to share my music. After hearing Krystal perform with her string quartet, I knew I wanted to get involved with chamber music and help others do the same.” Krystal adds: “We both saw a need to help UGA student musicians connect with the community.

My extensive chamber music experience combined with Nathan’s energy has really helped us shape the direction of the organization. But we could not have reached so many people so quickly without the tireless efforts of

fellow students on our executive board.”

Fourth-year communications studies major and Honors student Laurel Haislip serves as vice president as well as director of public relations. She observes: “Our organization is unique in its two-sided mission to benefit both student musicians and the surrounding Athens community through the gift of small ensemble performance. In my own case, finding a way to balance my love for violin and my academic studies was a challenge. The creation of UGA Chamber Music Society offers an ideal outlet for students like me to continue playing while also focusing on their regular studies.

Currently, more than 50 students have signed up to join our organization!”

According to Krystal, “It is our hope that long after we graduate, the UGA Chamber Music Society will empower students to continue their passion for music and connect them with the surrounding community for years to come.”

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Honors in Washington

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he Honors in Washington Internship Program helps place and support students in summer internships in Washington, D.C. Some students will be selected for specific placements, while others will be free to pursue new placements according to their interests. Past placements have included congressional offices, law firms, media companies, political consulting firms, and research organizations. This past summer, interns lived in the new UGA residence center, Delta Hall. The Honors Program covers housing costs and provides an additional stipend to offset other living expenses.

I am extremely grateful for the unique opportunities I received as an intern with Voice of America and I am confident that anyone who follows in my footsteps can expect the same. There are no limits to what you can do when you are placed in such an environment with so many supporters and helpers along the way. I could not have done all that I did without their constant encouragement and support, and I am so privileged to have been able to experience this through the UGA Honors in Washington Program. This internship pushed me in the right direction and I am looking forward to my next two years here as a Grady College student. I am more confident now in my decision to pursue Digital and Broadcast Journalism and am excited at the endless possibilities I have in that concentration.�

- Damisi Fawole ’16, digital and broadcast journalism, interned with Voice of America

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My internship showed me the importance of a legal education, whether in drafting or implementing policy. Throughout the course of the summer, I studied Supreme Court rulings to determine the future of policies pertaining to New York State, and I also continued to meet numerous people with J.D.s who were working in policy in D.C. It took working in Washington this summer to show me the interface between law and policy, and by doing this, I am now considering attending law school within a few years of graduation.

This summer was unforgettable due to how much I learned and grew as a young professional and as a person.

Interning in D.C. helped me practice the 9-to-5 schedule of the average American workweek, and this skill cannot be underestimated. This summer also illuminated the important role that law plays in policymaking, and networking with UGA alumni helped me further refine my professional goals.

The skills that I learned and connections that I gained will be indispensable to my future, and I would like to thank Honors in Washington for graciously providing support along the way, whether that meant providing housing, facilitating networking opportunities, or helping to perfect cover letters and resumes.

My work at the Governor’s D.C. Office impacted my studies, long-term professional goals, and my personal life.”

- Eli Scott ’17, international affairs and economics, interned in the New York State Washington, D.C. office for the Governor of New York – Andrew Cuomo

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C U R O

16th CURO Symposium by the numbers Beginning in 2010, the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO), which is administered by the Honors Program, made participation available to all UGA undergraduates, regardless of Honors standing or GPA.

386 UGA students from 79 majors in 13 schools and colleges presented 183 posters and gave 185 oral presentations.

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Of the 386 presenters, 202 were Honors students and 184 were non-Honors students.

Students worked with 258 faculty research mentors from 72 departments in 13 schools and colleges.

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CURO HONORS SCHOLAR

MELISSA JENNINGS

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ourth-year student Melissa Jennings came to UGA from the Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology, where she developed a passion for

research. The CURO Honors Scholarship offered her the opportunity to conduct undergraduate research with a faculty mentor. As a biochemistry & molecular biology major, Melissa started working with Dr. Robert Sabatini in the fall of 2012. She has been researching a parasitic protozoa (Trypanasoma brucei) that causes African Trypanasomiasis, also known as Sleeping Sickness. She is continuing this work in her final year.

Beyond her work with Dr. Sabatini, Melissa has participated in additional research activities. She was awarded a Summer Research Assistantship for Research in Science and Engineering at Rutgers University during the summer of 2014, and this past summer she received a Summer Research Assistantship in the Ohio State University SUCCESS Program. She has presented her research at several different symposia, including the National Center for Undergraduate Research Conference and the CURO Symposium.

This past Maymester, Melissa was awarded the Been Family Honors International Study Scholarship and traveled to Taiwan for classes in Public Health and Aging, and Culture and Health. Those classes focused on health policy and issues surrounding aging populations, both in Taiwan and the United States.

