Honors Magazine, spring 2019

HONORS Spring 2019

University of Georgia

Cambridge bound UGA’s first Churchill Scholar capitalized on her time in the Honors Program. Now she is crossing the pond to learn even more.

INSIDE: Curating TEDxUGA | Athens Prison Tutorial | Miss UGA 2019 | Scholarships | Remembering Dr. Tresp

Quotables

Max Sumner An Honors senior from Gainesville, Max Sumner is majoring in biology and psychology with a certificate in entrepreneurship. He has participated in undergraduate research, SGA, study abroad, and UGA club swim team; he loves going on early morning runs across campus. He is pictured here in the Exercise Muscle Physiology Lab in the College of Education, which is directed by Dr. Kevin McCully, professor of kinesiology.

Cover photo of Anita Qualls by Stephanie Schupska

Chad Osburn

“I was honored to be a participant in the Honors International Scholars Program, which allowed me to intern and research in South Africa for seven weeks. While there, I worked in the Heideveld Community Health Clinic shadowing and learning from local physicians. These healthcare professionals were absolutely incredible in their determination to provide care despite having limited resources. This information has helped me pinpoint what aspects of healthcare I want to work on in the future and how many of the healthcare systems function worldwide.�

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Spring 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1

University of Georgia President

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Jere W. Morehead Interim Provost

Libby V. Morris Associate Provost & Director of the Honors Program

David S. Williams

Associate Director of the Honors Program

Maria Navarro

Assistant Director & Major Scholarships Coordinator

Jessica Hunt

Assistant Director & Programming Coordinator

Maria de Rocher

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Director of Development & External Affairs

Dorothé Otemann

Recruitment & Enrollment Coordinator

Lakecia Pettway

Magazine staff

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Editor/Designer

Stephanie Schupska Writers

Hamilton Armit, Alan Flurry, Sara Freeland, Kendall Lake, Dorothé Otemann, Don Reagin, Nicole Schlabach, Stephanie Schupska

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Photographers

Hamilton Armit, Peter Frey, Matt G. Hardy, Dorothy Kozlowski, Rick O’Quinn, Chad Osburn, Stephanie Schupska, Andrew Davis Tucker, Latetia Vernelson Honors Magazine is published biannually for students, alumni, friends, and supporters of the University of Georgia Honors Program.

For reprint permissions, address changes, or additional copies, email schupska@uga.edu.

Copyright © 2019 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.

Postmaster | Send address changes to: UGA Honors Program Magazine 005 Moore College, 108 Herty Drive Athens, GA 30602-6116

Find us online at honors.uga.edu.

On social media, we are:

@HonorsAtUGA

Inside 2

Briefs

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Miss UGA

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In memoriam

Highlights of the Honors Program

Briana Hayes crowned Miss University of Georgia 2019

Honors Program’s longest-serving director remembered

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Curating TEDxUGA

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Hands-on help

Kendall Lake shares her passion for cultivating ‘ideas worth spreading’

Nirav Ilango directs Campus Kitchen at UGA as they serve the community

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A scholarly year

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Cover story

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Crane Scholars

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Athens Prison Tutorial

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An Honors legacy

Students receive top scholarships

Anita Qualls becomes UGA’s first Churchill Scholar

Honors recognizes students for their leadership and service

Students start program to help inmates earn their GEDs

Honors development director Dorothé Otemann looks back on her time at UGA

In brief Student awards

Outstanding Honors students were recognized for their academic achievements at the annual Honors graduation banquet. They are, left to right, Trisha Dalapati (Joy P. Williams Science Award), Nicholas Lindell (Alan J. Jaworski Science Award), Kavi Pandian (social sciences), Trevor Talmadge (humanities), Abhy Kheepal (business), Charlotte Norsworthy (George M. Abney Award), Mason Goolsby (agricultural and environmental sciences), C. Haley Beach (education), Ruth Anne Schade (family and consumer sciences), Nikita Vantsev (Alan J. Jaworski Science Award), and Hannah Schriever (Joy P. Williams Science Award).

Hollings Scholar

Seal-ly good internship Lizzy Ashley prepares to release a stranded harbor seal pup after a health assessment. In summer 2018, she interned with the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network in Washington.

The Honors senior is majoring in ecology and biology with a marine emphasis. A 2017 NOAA Hollings Scholar, she completed a research project investigating heavy metal contamination in harbor seals and responded to sightings of distressed marine mammals with scientists, interns, and volunteers.

“We would drive or boat to the location of the stranding, gather data, and decide whether to leave the animal, relocate it, or take it to rehabilitation,” she said. “This internship was the perfect way to unite my interests in marine conservation, wildlife health, and public outreach.”

Alumni

‘Secret of learning’ Honors and Foundation Fellow alumna Cori Bargmann gave the keynote Commencement address during UGA’s graduate ceremony in December 2018. An internationally recognized neurobiologist and geneticist, she shared her own lessons and research as the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at Rockefeller University and director of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior. In 2016, she joined the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as its first president of science.

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UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

“The secret of learning is that it increases,” she said. “If people build on each other’s discoveries, then small discoveries become big discoveries.”

Morehead Award

Need-based giving Brooks Andrews, center, received the Morehead Award at the annual Honors graduation banquet. In 2018, he and husband Dale Dwelle endowed two need-based Georgia Commitment Scholarships. Through the program, donors help support UGA students with the greatest financial need. Brooks, of Palo Alto, California, graduated from UGA in 2007 with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance and economics and was a Foundation Fellow. Now a principal at EW Healthcare Partners, he is an investor focused exclusively on highgrowth healthcare companies.

Pictured with him are UGA President Jere W. Morehead, left, and David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the UGA Honors Program.

In brief

Sharing our amazing: Six UGA Amazing Students—all in the Honors Program, majoring in a wide array of topics and

experiencing a variety of opportunities—discuss their experiences, growth, and the value of an education at the University of Georgia.

“I am the definition of a people person. I love hearing others’ stories, watching people grow and develop, and just getting to know lots of different people.

I am planning to pursue a career in marketing or public relations. These fields will allow me to communicate brands’ stories and passions to consumers.”

Ivey Tanner

Major: Marketing Hometown: Watkinsville Year: Senior

“In summer 2018, I had the special opportunity to study abroad with UGA in Spain’s Medical Spanish Program in Peru, made possible thanks to generous Honors International Scholars Program donors. For one month, I had the most enriching experience visiting Inca ruins like Machu Picchu, shadowing doctors in all kinds of specialties in hospitals throughout Trujillo, Peru, living with a host family, and diving into the local activities, such as surfing.”

Lindsey Berman

Majors: Biology, Psychology Hometown: Milton Year: Senior

“I have created valuable relationships through the Dean William Tate Honor Society, the Blue Key Honor Society, and the Institute for Leadership Advancement. Also, I am forever grateful for the financial support from the Honors International Scholars Program, Boland T. Jones Scholarship, and Eugene Freeman Memorial Scholarship for allowing me opportunities that were originally unimaginable.”

Abhy Kheepal

Major: Finance Hometown: Blairsville Year: Senior

“Lunchbox Lectures are one of my favorite things to do on campus. Once a week, the Honors Program invites a UGA professor to come in and discuss their area of study. As a science major, I feel like I can get stuck in my own domain of learning so I’ve enjoyed hearing about research in different fields and getting a free burrito in the process!”

Katie Luquire

Major: Exercise and Sport Science Hometown: Dunwoody Year: Senior

“I have participated in numerous book discussions in the Foundation Fellowship and the Honors Program, and currently co-lead an existential books thread with others in the program. The Fellowship has also allowed me to travel to places I had only dreamed of seeing before attending UGA.”

Griffin Hamstead

Major: English Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee Year: Junior

“After interning with the Clippers, I reached out to Tom Crean, head basketball coach at UGA, and he was gracious enough to let me work with statistics and analytics for the team. It all started with my decision to come to UGA on the Ramsey Honors Scholarship and listening to Jessica Hunt’s advice to attend the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference as a freshman.”

Ben Starks

Major: Management Information Systems, Master’s: Business Analytics, Year: Junior, Hometown: Celebration, Florida

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In brief Film production

Documenting ‘the line’

From dumpster to workshop Abigail West tackles the issue of furniture waste by using landfill-bound materials to construct well-crafted items of furniture. The Honors senior, Foundation Fellow, and fine arts major is the UGA Office of Sustainability’s reclamation intern.

