Briefs

Briefs

Civic Scholarship

Tarun Ramesh will be representing UGA as a 2020 Newman Civic Fellow. The Newman Civic Fellowship is a yearlong program that recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The fellowship is named in honor of Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, and is supported by the KPMG Foundation.

For 2020, this group includes 290 students from 39 states and Mexico— the largest cohort of Newman Civic Fellows ever.

Tarun, a third-year Honors student and Foundation Fellow, is majoring in economics and genetics. His personal statement for the Newman Civic Fellowship honors his grandmother and her work as “an unapologetic activist and a distinguished physician.”

He has “sought to bridge the gap between policy research and community needs by building diverse coalitions to reduce disparities in health care access. In Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, I have worked with the Roosevelt Institute to expand medication-assisted treatment for incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder, helping to deconstruct the criminalization of addiction. At the Center for American Progress, I highlighted the inadequacies in emergency medical care and the risks that future hospital closures pose to rural residents. ... Prioritizing community needs has shaped my own policy evaluation framework.”

Agriscience research

Courtney Cameron researches fungal pathogens in addition to her normal class load as an agriscience and environmental systems major. In November, the thirdyear CURO Honors Scholar from Valdosta received the American Star in Agriscience at the 92nd annual National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis.

National FFA annually recognizes FFA members who rise to the top with the American Star Awards. The American Star in Agriscience is awarded to the FFA member who demonstrates the top agriscience-based supervised agricultural experience in the nation.

Courtney is involved in research concerning Neofusicoccum and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum, both fungal pathogens. She plans to make agriculture her career, conducting research and communicating that science with others.

“I want the kind of job where I’m able to be very versatile in what I do and able to serve the farmer and serve as a bridge between the farmer and the consumer,” she said.

Flipping out over finals

Every December, the Honors Program Student Council helps students fuel up for exams during Flipping Out Over Finals. The Reading Day Eve tradition includes cookie decorating, hot chocolate, an ugly Christmas sweater competition, and pancakes. Above, HPSC leadership Sneha Gubbala, Megan Pierce, and May Hu show off their sweaters.

SGA president

At the end of February, Honors junior Asim Ahmed, right, was named president of UGA’s Student Government Association when UGA students elected the Unite ticket to the executive branch of the SGA for the 2020-2021 academic year. Asim is a Foundation Fellow from Columbus majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. The Unite ticket included Cheryl Kwapong as vice president-elect and Carson Kuck as treasurer-elect.

10,000 miles, 22 days in Australia

This past December, Shreya Pandya finished her final exams and started a 10,000-mile trip with the help of the Honors International Scholars Program. Through funding from HISP, the Honors sophomore was able to travel to Australia for 22 days through UGA Discover Abroad’s Winter Break Australia.

Shreya, a nutritional sciences major and sociology minor with a pre-med intent, said that traveling abroad for the first time on her own set this trip apart for her.

“I was really able to immerse myself in the journey with other UGA students, both Honors and non-Honors,” she said. “Being in charge of my own experience and knowing that what I get out of Australia is dependent on how much I put in, I was really able to get the most of the trip, and that was the best part for me.

“My breath was taken away at how amazing an opportunity it was.”

Starting in Sydney, Australia, the program immerses students in the country’s culture of conservation and resource awareness at stops like the Sunshine Coast, the Great Barrier Reef, Lamington National Park, and Brisbane. Students are encouraged to ask their instructors and themselves questions about developing sustainably on the urban scale, drawing lines to preserve smaller ecosystems in a world of ever-growing tourism, and contributing to sustainability as an individual.

“Everyone bonded together and was really interested in what we were learning” Shreya said. “Overall, I was able to learn a lot about sustainability in terms of culture, economy, and development.

“I’m so grateful to HISP for being able to provide more than any other scholarship would have. And I’m grateful that I’m a part of Honors to be able to receive that.”

Every year, HISP is able to fund study abroad experiences for about 60 second- and third-year Honors students with scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. Experiences include classes, internships, research, public service, and other international experiential learning opportunities.

From marveling at the inner ceiling architecture of the Sydney Opera House in Northern Australia to scuba diving and taking in the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef on the country’s southern coast, “those two moments were really an amazing juxtaposition,” Shreya said. “The world has so much to offer.”

“This trip has really shown me how I can navigate a new area and—especially through the UGA network—explore abroad and have connections in different places.”

- Kora Burton

Peace Summit delegates

Honors students Sam Driggers, Samantha Daly, and Elizabeth Carter represented UGA at Humanitarian Affairs Asia’s 2020 Peace Summit of Emerging Leaders in Bangkok, Thailand, in February. The three-day conference had more than 400 delegates from 53 countries.

“We learned from the son of the 1993 World Trade Center bomber, a survivor of the Cambodian civil war and genocide, and a UN representative who focuses on NGO relations within the Office of Global Communications,” said Samantha, a junior Ramsey Honors Scholar who is earning bachelor’s/master’s degrees in international policy and international affairs.

Elizabeth, a junior, is earning bachelor’s/master’s degrees in international policy and international affairs. Sam, a senior CURO Honors Scholar, is earning bachelor’s/master’s degrees in geography, international affairs, and political science.

The three-day conference featured talks and workshops designed to expand delegates’ understanding of peace.

“We really enjoyed our trip and are very grateful to the Honors Program for selecting and funding us to attend the conference,” Samantha said.