Lisa Ann Coole Award

Emma Ellis and Emma Hale honored with Lisa Ann Coole Award

Emma Chandler Hale and Emma

Ellis tour temples in Bangkok during the Fellows spring trip to Thailand.

The Foundation Fellows Class of 2022 chose Emma Ellis and Emma Hale as this year’s recipients of the Lisa Ann Coole

Award. The award was established in 1999 to honor Lisa Ann Coole’s memory and to inspire Foundation Fellows to translate into their lives the compassion, joy, courage, and excellence that defined Lisa’s presence in the Fellowship, at UGA, and in her communities both in Georgia and in Illinois. Lisa was an extraordinary person. She graduated from the University of Georgia magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in biology in 1997. She was a 19-time All-American swimmer, won two NCAA titles, and was selected as the 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. Lisa had just completed her first year of veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois-Champaign when she died as a result of injuries received in an automobile accident. In 1999, she was inducted into the UGA Athletic Association Circle of Honor, the highest tribute paid to former Bulldog athletes and coaches.

Emma Ellis graduated with a degree in genetics and is now completing a year-long community health fellowship with Project Horseshoe Farm in Alabama while applying to MD/MPH programs for the following year.

Emma (Chandler) Hale graduated with degrees in history and women’s studies and is now teaching high school in Mississippi and pursuing a master’s degree at Ole Miss as part of the Mississippi Teachers Corps. Their classmates share their appreciation below: “Emma Ellis excels in anything she sets her mind to, but she never flaunts her talents or her accomplishments. Ellis is intentionally kind to everyone she interacts with, whether that is her friends or people she’s just meeting. She’s always done her best to bring the people in our grade together, and she always makes sure that everyone is included. She’s served the Athens community through her work with IMPACT and The Cottage, and her life goals are also aimed toward service. She’s been a kind, considerate friend who supports others while achieving many great things herself, and she is very deserving of this award.” “Emma Ellis is a thoughtful, supportive, and inviting friend with a big heart, and is everyone’s go-to when they need a sympathetic ear. At the same time, she constantly keeps herself busy with various campus and community commitments, not for any sort of recognition, but because she enjoys helping people. She is a true servant-leader; from volunteering at the library, hospital, and sexual assault center, planning IMPACT trips, organizing Global Health Union events, and more. She is so humble and would never brag on herself, but her academic, research, and leadership accomplishments are beyond impressive as well.” “Chandler Hale helps everyone feel included (and comes up with memorable group bonding ideas, like hosting a class-wide sleepover in Myers). She treats others with respect and an everpresent kindness. She also cares deeply about serving others in an impactful way; she often talks about how much she enjoys her work with Athens Prison Tutorial and is the first to sign up for the local Days of Service. Her academic pursuits are also impressive, though we don’t hear her bragging about them. She tells us about her new projects because she’s excited about learning about history and wants to share that interest. And there’s no question that Chandler has a love for the Fellowship—I think our collective handmade masks, pillows, and blankets are a testament to that. She embodies the values this award hopes to honor.” “Affectionately known as Chandler to our class since she didn’t want multiple Emmas to confuse anyone – she is the type of student who asks questions in class because she is genuinely curious and will fascinate you with stories of feminist figures at a party. Her academic distinction is a natural outgrowth of her innate love of learning. Her profound empathy is her greatest strength, and it reverberates throughout the Fellowship. Her desire to bring others together is responsible for Shakespearean reenactments in Oxford, crafting workshops, camping trips, and squirrel watching. She never meets a stranger and is a mentor, inspiration, and friend to all. What makes her truly remarkable is the way she devotes herself to fostering compassion, joy, courage, and excellence in others, whether that’s as a servant, future teacher, leader, or friend.”

Previous Recipients are Rachel Yuan (2021), Avni Ahuja & Emma Goldsmith (2020), Caroline Shearer (2019), Emily Maloney & Mollie Simon (2018), Moira Fennell (2017), Kirstie Hostetter & Chris Lewitzke (2016), Eilidh Geddes (2015), Jesse Chan (2014), Sara De La Torre Berón (2013), Hank Schwartz (2012), Mir Inaamullah & Alex Squires (2011), Betsy Allen (2010), Elizabeth Godbey (2009), Anant Mandawat (2008), Helen Smith (2007), Chloe Thompson (2006), Krisda Chaiyachati (2005), Vanessa Reynolds (2004), Chris Gibson (2003), Cathy Lee & Tina Rakkit (2002), Laquesha Sanders & Kyle Wingfield (2001), Bronson Lee (2000), Lacy Feldman & Torre Mills (1999).