UGA’s Facilities Management Division, where Abigail did an apprenticeship last summer, came across 200 wooden doors unable to be used for the project for which they were originally ordered. At the same time, there was a need for workspace tables for the Launch Pad, a new entrepreneurship program affiliated with the Terry College of Business.

Abigail created designs for three tables incorporating the discarded doors.

The one she constructed herself during the apprenticeship is currently being used by the program as a collaborative student workspace.

Preventing these items from ending up in the Athens-Clarke County landfill is Abigail’s way of making a local impact in a complex, national problem.

According to EPA estimates from 2017, up to 8.5 billion tons of office assets are thrown away each year in the U.S. Just within the UGA system, 155 tons of material were sent from surplus to the ACC landfill between July 2017 and June 2018, making up almost 3 percent of UGA total landfill tonnage.

It’s all about thinking in terms of possibilities when presented with a piece of trash, rather than immediately throwing it away, Abigail said. When producing a new product becomes necessary, it’s important to create a work of high quality.

“Good craftsmanship is inherently sustainable,” she said. “If we can rethink the way we buy and pass on furniture so that it’s more of a question of how best to reuse, we can conserve resources across the industry.”

— Nicole Schlabach

Chad Osburn

Sustainable impact

Trey Leonard is known for his documentary on gentrification in Atlanta called Over the Line. Through extensive research and signing the right people, he figured out how to tell a story that’s true and original, he said. The documentary is currently beginning its festival run.

During Trey’s time as an entertainment and media studies and international affairs major, the Honors senior has produced three student documentaries, one of which was the only student film to be nominated for a Southeastern Student Emmy from UGA. He has also acted in lead roles in several short films.

“It’s so easy to write about things that just pass you by or aren’t that meaningful to you, but the really hard stuff comes from deep within,” he said. “You must have something to say.”

Capturing science

Engineering senior mixes analog and digital Ben Burgh won the Capturing Science Contest’s undergraduate category last fall with his submission N3TW0RK: An Analog Game of Digital Communication. An Honors senior, he is majoring in computer systems engineering. His N3TW0RK is an interactive lesson in basic computer networking, in which each player is a “host” that must share resources with their “neighbors” by shaking hands with them.

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Capturing Science is sponsored by the UGA Libraries and Office of Research. The contest, now in its second year, challenges UGA students to communicate STEM concepts using any media or genre. In 2018, the 36 submissions included games, videos, poetry, art, illustrations, photography, interactive activities and displays, educational guides, a podcast, and other media.

In brief A library life

Maggie George can’t remember a time when she wasn’t “the girl with the book.”

“I would bring books to weddings, church, the dinner table. I didn’t want to have a purse if it couldn’t fit a book in it. Reading helped me to empathize with other people, to put myself in the shoes of someone else,” said Maggie, an Honors student who graduates in May with a bachelor’s degree in communications studies after three years at UGA—a year early thanks to AP credit and summer classes.

Maggie grew up on Harry Potter books and The Little Princess. Now, through her work with First Book UGA, where she served as director of communications, she helped raise the literacy rate in Athens-Clarke County.

She will spend the summer as a residential counselor for the Duke Talent Identification Program and then start work as assistant hall director at the University of Tennessee, where she will be attending the School of Information Sciences to earn a master’s degree in information sciences.

Her aim is to be a children’s librarian. Maggie worked at the library during high school and in acquisitions and serials stamping books in the basement of the Main Library during her freshman year at UGA. She volunteers through the Clarke County Mentor Program and is a residential advisor on the fourth floor of Brumby Hall, where she supervises 30 women.

She also has instructor on her resume. Last semester she led an Introduction to the Honors Program seminar for 15 students in UGA’s Honors Program. Thursdays at 2 p.m., she taught students about class registration, internships, study abroad, email signatures, the importance of checking email, and more.

The seminar course is “the only opportunity at UGA that undergraduates have to teach other undergraduates,” she said.

“The students… learn skills everyone should possess but (that are) not necessarily covered in other classes.”

Maggie studied abroad in Costa Rica in summer 2018

Dorothy Kozlowski

‘The girl with the book’

through the Honors International Scholars Program, where she took creative writing and a Spanish service-learning class. She also did a homestay with a local family and visited coffee farms and soap factories.

“We were immersed in the culture,” she said. “We would go to the community center, organize the books in the library, repaint the walls in cemetery. Not only did I get to improve my Spanish, but I also got to experience what it really meant to live in San Luis, Costa Rica, which is right next to the rain forest.

Everyone is so friendly.”

With her UGA career coming to an end, Maggie said she’s feeling OK with graduating early. “All of the things I did at UGA allowed me to figure out what I would like to pursue next, and I am so glad I did all that I did.”

— Sara Freeland

Economics conference

Student presents at YSI Sabina Ashurova presented her work at the Young Scholars Initiative’s North America Convening at the University of Southern California in February. An Honors freshman studying economics, she was selected as one of 130 presenters from around the world out of YSI’s more than 7,000 members. Run by the Institute for New Economic Thinking, YSI is an international community of students, young professionals, and researchers. Sabina’s talk focused on analyzing the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid in Africa.

“The experience was an extraordinary one for me,” she said, “because I was able to discuss a variety of issues I am passionate about addressing ranging from inequality to technology and automation in addition to how to tackle them in the future.”

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Student profile

Briana Hayes is...

Miss UGA 2019 I

n a spotlight-filled moment in January, Briana Hayes went from being a contestant to being crowned Miss University of Georgia 2019 at the annual scholarship competition.

An Honors student from Baxley—a small town about an hour and a half east of Savannah—Briana is a second-year health promotion major.

“Taking my first walk as Miss University of Georgia felt surreal,” she said. “In that moment, I thought of where I came from. I grew up in Baxley, and now in front of me was the opportunity to represent the flagship institution of the state. I am so grateful for the compassionate community I grew up in, and I am humbled to attend such an astounding university.”

Briana is a Student Government Association senator, a Presidential Leadership scholar, and a member of the Dean William Tate Honor Society. She volunteers with the Honors-sponsored Thomas Lay After-School Program.

She is working to inspire youth to find their purpose and give back to their communities through her platform, “Creating Believers.”

Briana’s passion for volunteering started when she was in early elementary

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school. Her family worked to establish a Boys & Girls Club in Baxley “because, being from a small town... kids needed somewhere to go to be tutored and to be exposed to different things in a new environment,” she said.

They raised more than $80,000 to start the club, and, as Briana got older, she mentored and tutored students there.

“It’s been proven that when kids are involved in community service, they are more likely to feel they have a purpose in this world, and they do,” she said.

Briana is scheduled to compete in the 75th Annual Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition in June in Columbus. The winner will represent Georgia in the 2020 Miss America Competition.

Honors’ Karson Pennington, a thirdyear student from Augusta pursuing a bachelor’s degree in history and master’s degree in political science/international affairs, was named first runner-up.

The Miss America Organization, at the local, state, and national levels, represents the largest private scholarship foundation for women in the U.S. The Miss UGA Scholarship Competition is a program of the Tate Student Center within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.

— Don Reagin

research

Andrew Davis Tucker

Ridge Maxson rounds out his time as an undergraduate with research in the UGA Concussion Research Laboratory.

Eleven-year-old Nick Wells, left, a player on the North Oconee U11 Team, performs a drop-stick test that measures clinical reaction time with Honors senior Ridge Maxson during concussion lab baseline testing at Oconee Veterans Park. Ridge works as a research assistant in the UGA Concussion Research Laboratory and examines the prevalence and severity of head impacts in youth tackle football players.

He is majoring in exercise and sport science and is president of MEDLIFE at UGA, interned at Pamoja Tunaweza Women’s Center in Tanzania, volunteers at Mercy Health Center and Nuçi’s Space, and directs Best Foot Forward.

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Rick O’Quinn

Dr. Lothar Leo Tresp [1927-2019]

IN MEMORIAM 8

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

The Honors Program’s longest-serving director—

Walker Montgomery

Dr. Lothar Leo Tresp—died Jan. 22, 2019, at age 91. Graveside services were held Jan. 26 at Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens.

Dr. Tresp was instrumental in establishing the Honors Program at the University of Georgia and served as its director from 1967 until his retirement from the university in 1994 as professor emeritus of history and director emeritus of the Honors Program.