Melissa can regularly be seen in the home of the Honors Program, Moore College, where one can always count on her readiness to help with a smile. She is active as an Honors Ambassador. She also serves as a volunteer with the UGA Red Cross Club, as a nutrition leader and fundraising committee member with UGA Fight Against Youth Obesity, and as the external affairs liaison and regional conference committee member for the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity.

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F O U N D A T I O N

F E L L O W S H I P

Ray Paleg travels the world through Honors

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s an Honors student and Ramsey Scholar, my various interests in environmental studies, education, and community development have taken me to different areas around the country and world, and I have gained invaluable experiences that have shaped me as a scholar, student, and person.

The summer after freshman year, I traveled to Thailand to volunteer at an elephant sanctuary. I spent my time taking care of the 70 elephants at the sanctuary, bathing, feeding, exercising, and playing with these amazing creatures.

Afterwards, I ended up teaching English for a few weeks in a Buddhist temple. I helped to organize and implement an after-school English program for the novice monks to

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develop their conversational skills. The friendships I made with them are some of my most valued relationships.

The following summer, I interned at KIWAKKUKI (Women Against Aids in Kilimanjaro Center) in Moshi, Tanzania with the support of the Honors International Scholars Program.

I had spent prior semesters studying Swahili and wanted to improve my language skills. I focused most of my efforts on community development in the center, working with the other staff to conduct home visits to severely affected patients and increase access to the free testing and counseling services provided by the center. Every day, I was in awe of the amount of time and effort the staff members put into counseling and helping those who are ostracized

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by the community because of their disease. I was inspired to strive towards a career that would improve lives through education and community.

I went back to Thailand the next fall to study at the Prince of Songkla University and intern for the Shark Guardian in Phuket. I worked directly with the two founders of the Shark Guardian, giving shark education seminars to local dive shops and divers on boats. I also did data input and organization for the eShark database for Phuket, which uses community observations to track and monitor local shark populations. I used my prior knowledge of geographic information science (GIS) to analyze the data. I combined my passions for GIS and marine biology into a semester-long experience and greatly deepened my knowledge of this technology. The opportunity to spend a semester getting

hands-on experience and being in my favorite country was the best experience of my undergraduate career.

During this past summer, I interned at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland working for the Global Precipitation Measurement Satellite Mission, a network of satellites that provide data about global rain and snow.

Now that I am in my last year at UGA, and can look back over my undergraduate career to date, I am very grateful that every time I was ready for a new adventure the UGA Honors Program was there to help me find the right opportunity and connect me with funding sources. — Ray Paleg ’16, geography, Silver Springs, Maryland

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Uncovering the Heritage of Slavery at the Shields-Ethridge Farm

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eth Euster, from Dunwoody, Georgia, is majoring in history while also pursuing a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program in political science. Working with Dr. Christopher Lawton in history, Seth has conducted groundbreaking work on slave life in antebellum Georgia. He has been supported in this work in various ways by the Honors Program, including the CURO Summer Research Fellowship, as well as his selection as a midterm Foundation Fellow.

Seth’s research focuses on analyzing slave records discovered at the Shields-Ethridge Farm in Jackson County. The first slaves at the farm were purchased in November 1799, and the records chronicle those first slaves and their descendants up to and through the

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Civil War. Indeed, Seth’s research has cast light on their descendants into the 21st century.

At its heart, Seth’s project is an attempt to understand slavery through the lens of those who were enslaved. Drawing on a rich archive of primary documents, most still held at the Shields-Ethridge Farm, the project both reconstructs the biographies of the slaves on the Shields-Ethridge Farm and conducts a historiographical analysis of their community. The content of the project has been incorporated into a digital documentary for the Georgia Virtual History Project, which, when viewed on-site, can better help visitors understand the farm’s rich, complex, and truly multicultural past.

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H O N O R S

P R O G R A M

P A R E N T

S O C I E T Y

NOTES TO THE HONORS PROGRAM PARENT SOCIETY

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he scholarship I received through the Honors Program

I learned in class playing out in the real world. This trip

Parent Society allowed me to travel to Moshi, Tanzania,

helped me to focus on what I want to study, and gave me

a bustling town located in the foothills of Mount

new insights into what I want to do after graduating from

Kilimanjaro. I spent six weeks volunteering at a school

UGA. I look forward to using my experiences in Tanzania

for orphans and street children, where I taught math,

to further my studies, and I cannot wait to return to Africa

English, science, and other subjects to 10 second graders.

in the future. I am grateful to the donors of the Honors

During my time in Moshi, I was able to truly immerse

Program Parent Society who allowed me to have this great

myself in a different culture, all while helping children to

opportunity. I look forward to being able to pay it forward

receive a better and more structured education. It was an

and become an Honors Program donor in the future myself.

eye-opening trip, and my experiences helped to cement — Benjamin “Tyler” Leigh ’16, international affairs and African

my interest in international affairs and African political

political development (HIDS), Alpharetta, Georgia

development. I loved being able to see ideas and theories

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Legacy Giving Thanks to our dedicated donors who are Lifetime Legacy Members, the Honors Program can continue to offer Honors Program students an unsurpassed undergraduate experience. These individuals have reached the Lifetime Legacy status by donating $10,000 or more to the Honors Program over their lifetimes.

