SENIORS SPEAK: Service CARTER BEST
Fourth-year Foundation Fellow majoring in international affairs “Being a tutor for the Athens Prison Tutorial for all four years of my time at UGA brought me so much personal fulfilment and joy because of the friendships I formed with fellow tutors and the incarcerated students we tutored at the Diversion Center. An internship with the Tahirih Justice Center gave me a clearer idea of where I’d like and not like to take my career, all while working with a group of incredibly caring and inspiring supervisors and team members. I interacted directly with clients seeking assistance from the Forced Marriage Initiative, which was one of the most valuable experiences I have ever had both from an emotional and a professional development point of view.”
LUKE ARMAO
Fourth-year Fellow majoring in cognitive science and philosophy with an MS in artificial intelligence “One of the best parts of my time at UGA has been my work leading The Backpack Project of Athens, a local non-profit that works with individuals experiencing homelessness and encampment communities in Athens. I’ve loved meeting new members as we’ve grown, and helping them get involved with the Athens community through hands-on volunteer events that let them actually meet and have conversations with the people they’re helping (the relationships we build are the most important part of our work). I’m so grateful for the support of the community which has allowed us to bring meals to multiple encampments (60+ meals) in Athens on a weekly basis, distribute other important resources such as shoes and medical supplies, and help people in any way we can to escape the vicious and unfair cycle of housing insecurity.”
MARSHALL BERTON Fourth-year Ramsey Scholar studying majoring in finance/international business and international affairs “As executive director of UGA Votes, I led a nonpartisan voter registration organization during one of the most contentious elections in Georgia history. Despite the pandemic, we helped 1,214 students and community members cast their ballots on campus. Our work was covered by CNN, the Washington Post, and other notable media outlets. Managing national press interviews from my college apartment was something I could not have done without the leadership development and support of the FFR program.”
APARNA PATERIA Fourth-year Foundation Fellow majoring in biology and English “FFR was the reason I could obtain a diversity of experience working with children and adults in all kinds of educational and nonprofit settings – as a shift leader with Athens Prison Tutorial, an English tutor with Paper Airplanes, a peer learning assistant and chemistry tutor with the Division of Academic Enhancement, and a volunteer at Bala Vihar Indian Cultural School.”
HIMANI YADAV
Fourth-year Fellow majoring in cognitive science, computer science, and philosophy “One of the most meaningful experiences during my time here was founding and running Girls Who Code at UGA. I participated in my high school’s GWC club, which led me to major in computer science. When I noticed that there were no GWC chapters in the schools in Athens, a friend and I started planning. That’s how Girls Who Code at UGA was born, an outreach organization that connects UGA students with Athens-area middle and high school students to teach computer science fundamentals. The best part of volunteering is seeing the look on the girls’ faces when their programs successfully run and they get to play a game or browse a website that they built themselves. Through the club, I was also able to find my own community of women in STEM on campus, which has been very rewarding.”
28
UGA FOUNDATION FELLOWS & RAMSEY HONORS SCHOLARS ANNUAL REPORT 2022