“I count myself very fortunate to have known Dr. Tresp for more than 40 years, starting when he served as my own director when I was an Honors student at UGA,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. “But you do not have to have known Dr. Tresp directly to be impacted by his extraordinary dedication and service. Everyone associated with the Honors Program is in his debt.”

Born in East Prussia in 1927, Dr. Tresp was educated in Germany. In 1950, he received a Fulbright Scholarship for one year of study at UGA, where he met Lucy Elizabeth Nickerson, who became his wife of 68 years. They were married in 1951 prior to Dr. Tresp’s return to Germany, where he completed work at the University of Wurzburg in 1952 for his doctorate in German history and German and English literature, graduating magna cum laude. That same year, he emigrated to the U.S. Dr. Tresp taught at various colleges in the United States prior to joining the faculty of UGA’s history department in 1957, where he taught primarily in the areas of modern German and European history.

His many and significant contributions to the Honors Program and to the university in general were recognized in 1985 with the Honoratus Medal commissioned by the Honors Program Alumni Association and in 1986 with the Special Alumni Faculty Service Award by the UGA Alumni Society. He also received the Blue Key Faculty Service Award and UGA’s Abraham Baldwin Award. The university’s Outstanding Honors Professor Award bears Dr. Tresp’s name.

Dr. Tresp was a national leader in honors education, and served as president of the National Collegiate Honors Council, an educational organization for the promotion of honors programs in this country. During his long involvement with honors education, he consulted and evaluated honors programs at more than 30 institutions across the country and presented numerous papers and workshops at regional, national, and international honors and academic conferences.

He was inducted as a Fellow by the National Collegiate Honors Council in 2016.

A commissioned portrait of Dr. Tresp is displayed in the lobby of Moore College. He and Lucy were and are loyal supporters of the Honors Program. In his honor, the family suggests contributions to the UGA Honors Program or to a charity of one’s choice.

Rick O’Quinn

Top: Dr. Lothar and Lucy Tresp attend the rededication of the Moore College building—which was renovated to house the Honors Program— on Oct. 19, 2001. Middle: Dr. Tresp browses for books with an Honors Program student. Bottom: Honors student Christine Coney (now Tucker), Dr. Tresp, and Honors student Meridith Brady meet in Tresp’s office in the mid-1990s.

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Courtesy TEDxUGA

Student profile

Kendall Lake, second from right, celebrates the end of TEDxUGA 2019: Amplify with presenters, classmates, and the steering committee.

first person with Kendall Lake

Honors senior curates ‘ideas worth spreading’ through TEDxUGA

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think it’s rare for a college senior to be able to say that Taking the TED class requires you to take everything you something they helped create has been seen by thousands of thought you knew about presentations and throw it out the people in person, and millions more online. But as a curator window—and I was on board for every moment of it. After for TEDxUGA, that’s all in a day’s work. Now in its seventh year you learn to craft an effective presentation, you test your on campus, TEDxUGA is part of the TEDx initiative, knowledge as you prepare a presenter for TEDxUGA or which gives independent communities like the fall Student Idea Showcase. It’s a hands-on UGA the power and platform to organize learning experience unlike any other, and the their own celebrations of “ideas worth feeling of pride seeing your presenter take spreading.” Most people know TED that red round rug eclipses that of any through the viral videos known as grade or award.

TED talks. As curator, I oversee If that wasn’t unusual enough for the development of each of our a class already, taking NMIX 4200 talks from initial concept to also inducts you into the TEDxUGA the big stage, a process which family. This community of change takes months of hard work, makers and idea junkies includes all deep thought, and never-ending of the TEDxUGA Steering Committee practice sessions. as well as the distinguished faculty, All good stories start from accomplished alumni, and passionate the beginning, but it’s difficult to students who have taken the stage pinpoint exactly when TEDxUGA in years past. Since 2013, the TEDfam Kendall Lake, fourth-year student, became the most rewarding and has been spreading ideas on campus combined bachelor’s in journalism and defining aspect of my time in college. and forming plenty of relationships master’s in emerging media At first, it was just an event I went to along the way. People make new friends, freshman year and an elective I decided form connections, and even find love. to take. The unusual first day of New Media By the end of my year in the class (yes, I took & TED included a trip to Ben and Jerry’s, but I it twice), I was eager to devote myself even more didn’t yet realize that this unconventional class was fully to the TEDxUGA family. My work and enthusiasm had going to transform the way I saw the world and myself. not gone unnoticed, and two years ago I was hired to serve as

“

All good stories start from the beginning, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when TEDxUGA became the most rewarding and defining aspect of my time in college.

”

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Along the way, I learned to trust my instincts, lead with courage, and watch magic unfold. One of my favorite parts of my job is guiding dozens of students through the curation process and seeing so many fall as deeply in love with TED as I did. Being involved with TEDxUGA has made me not only a better communicator but a better person, and I think that’s a testament to the family that has been built.

I am honored to be a part of this community that cares so deeply and dedicates itself so fully to the mission of spreading ideas. It takes a village to raise a TED, and I couldn’t do my job without our licensee Megan Ward, my co-curator Brady Eastin, and everyone else in TEDfam. To our attendees, TEDxUGA is just an event that lasts for an evening. But for us, it is a living, breathing thing that we spend the entire year coddling and cultivating for its big debut.

TEDxUGA 2019 may have ended, but next March is already on the horizon.

TEDxUGA 2020 will be my last as curator, and I can’t wait to help it grow.

Kendall Lake graduates this May with highest honors and her bachelor’s degree in journalism. Through the Double Dawgs program, the Honors student is staying in Athens an extra year to finish her combined master’s degree in emerging media. She works as a program assistant for the New Media Institute, an academic unit which houses the New Media Certificate.

Courtesy TEDxUGA

assistant curator for TEDxUGA 2018: Connect. That year, I had to navigate the transition from student to teaching assistant and switch gears from working with one or two talks to our entire presenter slate. It was a wild and wonderful ride, and along the way I had former curator Kate Devlin to show me the ropes—not only for how to curate talks and organize an event, but for how to be a better leader and find confidence in my own abilities.

This year, I moved into the full curator role for TEDxUGA 2019: Amplify. Suddenly, my training wheels were gone, and a huge amount of responsibility rested on my shoulders. I wanted to be more than “the new Kate.” I wanted to find my own identity and worth as curator. As with any demanding job, some days were harder than others. I put in long hours and spent nights tossing and turning because I was worried about whether our presenters were ready to take the stage. I was worried I hadn’t done enough.

But those tough moments fueled my determination to make TEDxUGA 2019 our best event yet, and I’m proud of what we accomplished.

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Hands-on help

Campus Kitchen at UGA fills plates and reduces waste Story and photos by Hamilton Armit

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tudent-powered hunger relief—that is the basis of Campus Kitchen at UGA. Working through the UGA Office of Service-Learning, student volunteers provide Athens-area older adults with nutritious meals and help keep excess food out of the landfill.

For fourth-year Honors student Nirav Ilango, a Foundation Fellow and president of Campus Kitchen at UGA, hands-on help like this is always the best. Even as a freshman at UGA, he knew he wanted to be involved in an organization that “had a direct impact on Athens,” he said.

A computer science and geography double major, Nirav discovered Campus Kitchen early on in his college career.

“I saw a flyer for Campus Kitchen and I thought, ‘Okay, this sounds pretty cool.’ I went to an info session, and I started volunteering,” Nirav said.

As both president and a food recovery shift leader, Nirav makes Campus Kitchen at UGA a regular part of his week.

Campus Kitchen at UGA has three different types of shifts with a one- to three-hour time commitment each week—food recovery, culinary, or delivery.

On a food recovery shift, student volunteers meet in the parking lot next to the Office of Service-Learning on South Lumpkin Street, drive seven miles to Trader Joe’s loading dock, fill their cars with produce, and head to Talmage Terrace, a retirement community and assisted living facility that partners with Campus Kitchen. The donated food that is not immediately perishable is then cataloged, weighed, and checked before it’s stored.

When the food comes out of storage, preparation begins— and that’s when the students are able to take the edge off of hunger in the Athens area just a little bit.

Campus Kitchen at UGA serves more than 700 meals each month to older adults, their families, and aging service

providers. To do so, they partner with the Athens Community Council on Aging, UGArden, Foodbank of Northeast Georgia, Trader Joe’s, Athens Farmers Market, Collective Harvest, and UGA Department of Foods and Nutrition. Collectively, the group is known as the Athens Senior Hunger Coalition.