Lifetime Legacy Members

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Dean A. Adelman

Robert & Nancy Jansen

Robert & Leslie Sinyard

John G. & Gayle Alston

Sandra & William Johnson

Leslie Sinyard

June F. Arata

Alison & Robert Jones

John & Mildred Spalding

Richard & Mary Arroll

Austin & Mary Kennedy

Charles & Holly Spalding

Kathryn & Darren Ash

Bruce Kirbo

Anne Spalding

Thomas M. Barry

Douglas Kleiber

Roe & Penelope Stamps

Andrew & Leah Been

Catherine & Jefferson Knox

William J. Stamps

Mary & Philip Beeson

John W. Lane

Julie L. Steiner

Jann Bellamy

Jane & Hicks Lanier

Terrence & Kathy Sullivan

Jane Black

Deborah S. Lee

Patricia S. Thomas

Virginia M. Buck

Anne & Michael McGlamry

Paul & Molly Thomas

Charles P. Butler

Robert & Mary H. Miller

Larry T. Thrailkill

Charles & Nannette Cantrell

Ward T. Milner

Lothar & Lucy Tresp

Bert & Cathy Clark

Jere W. Morehead

Susan Waltman

Mildred & William Cody

Elizabeth & Jeffrey Morgan

Samuel & Deanna Watson

Richard & Lynda Courts

P.K. & Bhuvana Natrajan

Sandra & James Whitney

Thomas & Ann Cousins

McKee & Sally Nunnally

Garner A. Wild

Kimberlee & Jon Curley

Scott Overcarsh

David & Jen Williams

Amanda J. Downs

Steven J. Pachuta

Jane S. Willson

Virginia & Perry Drosos

John W. Peifer

Kathleen K. Wilson

Charlotte B. Ford

Patrick & Dana Pittard

James P. Wilson

Scott C. Foster

Alex & Kathryn Pope

Rebecca B. Winkler

Gregory & Danna Gay

Joseph P. Quirk

Mary & Royce Wood

Patrick & Donna Godbey

Neal & Elizabeth Quirk

Joel & Sabrina Wooten

Sheffield & Elizabeth Hale

Doris A. Ramsey

Steve & Lynne Wrigley

Lonnie & Kim Herzog

Monika Riely

Lynne S. Wrigley

Karen & James Holbrook

Jayendrak & Meena Shah

Earl & Rebecca Young

Sylvia Hutchinson

Stanley & Dorothy Shelton

Stephen & Jena Young

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®

2014-2015 Graduate Scholarships Fulbright Scholarship

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James Madison Graduate Fellowship

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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

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Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship

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The Honors Magazine is published biannually for alumni and friends of the University of Georgia Honors Program

PUBLISHER

2014-2015 Undergraduate Scholarships Boren Scholarship

6

Goldwater Scholarship

3

Truman Scholarship

1

Udall Scholarship

1

UGA Honors Program 002 Moore College 108 Herty Drive Athens, GA 30602 David S. Williams, Associate Provost and Director EDITOR

Dorothé Otemann

Honors Program Statistics

PHONE

Honors Program Students

2500

2015-2016 first-year class

525

Average first-year high school GPA

4.07

706.542.3240 FA X

706.582.6993 EMAIL

dotemann@uga.edu

Average first-year SAT

1469*

Average first-year ACT

33**

honors.uga.edu

Foundation Fellows (FF)

97

Sam Pittard University Printing

2015-2016 first-year class

21

WEBSITE

DESIGN

Average first-year high school GPA Average first-year SAT

4.11 1546*

CURO Honors Scholars

33

2015-2016 first-year class

10

Average first-year high school GPA

1435*

Ramsey Scholars (RS)

27

2015-2016 first-year class

7

Average first-year high school GPA

4.15

Average first-year SAT

1535*

**English and Math Sections Only

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jason Thrasher Wingate Downs

4.09

Average first-year SAT

*Critical Reading and Math Sections Only

PRINTED BY

University Printing

Copyright © 2015 by the University of Georgia.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without permission from the editor.

•

The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.

HONORS PROGRAM

The University of Georgia Moore College 108 Herty Drive Athens, GA 30602 www.honors.uga.edu

Nonprofit Org. U. S. Postage

PAID

Athens, GA Permit No. 165

The marks contained in this publication are registered ® marks of the University of Georgia and may not be used without written authorization from the University of Georgia.

You’re Invited!

Honors Alabama Tailgate Party…

You are cordially invited to attend the Honors Tailgate on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at the Gowen Courtyard of Moore College (Herty Field side), starting 3 hours prior to kickoff.

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