The national Campus Kitchen Project was founded in 2001, and now more than 65 chapters across the country collect food that is no longer useful to an organization for whatever reason.

The students involved strive to make their local communities sustainable and reduce waste in the process.

“Campus Kitchen chapters are all food-waste focused, but at UGA, we really have a nutritional focus as well,” Nirav said.

Campus Kitchen at UGA, which was started in 2012, focuses on making sure older adults in the Athens area have enough food. To meet this need, the students cook the food, keeping in mind different diets, and deliver it.

Students also make sure the meals are high quality.

“Since a lot of our clients are grandparents, the types of dietary needs are different,” Nirav said. “We want to make sure that meals are lower sugar and a little bit healthier in general.”

Because of these specific needs, the meals take longer to prepare. Entire positions within Campus Kitchen at UGA are dedicated toward elaborate meal preparation. It helps that, with more than 54 student volunteers—varying depending on the time of year—UGA’s chapter is one of the largest in the U.S. For Nirav, it’s comforting to know that his clients are getting the best meals for them.

“We end up going through a lot more processing time because we actually cook the food, which a lot of other Campus Kitchen chapters don’t,” he said, noting that many Campus Kitchen chapters will divvy out prepared, unused food—such as spaghetti—from hotels or dining halls. “We’re making sure the types of meals our clients are getting are best for them.”

Stats for Campus Kitchen at UGA 79,596

146,332

272,142

821

1,083

meals made from scratch

pounds of food donated

pounds of food recovered

clients served in 2017-2018

UGA & community volunteers

Source: Campus Kitchen at UGA, www.ckuga.org

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Top: Nirav Ilango moves produce from the Trader Joe’s loading dock to waiting cars during a food recovery shift. Above: Honors student Santosh Nimkar, right, one of the Campus Kitchen shift leaders, pushes a cart of flowers out to a volunteer’s car while another UGA student helps. Far left: Campus Kitchen volunteers carry fruit, vegetables, flowers, cakes, and other food items into the storage area at Talmage Terrace. Left: Extra oranges from Trader Joe’s will become part of the meals Campus Kitchen volunteers make for older adults in the Athens area.

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Scholarships

International recognition through scholarship

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UGA’s first

Churchill Scholar

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Goldwater Scholars

very year, Honors Program students are counted among the nation’s academic elite as they compete for and receive national and international scholarships. From Churchill and KnightHennessy to Udall and Schwarzman, 2019 was no different. These major scholarships are providing funding for students as they pursue their academic dreams. In the following pages, we share their stories.

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Beinecke Scholar

Fulbright participants

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for 20182019

2018-19 in Scholarship Numbers

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Boren Scholars

UGA’s UGA’s first first

KnightHennessy Scholar

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Udall Scholar

1

Schwarzman Scholar

RECORD-BREAKING RANKING

Fulbright U.S. Student Top Producer

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he University of Georgia’s recordbreaking number of acceptances for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2018-2019 earned the university its highest ranking yet on the student list of the Fulbright Top Producers.

The university tied for 16th—along with Stanford University, University of Virginia, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Villanova University—in its third time on the student list.

Sixteen UGA students and recent graduates are participating in the 20182019 Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

They are teaching English, conducting

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research, and studying in countries around the globe.

UGA previously made the top student list in 2012-2013 and 2016-2017, with 13 students accepting Fulbright awards in each of those date ranges.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers research, study, and teaching opportunities in more than 140 countries to recent college graduates and graduate students. As the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Fulbright is designed to increase mutual understanding between the U.S. and countries worldwide.

“As a top producer, UGA is positioned

among an elite group of institutions,” said Maria de Rocher, campus Fulbright U.S. Student Program adviser and assistant director of the Honors Program.

“This is a campus-wide accomplishment.

Our 16 Fulbrighters represent a diversity of backgrounds and areas of study, and include undergraduates, both within and outside the Honors Program, and graduate students.”

For 2019-2020, 12 UGA students have been offered Fulbright awards—eight are in the Honors Program. They will be headed to countries as diverse as Brazil, Turkey, South Korea, India, Germany, and Sierra Leone.

— Stephanie Schupska

Matt G. Hardy

Scholarships

Sebastian Puerta

UGA’s second Beinecke Scholar

S

ebastian Puerta, a junior earning his combined bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, was one of 20 students nationwide selected this spring as a Beinecke Scholar.

The scholarship awards $34,000 to third-year students who will pursue graduate studies in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. Sebastian is the second UGA student to receive the honor.

Sebastian, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, plans to earn a doctorate in economics. His focus will be on education policy with an emphasis on gifted instruction and peer effects as sources to identify and improve outcomes for disadvantaged students.

A first-generation college student, he is originally from Medellín, Colombia. His family now lives in Alpharetta.

“Sebastian richly deserves the recognition and support provided by the Beinecke Scholarship,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. “He is

a devoted and trailblazing leader, using his impressive intellectual abilities to support positive social change.”

In Sebastian’s thesis work for his master’s degree, he is studying the makeup and impact of gifted and talented education in Georgia. This spring, he continued research with Tim Samples, an assistant professor in the Terry College of Business, on the future of investor-state dispute settlement, a topic Sebastian researched last summer during his time at the Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In June and July, Sebastian will work as a summer research assistant for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“I want to answer impactful social science questions as a tenure-track economist,” he said. “I am who I am not despite my adversity and my diversity but because of it.”

In high school, Sebastian noticed a need to encourage Hispanic students toward higher education. He co-founded

a chapter of the Hispanic Organization Promoting Education (HoPe), a nonprofit dedicated to changing the lives of Hispanic students through education, leadership, and service.

Throughout college, he has held leadership positions with HoPe and, at UGA, the Georgia Political Review, Roosevelt at UGA, Economics Society, and UGAvotes. He is a McNair Scholar, received the Correll Scholarship, and is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa.

He was a teaching assistant in the economics department and dances with the UGA Ballroom Performance Group.

Off campus, he worked for the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Sebastian has studied abroad at the London School of Economics and the Universidad de Chile.

Since 1975, the Beinecke Scholarship Program has selected more than 646 college juniors from more than 110 institutions for support during graduate study at any accredited university.

— Stephanie Schupska

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

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Scholarships

Anita Qualls

UGA’s first Churchill Scholar “The support I feel A in Honors and the nita Qualls of Johns Creek became the first student in UGA’s history to receive a Churchill Scholarship, which funds American students as they pursue a one-year master’s program in science, mathematics, and engineering at the University of Cambridge in England.

The scholarship, which was first awarded in 1963, is given to 15 students each year after a rigorous application and interview process. This year’s recipients come from a mix of public and private institutions ranging from Stanford and Princeton to the University of Virginia and the U.S. Military Academy. Churchill Scholars attend Churchill College at Cambridge, and the award covers full tuition, a stipend, travel costs, and the chance to apply for a $2,000 special research grant.

Anita is an Honors student majoring in biology with minors in Spanish and nutritional science and a certificate in personal and organizational leadership.

She graduates in May. After a year at Churchill College earning a master’s degree in medical science with a focus on obstetrics and gynecology, she will attend medical school and pursue a career in academic medicine.

She intends to combine translational research, patient care, and mentoring by working at a university hospital.

“It is wonderful to see such a deserving student recognized in this way,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. “Anita has taken advantage of all that UGA has to offer, from study abroad and service to research and internships. She truly stands out, and I am so happy for her.”

Anita was two weeks into her first year at UGA when she was introduced to research by Jarrod Call, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology. He became her long-term mentor in regenerative medicine, and last year, she completed an undergraduate thesis based on her work in his lab.

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mentorship I’ve received—I just walk into Moore College, and it has always felt very comfortable and like home.”

Anita Qualls, senior majoring in

biology with a pre-med emphasis

“Having known Anita for almost four years now, I believe she is a person who truly finds pleasure in discovery, in finding things out, in contributing to the exploration of the unknown,” Call said. “This is clearly demonstrated by her scientific accomplishments and ambition in the laboratory where, for example, she was immediately inquisitive and asking for more responsibilities within her first year.

“Anita is a truly thoughtful person and a joy to have in the lab. She made fast friends with the graduate students when she first joined and has embraced the lab-family dynamic ever since.”

In summer 2017, Anita spent eight weeks at Harvard Medical School as a research intern for Dr. Pankaj Agrawal at Boston Children’s Hospital. This past summer, she was selected as one of 30 students for a nine-week summer undergraduate research program at New York University, where she conducted biomedical research with Dr. William Carroll at the Perlmutter Cancer Research Center. Carroll’s lab focuses on understanding the biological pathways that drive drug resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Through her studies of human function and disease, Anita has published four peer-reviewed papers— she is first author on one—and also

authored a paper in a student journal.

She has traveled to 13 conferences to give three oral and 13 poster presentations.

At UGA, Anita is president of Health 4 Kids, co-leader of the Medicine in Literature Book Club, and president of the Palladia Women’s Honor Society. She has been an Honors Teaching Assistant, CURO Summer Fellow, CURO Research Assistant, Honors International Scholar, Leonard Leadership Scholar, Honors Policy Scholar, and Alpha Gamma Delta health and wellness coordinator. She is a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and Order of Omega.

Anita also participated in two IMPACT Alternative Spring Break trips and completed a stroke awareness internship at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center. She studied nutrition education in Costa Rica and animal behavior in New Zealand and Australia.

“There is no way I would have gotten the Churchill Scholarship without all the opportunities I’ve been able to pursue through Honors, CURO assistantships, and study abroad,” she said. “Also, the support I feel in Honors and the mentorship I’ve received—I just walk into Moore College, and it has always felt very comfortable and like home.”

— Stephanie Schupska

1 2 3 4

5

IN THE LAB. 1) Anita Qualls discusses her research with her faculty mentor and assistant professor Jarrod Call, who runs the Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction Laboratory at UGA. 2) Anita, right, and Anna Nichenko, a graduate student in the Call lab, pipette samples.

STUDY ABROAD. 3) Anita hiked through Australia and New Zealand in May 2017 through a UGA Discover Abroad program.

PRE-MED BOOK CLUB (photos at right). 5) Anita, far right, helped lead the Honors Program Medicine in Literature Book Club with 4) Catriona Geddes, second from left. 4) The group is mentored by Dr. Ruth Cline, far left, an OB-GYN through Athens Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“Dr. Cline is so impressive,” Anita said. “She has this interesting demeanor where she’s so kind and soft-spoken, but she knows her stuff.

She’s a power mom, a power woman, and a doctor. She’ll also walk in carrying a tray of brownies or desserts every single week, no joke.”

Cline said it is a joy to be part of the book club, explaining that, “these young women and men are so engaging and eager on a weekly basis.

Being part of this group energizes me and keeps me constantly focused on renewing that passion for the practice of medicine that we all had in our youth and should maintain in our practice on a daily basis.”

In early 2019, the book club discussed My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story by Abraham Verghese, an AIDS expert working in Johnson City, Tennessee.

“The book club is my favorite extracurricular activity I do on campus besides research,” Anita said. “It’s a really good opportunity to practice articulating your thoughts in front of others.”

The group meets weekly in Myers Hall.

“It is amazing to watch these students progress from impressionable freshman to seniors and see the accomplishments they make and the places they are going,” Cline said. “UGA and Athens are such special opportunities for both the students and those of us who can choose to affiliate and mentor the next generations.”

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

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Scholarships

Swapnil Agrawal

Schwarzman Scholar, debate team captain

I

n November, Swapnil Agrawal, a senior from Dunwoody, was one of 147 students selected internationally as a Schwarzman Scholar, a graduate fellowship designed to prepare the next generation of leaders with an understanding of China’s role in global trends.

Swapnil is UGA’s fourth Schwarzman Scholar. The incoming Class of 2020 was narrowed down from a pool of 2,887 candidates and is comprised of students from 38 countries and 119 universities, with 40 percent originating from the U.S., 20 percent from China, and 40 percent from other countries.

This marks the fourth group of Schwarzman Scholars since the highly competitive program opened to applicants in 2015.

The fully funded, yearlong master’s program in global affairs is offered to Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Students live and learn on the Schwarzman College campus and focus their studies on public policy, economics and business, or international studies.

An Honors student and Foundation Fellow, Swapnil is majoring in international affairs and economics. He has been accepted into Harvard Law School, which he will begin after his year at Tsinghua University.

Swapnil studies human rights protection, and his goal is to investigate how international institutions can leverage human rights treaties in creative ways to increase decentralized enforcement. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he plans to examine Chinese ideology underlying its human rights agenda.

“It will be interesting to see how human rights engagement happens from a Chinese perspective,” he said. “It’s important to understand that if you want to come up with solutions for issues, you have to understand what is motivating the other party to act in the first place.”

At Harvard, he will study international law.

Swapnil has been a research intern for the Amara Legal Center in Washington, D.C.; policy intern for the American Civil Liberties Union in Atlanta; scholar for UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security; legal intern at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa; researcher for the UGA School of Public and International Affairs; policy analyst for the Georgia Department of Economic Development in Munich, Germany; and

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UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

Left: Swapnil Agrawal, left, and Advait Ramanan prepare for an upcoming debate at the 2019 National Debate Tournament at the University of Minnesota in March.

Below: Georgia Debate Union team members, left to right, Tripp Haskins, Advait, Johnnie Stupek, Alyssa Hoover, Nathan Rice, and Swapnil celebrate their victories during the 2019 National Debate Tournament’s awards ceremony.

Georgia Debate Union finishes 2019 as top team in nation

F

or the first time in the program’s history, the Georgia Debate Union finished the 2018-2019 season as the top varsity college debate team in both the American Debate Association and the National Debate Tournament’s end-of-the-season rankings. Each ranking is derived from points that two-person teams accumulate for each tournament over the course of the season, which runs from mid-September to the end of March.

UGA’s ranking in ADA and NDT varsity points pushed it ahead of traditional debate powerhouses Harvard, Emory, Northwestern, Michigan, Dartmouth, and Wake Forest, among others.

“This is the first time that we have finished ranked first in any college debate organization rankings at the end of the season, let alone two of them,” said head debate coach Hays Watson.

There are more than 200 varsity debate teams in the nation.

The Georgia Debate Union was led this year by Honors senior Swapnil Agrawal and senior Advait Ramanan, who won the American Debate Association national championship in early March in

Athens. The ADA Nationals featured more than 100 teams from across the country.

Next year, Swapnil, who was named a Schwarzman Scholar in December, will be studying in China before heading to Harvard Law. Advait will be working for Americorps’ City Year in Boston and serving as an assistant coach for Harvard’s debate team.

Nathan Rice and Johnnie Stupek, also

immigration intern for Arnall Golden Gregory LLP in Atlanta.

Swapnil is captain of the Georgia Debate Union at UGA, spending 30 hours per week on research to prepare for competition. He speaks at almost 300 words per minute to maximize his speech time. As of fall 2018, he had competed in 198 debates in college, which he estimates to come out to 21,384 minutes of argumentation and cross-examination.

“Swapnil richly deserves the honor of being named to a

seniors, finished second at the 2019 National Debate Tournament held at the University of Minnesota. Their appearance was only the second time UGA has been in the NDT finals and the first since 1997.

Swapnil, Advait, Nathan, and Johnnie were all recognized as top 20 speakers at the NDT, making UGA the only institution honored with such a distinction.

— Alan Flurry

program that prepares and connects future global leaders,” said Jessica Hunt, UGA’s major scholarships coordinator. “He has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to advancing human rights within the U.S. and around the world.”

UGA’s previous Schwarzman Scholars are alumnae Torre Lavelle (Class of 2017) and Elizabeth Hardister and Gaby Pierre (Class of 2019).

— Stephanie Schupska

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

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Scholarships

A Gold(water) year 2019 marks the first year since 2012 that four UGA students have been named Barry Goldwater Scholars. Monte Fischer, Mackenzie Joy, Katie Luedecke, and Sarah Saddoris are

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UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

South Carolina, is majoring in plant biology and working toward a master’s degree in bioinformatics. All four are UGA juniors and housed in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Since 1995, 60 UGA students have received the Goldwater Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional sophomores and juniors across the nation. This is the sixth time UGA has had four scholars in the last 21 years.

Scholars receive up to $7,500 toward the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board.

Latetia Vernelson

among 496 undergraduates from across the nation to be recognized, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

Monte, from South St. Paul, Minnesota, is majoring in mathematics and computer science and is working toward a master’s degree in mathematics. Mackenzie, from Woodstock, is majoring in physics and astronomy.

Katie, from Peachtree City, is majoring in chemistry with a focus on chemical synthesis. Sarah, from Greenville,

Monte, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics to investigate questions of stochastic processes, probability, and computation.

Through a summer REU at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts in 2018, Monte learned how to apply tools of mathematics and statistics to model financial markets. Previously, he worked on research with UGA’s Neil Lyall and Georgios Petridis in the mathematics department in an effort to improve Plünneke’s inequality, a foundational result in the subfield of mathematics called additive combinatorics.

Monte’s additional involvement at UGA includes the Athens Prison Tutorial, Honors Program Student Council executive committee, Reformed University Fellowship, and Corsair Society. His awards include the mathematics department’s Hollingsworth Award and Charles M. Strahan Award for outstanding junior mathematics major, UGA Presidential Scholar, and fall 2018 Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program award for outstanding achievement. He has presented at the Joint Mathematics Meeting and UGA CURO Symposium.

This summer, he will research the cost of disintermediating banks’ traditional role of creating private money at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Mackenzie Joy

Mackenzie, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, plans to earn a doctorate in theoretical cosmology or particle physics and support young women in physics. She wants to research the pre-inflationary universe, large-scale cosmic structure, and missing pieces of the Standard Model to help build a more complete picture of the universe.

In 2018, she participated in a REU at the University of California, Davis, calculating the size of the sound horizon using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo to show its discrepancy with the predicted value from the Cold Dark Matter model of the universe. She was second author on a paper in the Astrophysical Journal resulting from the research. At UGA, she worked with astronomy professor Loris Magnani to analyze formaldehyde spectral data from the interstellar medium in an effort to map out the clouds that surround the Milky Way. She has presented her research at meetings of the American Astronomical

Stephanie Schupska

Monte Fischer

Scholarships

Above: The 2019 Goldwater Scholars gather for a photo outside of the Science Learning Center. They are, left to right, Mackenzie Joy, Sarah Saddoris, Monte Fischer, and Katie Luedecke. Left: Katie checks for chemical reactions with Gregory Robinson, a UGA Foundation Professor.

Society, American Physical Society Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, and CURO Symposium.

Mackenzie’s additional involvement at UGA includes executive director of the Lunchbox Garden Project, Athens Prison Tutorial, Division of Academic Enhancement math and physics tutor, Honors’ Peer Assisted Leadership program, and Palladia Women’s Honors Society. She is a competitive rock climber through UGA’s Climbing Club.

Katie Luedecke

Katie, an Honors student and Foundation Fellow, plans to pursue a doctorate in chemistry specializing in inorganic chemistry with a focus on carbene chemistry. She wants to develop opportunities for females in STEM at the sub-collegiate level.

She conducts research under the mentorship of UGA Foundation Professor Gregory Robinson in his inorganic chemistry lab. She has presented at the southeastern and national meetings of the American Chemical Society, CURO Symposium, UGA’s Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunities Symposium, and UGA Chemistry Club meeting and published in the journal Dalton Transactions.

She was an invited participant to the American Chemical Society’s Inorganic Undergraduate Symposium.

Katie’s additional involvement at UGA includes the Chemistry Club, Women in Science, UGA HEROS, and website development team lead for the chemistry department. Her awards include the American Chemical

Society’s Undergraduate Award and Undergraduate Student of the Year and a CURO research assistantship.

This summer, she will study abroad in Australia and New Zealand, examining ecosystems in these countries.

Sarah Saddoris

Sarah plans to pursue a doctorate in plant genetics. She is interested in the mechanisms and functions of various plant pathways responsible for controlling gene expression during development and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses like pathogens and drought.

She is a research technician in UGA associate professor and Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator Robert Schmitz’s laboratory, which focuses on plant epigenetics and epigenomics. Sarah researches the mechanisms of histone H3 lysine 36 trimethylation in plants. She also works on a project examining the impact of transposon activity in rice in collaboration with Susan Wessler at the University of California, Riverside. She has presented at Plant Biology 2018 in Quebec, CURO Symposium, Plant Center fall retreat, and various lab meetings.

Sarah’s path to UGA includes study at a nursing program in Germany, a semester at Greenville Technical College and three semesters at Athens Technical College. She was offered the opportunity to work in a UGA research lab and transferred to UGA in spring 2018.

She is a plant biology undergraduate ambassador.

— Stephanie Schupska

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

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Scholarships

Mallory Harris

UGA’s first Knight-Hennessy Scholar

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At the University of Georgia, “I happened into the emerging and exciting field of disease ecology at one of the top research institutions for it in the country.”

Mallory Harris, Honors alumna and

UGA’s first Knight-Hennessy Scholar

Courtesy Stanford University

T

he University of Georgia added another scholarship to its list of firsts this year with the addition of alumna Mallory Harris as its first KnightHennessy Scholar. The international graduate-level program provides full funding for students as they pursue studies at Stanford University.

Established in 2016, the KnightHennessy Scholars program funds graduate studies ranging from medicine to law to doctoral programs as well as joint- and dual-degrees. The 2019 cohort—the second cohort of scholars— includes 68 students. They were chosen from 4,424 applicants and represent 20 countries.

The program is designed to prepare students to take leadership roles in finding creative solutions to complex global issues.

“Mallory adds such a spark to whatever she touches and is engaged with,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. “She is a delight to work with. I am very proud of Mallory, and I look forward to watching her further accomplishments in the future.”

Mallory graduated from UGA in May 2018 with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and computational biology along with a Spanish minor and an interdisciplinary writing certificate. A Dunwoody native, she was a Goldwater Scholar, an Honors student, and a Foundation Fellow.

She will pursue a PhD in biology at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. As a researcher and teacher, Mallory plans to support a shift from reactionary to preventive approaches to epidemiology.

Mallory has conducted research on vector-borne disease systems with John Drake, director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases and distinguished research professor in the Odum School of Ecology.

“I happened into the emerging and exciting field of disease ecology at one of the top research institutions for it in the country, working under the guidance of nationally recognized researcher

John Drake,” she said. Through the support of CURO, she completed two summers and four semesters of substantive undergraduate research.

While at UGA, she was also able to take graduate-level coursework and build her own interdisciplinary program at the intersection of quantitative and biological sciences.

While an undergraduate, Mallory researched climate drivers of the Zika virus with Erin Mordecai, a UGA alumna and assistant professor of biology at Stanford University. She also composed a research-based policy proposal for improving sex education in rural Georgia through the Roosevelt Institution.

At Stanford, Mallory will continue to work with Mordecai, explaining that “Dr. Mordecai’s work shows that, based on mosquito biology, we’d expect disease transmitted by them to exhibit nonlinear relationships with temperature—peaking at a certain optimal temperature and then waning at temperatures above and below that optimum. My work with her thus far has tested those predictions on epidemiological data from Zika in Latin America.

“I’ll continue working with her on projects to understand how climate affects vector-borne disease transmission.”

Mallory was a communications intern at Girlology, managing social media and online advertising. At UGA, she coached an all-girls math team; was president of Students for Gun Safety; was a head coach for MATHCOUNTS Outreach; developed a math intervention program and enrichment lessons for Barrow Elementary School in Athens; and was a CURO research assistant.

She studied abroad at the University of Oxford in England and the University of Montevideo in Uruguay.

After graduation, Mallory worked on the Congressional campaign for U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, attended the Voting Rights Data Institute, and is currently operations director for Maura’s Voice, a foundation that funds research on gun violence.

— Stephanie Schupska

Stephanie Schupska

Diane Klement

Udall Scholar focused on land preservation and environmental art

D

iane Klement’s desire is to create strong bonds between people and the land, and her focus has earned her national recognition as a 2019 Udall Scholar.

The University of Georgia junior was one of 55 undergraduates selected from institutions across the nation and U.S. territories. The scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors on the basis of their commitment to careers in the environment, Native healthcare, or Tribal public policy.

Diane, from Evans, is majoring in ecology with a minor in studio art. An Honors student, she plans to pursue master’s degrees in environmental science and creative writing. She hopes to work as a director of land conservation and community stewardship and as a contributing writer and illustrator.

“Diane is a most dedicated and deserving Udall recipient, ” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of UGA’s Honors Program.

“She has a strong record of service and achievement across the board—exploring and promoting conservation on national, state, and local levels.”

With the addition of Diane, UGA has had 13 Udall Scholars in the past nine years and 18 total since the scholarship was first awarded in 1996.

Through work with conservation organizations, Diane hopes to expand advocacy for preserving public lands and lands considered grey areas, such as farms, campus greens, and roadside forests. These grey areas may lack land conservation statuses, she said, but can still serve as havens where nature flourishes.

She also aspires to use her creative skills to write and produce visual art.

“From Georgia to Montana to Colorado, Diane Klement has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to and boundless energy for environmental stewardship,” said Jessica Hunt, UGA’s major scholarships coordinator. “Her interdisciplinary, arts-focused approach to conservation is sure to have a tremendous impact on our respect for public lands and green spaces.”

Diane was selected to participate in the Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop this past March. Last fall, she studied human/land relations through

the University of Montana’s Wild Rockies Field Institute. She has interned for the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Cumberland Island Museum, Odum School of Ecology, Savannah Riverkeeper, and Augusta Locally Grown.

At UGA, she serves as a research assistant in the lab of Jeb Byers, Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Ecology. She was also involved in ecological problem-solving and as a Watershed Learning Network website artist, Odum School of Ecology volunteer, and UGA’s Catholic Center Environmental Club founding member. She is a Wild Cumberland board member, Wild Intelligence youth mentor, and member of the Georgia Society for Conservation Biology and UGA Chew Crew Restoration Initiative. She assisted with the UGA oldgrowth forest restoration plan and was a CURO research assistant.

The Udall review committee also awarded 55 honorable mentions, including UGA’s McKenna Barney. An Honors student and Foundation Fellow, she is a junior studying economics, geography, and mathematics.

— Stephanie Schupska

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

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Crane Leadership Scholars

Harris Jamal

Caroline Kraczon

Connor Lawhead

Sherry Luo

Hometown: Tucker Major: Environmental Health Master’s Degree: Public Health

Hometown: Woodstock Major: Economics Master’s Degree: Public Administration

Hometown: Peachtree City Major: Psychology Minor: Criminal Justice

Hometown: Johns Creek Majors: Genetics, English

Harris serves on the executive board of the Muslim Student Association.

He is also on the events committee of the Student Alumni Council, where he is responsible for contacting and inviting successful UGA alumni to speak at monthly Big Dawg Brunch Events.

During his freshman year, Harris started research in environmental microbiology under professor Erin Lipp. He received a CURO research assistantship and presented his work at the annual Symposium. In spring 2017, he started a sustainable healthcare initiative within the University Health Center to promote sustainability in its daily operations. He now works at the UGA Office of Sustainability as the sustainability in healthcare intern.

Harris plans to attend medical school and hopes to lead the way to greening the healthcare industry.

24

Caroline is currently vice president of university engagement for the Student Alumni Council, leading a committee to plan and execute campus-wide events and initiatives. She is also director of operations for UGA’s undergraduate Moot Court team.

After studying abroad at the University of Oxford through the Honors International Scholars Program during the spring semester of her sophomore year, Caroline works as a UGA Centers Abroad student ambassador. In addition to her involvement on campus, she serves as a mentor for a local middle schooler through the Whatever It Takes mentoring program.

She is also pursuing a legal studies certificate.

After graduating, Caroline plans to attend law school and pursue a career in law and policy.

UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

Connor is the vice president of Psi Chi National Honor Society in psychology, in which he organizes philanthropy events. He also is the treasurer of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Organization. In the sociology department, he is a member of Alpha Kappa Delta and a research assistant in the Laboratory for the Study of Social Interaction.

He was the program coordinator for Neuroscience for Kids, a program in which undergraduates teach third graders basic concepts in neuroscience. He also taught English at the Yayasan Slukat Learning Center in Bali, Indonesia, after studying abroad as part of the Honors International Scholars Program. He volunteers at Nuçi’s Space, a resource center and practice space for musicians.

Connor aspires to be an educator as well as a researcher.

Sherry is the senior editor of Stillpoint Literary Magazine, author of the poetry chapbook Imperative of the Night (The Lune, 2017) and the design editor of Stethoscope Magazine.

An undergraduate researcher in associate professor Douglas Menke’s lab, Sherry studies germ cell migration and gonad development in brown anole lizards with the support of the CURO Research Assistantship. This past summer, she researched the effects of histone methyltransferases on roundworm fertility at Emory University.

She is a Peer Learning Assistant in introductory biology courses, Honors Teaching Assistant, and mentor for UGA G.E.N.E.S. and the Honors Peer Assisted Leadership program.

Sherry plans to attend medical school and continue her writing career.

{

T

his past fall, eight Honors students were recognized for their exemplary leadership efforts as recipients of the William Moore Crane Leadership Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship, awarded to third-year students in the Honors Program, recognizes leadership in extracurricular activities and/or involvement with civic or community organizations. This year, students’ leadership experiences ranged from the Office of Sustainability, Student Alumni Council, Moot Court, HOSA, and Stillpoint Literary Magazine. Administered by the Honors Program and the UGA Center for Leadership and Service, the scholarship is named in honor of a 1921 UGA graduate who was influential in the founding of the UGA Alumni Society.

}

Callan Russell

Aarati Shah

Sachi Shastri

Joi Walker

Hometown: McDonough Major: Genetics Minor: Music

Hometown: Alpharetta Major: Biology Minor: French

Hometown: Eatonton Majors: Biology, Women’s Studies

Hometown: Monroe, Connecticut Majors: Spanish, World Language Education

Callan conducts undergraduate research on epigenetics with associate professor and Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator Robert Schmitz.

Her current research focuses on the assessment of heat tolerance and light-use efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana plants.

At UGA, Callan serves as band captain and trombone section leader within the Redcoat Marching Band.

She is also involved with UGA G.E.N.E.S., the first genetics club at UGA; as an upperclassman member, she mentors two freshman genetics majors. In addition to her on-campus involvements, Callan volunteers at GiGi’s Playhouse in Atlanta and Extra Special People, Inc. in Watkinsville.

After graduation, Callan intends to pursue a master’s degree in genetic counseling.

Aarati is co-founder of HOSAFuture Health Professionals at UGA and on the executive board for Pre-Dental Society and Saving Smiles.

In May 2017, she volunteered at a mobile dental clinic in the underserved area of Jarabocoa through an outreach program to the Dominican Republic.

She spent the rest of the summer in a research clinic at Mercer University, where she was able to analyze different disorders ranging from depression, ADHD, and fibromyalgia to Alzheimer’s and PTSD. Aarati has served as an Honors Teaching Assistant, an undergraduate assistant in the biology department, and a Peer Learning Assistant for the chemistry department.

After graduation, she plans to attend dental school and pursue a career as an orthodontist.

As a CURO Honors Scholar, Sachi conducts undergraduate research in associate professor David Peterson’s infectious diseases laboratory. Her current work focuses on understanding var2csa sequence diversity in placental malaria in relation to host immunity.

She serves on the executive board for Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Peer Educators and Data for Good @UGA, is a photographer for Stethoscope Magazine, and serves as an Honors Ambassador.

This past summer, Sachi interned at Feminist Majority Foundation in Washington, D.C., where she was involved in conducting research on the accessibility and availability of rape kits within the United States.

After graduation, Sachi plans to attend medical school with the goal of becoming an OB-GYN.

Joi serves on the Academic Honesty Panel, as clubs and activities chair for Thomas Lay After-School Program, and as vice president of the UGA chapter of the National Spanish Honor Society.

Joi is a Katherine John Murphy Foundation Scholar and Honors International Scholar. In summer 2018, she taught English to students ages elementary through high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while attending the University of Palermo.

As an intern for an Atlanta City Councilman, Joi drafted several initiatives that aid high school students at risk of dropping out due to language barriers. She currently works as a student teacher in a local elementary school improving the reading skills of kindergartners.

Joi plans to work as an educator and eventually attend law school and practice immigration and educational policy law.

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Giving back

By Hamilton Armit

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Stephanie Schupska

Honors students teach inmates through Athens Prison Tutorial

The space that Athens Prison Tutorial uses is, at its core, functional.

Painted cinderblock walls and folding tables make up most of the room.

Once the inmates arrive for their weekly Monday night tutoring session at the Athens-Clarke County Jail, the room immediately livens up. Tutors and their students, as the Athens Prison Tutorial group calls them, catch up with each other briefly and hit the books.

Kavi Pandian, a fourth-year Honors student and Foundation Fellow majoring in sociology and economics, is president of the organization. He explains Athens Tutorial Program’s main focus when it comes to these tutoring sessions.

“The main service we provide is GED tutoring—that’s what we started off doing,” he said. “The prison assigned us students who hadn’t graduated from high school, and we would figure out where they were academically.”

When Kavi arrived at UGA, there wasn’t an organization like Athens Prison Tutorial on campus. After repeatedly contacting the ACC jail over the course his freshman year, he was able to finally break through that summer along with co-founder Manasa Kadiyala, a fourthyear Honors student and Ramsey Honors Scholar studying biochemistry and molecular biology.

After several meetings and conversations during the first semester of their sophomore year, Kavi and Manasa started tutoring that October. The organization has continued to grow—to the point that former students will come back to assist, Manasa said.

“Some of the inmates with college degrees come and help us teach, so that’s been really helpful on days when we don’t have enough tutors or during finals time,” she said. “The way the GED works is you take two subjects at a time, so we try to give them one they feel relatively comfortable with and one they feel they might need a little bit more work on.”

During tutoring sessions, like the one on Monday, Jan. 28, discussion abounds, ranging from mathematical factoring to words used in a novel—it took a while for them to figure out how to define and illustrate the word “wry” (wry means to use or express dry, especially mocking, humor).

Above: A tutoring group on Jan. 28 included, left to right, front row, freshman Apoorva Dhanala, sophomore Victoria Fonzi, junior Nicole Googe, sophomore Sam Daly, senior Hannah Sharpe, freshman Emma Hale; and back row, senior Trey Walker, junior Jack McRae, and senior Kavi Pandian. Left: Senior Manasa Kadiyala, Jack McRae, and Kavi Pandian plan a tutoring session.

Relationship building is important to the organization, and for tutor Nicole Googe, a third-year Honors student and Foundation Fellow studying finance, this means connecting deeper with the city she grew up in.

“Organizations that actually impact the Athens community are really important to me, and I think they’re very worthwhile pursuits,” she said. “I enjoy giving back to Athens since it’s where I’m from.”

The joy found in teaching is not completely one-sided, according to the tutors. Oftentimes, the inmates will express how thankful they are for Athens Prison Tutorial.

Jack McCrae, a third-year Honors student and Foundation Fellow majoring in English and psychology, said he was not expecting the inmates to be so appreciative of their work.

“One of the biggest things that caught me off guard was the gratitude they express to us,” he said. “For the most part, a lot of them haven’t had people that have personally invested in them, especially in academics. Just how thankful they are and the desire to learn is something I definitely didn’t expect.”

In just a few years, Athens Prison Tutorial has gone from a few tutors to more than 25 volunteers and is now sponsored by the Honors Program.

Last year, the group hosted a prison graduation ceremony that the inmates’ families had the opportunity to attend.

“The clearest impact as a result of Athens Prison Tutorial was when we got to watch four students who we tutored from day one wear graduation gowns, go up and speak, and be handed a diploma,” he said. Fifteen have now earned their GEDs. “It was really powerful to see the pride on people’s faces and take part in a momentous life occasion that I’ve always just taken for granted.”

At the end of each tutoring session, inmates sign out on a piece of paper, fold up their chairs, and lean them against the wall in one corner of the room. The tutors pack their school materials in crates and head down a hallway to check out with a prison warden. After all this, the tutoring space looks untouched, almost as if nothing even happened in the room.

For Jack, entering a prison feels like an escape.

“All of us are here at UGA because we enjoy learning, but during college, we can get bogged down in tests, and it can become a grind,” he said. “Going to tutoring every week is something, for instance, where today might not be convenient for me to go, but when I get there, I’m always super happy and thankful that I can get outside of myself for a second.”

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Dorothé Otemann looks back on 20 years with the Honors Program

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s I prepare to retire at the end of June and look back, never could I have imagined I would have had such a great and fulfilling career at UGA when I took those first hesitant steps onto the campus in June of 1995. I arrived in the U.S. from the Netherlands only 10 years earlier and had worked hard on learning to read, write, and, most importantly, speak English. It was with immense trepidation that I put all these new skills on display at an academic institution.

I first secured a job as an administrative assistant in the President’s Office. After a few years, I left the President’s Office to work for former Gov. Zell Miller, who was a visiting professor at the Institute of Higher Education. Following that, President Jere Morehead, who was then serving as the director of the Honors Program, gave me the opportunity to start a new phase of my career working in Honors.

At that time, the Honors Program was making many changes.

Early registration, small classes, and close contact with faculty members were still the foundation of the program, but many other academic opportunities were being introduced, and

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Wingate Downs

IMMENSELY REWARDING

it was an exciting time to be at the ever-evolving program.

Prof. Morehead first asked me to develop and implement new communication materials. I had no experience in that field, but I enjoyed learning the skills needed for creating a newsletter that has now become the Honors Program magazine.

My role then evolved with the addition of event planning, and it gave me a thrill to create celebrations for our students. The events have grown into occasions truly befitting our students’ abilities and the program’s stature. This year, I am proud to have organized my 20th Honors Program Graduation Banquet as well as the 20th CURO Symposium.

When Dr. David S. Williams was appointed as director in 2004, my role evolved again when I became the program’s first development officer. I enjoyed taking on this challenge! Over the years since, I have met innumerable and wonderful alumni, parents, and students and have made some lifelong friends in the process. Connecting people with the Honors Program and bringing it back into their lives has been a great privilege. It has been such a pleasure to talk about the wonderful things

Wingate Downs

Jim Granade Jr., left, and his parents Janet and Jim celebrate with Dorothé at her final Honors Gala in March.

“Through the generosity of our donors, the Honors Program has gained an ever-increasing ability to provide a richer experience for its students.”

Dorothé Otemann, UGA Honors Program Director of Development our students are contributing to the university, the local community, the State of Georgia, and even the world. Through the generosity of our donors, the Honors Program has gained an ever-increasing ability to provide a richer experience for its students. Study abroad, internships, and undergraduate research stipends are now more readily available, and transformative experiences have become the norm for our students and not the exception.

Looking back on my career, coming from another country into an unknown culture has changed me and had an incredible impact on my life. It has been immensely rewarding to help provide the means for young people to have a similar experience to mine on a smaller scale and help them broaden their view of the world. I hope that in this way I have helped

make the world a better place.

Leaving UGA and the Honors Program will not be easy, but I look forward to seeing what the future will bring. I plan to stay in Athens most of the time with occasional trips to the Netherlands to support my parents. I plan on learning more about my hobbies of painting, telling my own immigration story, and finding a way to continue spending meaningful time with young people.

I would like to thank everyone who has shared my experience in these 25 years at UGA. Whether you are a UGA friend, an alumnus/a, a parent, or a student, please know you changed me and gave me so much more than I ever could have given in return. I hope you stay in touch via email at otemann.dorothe@gmail.com.

UGA campaign surpasses goal 16 months early

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he Commit to Georgia Campaign surpassed its $1.2 billion goal 16 months ahead of schedule when it hit its target amount in mid-February. UGA’s campaign objective, announced in November 2016, is the most ambitious fundraising goal the university has ever set. The campaign will continue through June 2020.

The Honors Program passed its total goal of $14.1 million earlier this year as well. This included raising $13.8 million for enhancements of the student experience. Dorothé played a major role in these Honors’ fundraising efforts. In FY 2019 alone, giving to the Honors Program surpassed $3.3 million, the highest giving year to date.

As of February, nearly 150,000 alumni, parents, and friends have contributed to the Commit to Georgia Campaign.

Significant progress has been made toward campaign priorities—increasing scholarship support, enhancing the learning environment, and solving grand challenges.

UGA donors have created more than 785 endowed student scholarships, including more than 400 need-based scholarships established through the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program, through which the UGA Foundation matches donor contributions dollar-for-dollar. In 2018, Honors alumni created five of these scholarships for Honors students.

The Honors Program is grateful for the support of its alumni and friends and is excited to be able to create more transformative experiences for its students.

Contact the Honors Program Development Office at 706-542-2649 or at honors@uga.edu.

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Nonprofit Org. U. S. Postage

PAID

Moore College, 108 Herty Drive University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-6116

Trek of a lifetime

Athens, GA Permit No. 165

Krishna Patel, an Honors senior from Waycross majoring in economics and biology, traveled to South America this winter to intern for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Peru in Lima. Through funding from the Honors International Scholars Program, the internship taught her that she wants “to advance my knowledge of global medicine and the approaches used to tackle diseases.� During her time in Peru, she also hiked to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the modern world.