University of Georgia Magazine Winter 2022

Hot Wheels

Authentically Athens.TM

“It has always been Great to be a Georgia Bulldog, but man what a fun start we had to 2022. I hope that the year has treated you well, and I trust that you are as ready for Football season as we are. Looking forward to seeing you in Athens!

Thank you and Go Dawgs!”

T.J. Callaway (BBA ‘07) UGA Alumni Association Board Member Magill Society Member

BUCK BRUMLOW UGA Golf Team

STETSON BENNETT Quarterback on the 2021 National Championship team

CONTENTS

Are you a difficult person? Find out on p. 21.

UGA to Z

Highlights from across the UGA community.

On the Bulldog Beat

Bulldog Bulletin News for UGA alumni.

Class Notes

See a concert, see the stars, and See Rock City with UGA alumni.

Faculty Focus

Get to know Jung Sun Lee, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences.

Daily forecasts may change, but love for the Georgia Bulldogs certainly doesn’t. Meet our Atlanta alumni meteorologists on p. 28.

16

A Powerful Partnership

The UGA School of Social Work is instrumental in training senior staff at the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.

18

Mysteries of the Mind

Researchers in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences explore why we humans do what we do—and how we can change.

22 Hot Wheels

Put the pedal to the metal with UGA students who race cars they build themselves and gain hands-on engineering experience on campus.

28

Mostly Sunny

frey

peter

ON

THE COVER

Alex Reyes has the intense gaze that can only belong to an auto racer. Reyes, a senior double-majoring in mechanical engineering and German, is one of the leaders of UGA Motorsports as well as one of its main drivers. Georgia Magazine photo editor Peter Frey captured this portrait in October outside the engineering garage, where the team is building their latest car.

Front Yard

while students were away this summer, the iconic Grady Lawn got a makeover. The renovation of the newly named Schnitzer Family Media Lawn expanded on the existing space, which has long been a place for students to study, relax, and attend adored college events like Dawgs with the Dean and the Grady Homecoming Tailgate.

andrew davis tucker

winter 2022

VOLUME 102

ISSUE NO. 1

georgia magazine

Editor · Eric Rangus MA ’94

Associate Editor · Aaron Hale MA ’16

Writers · Leigh Beeson MA ’17 and Jayne Roberts

Art Director · Jackie Baxter Roberts

Advertising Director · Kipp Mullis ABJ ’93

Photo Editor · Peter Frey BFA ’94

UGA Photographers · Andrew Davis Tucker, Dorothy Kozlowski BLA ’06, ABJ ’10, and Chamberlain Smith ABJ ’18

Contributing Writers · Elizabeth Elmore BBA ’08, ABJ ’08, Heather Skylar, Cole Sosebee BSA ’19, Clarke Schwabe ABJ ’08, Alexandra Shimalla MA’19, and Danielle Bezila

Contributing Designers · Amanda Qubty BFA ’12, and Amy Gunby BFA ’20

Editorial Interns · Ireland Hayes, Rachel Cooper, and Navya Shukla

marketing & communications

Vice President · Kathy Pharr ABJ ’87, MPA ’05, EdD ’11

Associate Vice President Greg Trevor

Senior Director for Integrated

Media Communications Rod Guajardo

Senior Executive Director for Operations & Fiscal Affairs · Fran Burke

administration

President · Jere W. Morehead JD ’80

Senior VP for Academic Affairs & Provost · S. Jack Hu

VP for Finance & Administration · Ryan Nesbit MBA ’91

VP for Development & Alumni Relations · Kelly Kerner

VP for Instruction · Marisa Anne Pagnattaro PhD ’98

VP for Research · Karen J. L. Burg

VP for Public Service & Outreach · Jennifer Frum PhD ’09

VP for Student Affairs · Victor Wilson BSW ’82, MEd ’87

Interim VP for Government Relations · J. Griffin Doyle AB ’76, JD ’79

VP for Information Technology · Timothy M. Chester

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Submit Class Notes or story ideas to gmeditor@uga.edu

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UGA on Georgia’s Coast

Strengthening the state through our sea-grant mission

Georgia’s coast is one of our state’s most valuable resources, supporting an abundance of wildlife and contributing billions of dollars to our economy through deepwater ports, manufacturing, tourism, and other industries. UGA is part of a sea-grant network of federal-university partnerships designed to help us better understand, conserve, and utilize America’s coastal resources. UGA engages in research, education, and outreach in several locations along the coast to fulfill our important sea-grant mission.

Skidaway Island is home to UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, where faculty and staff use research and expertise to help communities increase coastal resilience, bolster commercial fishing and oyster farming, and address other local issues. Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant earned a University Economic Development Association Award of Excellence for helping Georgia communities reduce their risk of flooding and subsequently qualify for lower flood insurance rates.

The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, home to the research vessel Savannah and other vessels for research and education, enables scientists to study ways to improve hurricane forecasting, mitigate beach erosion, and tackle other challenges. In addition, UGA’s Marine Education Center and Aquarium offers programs that provide interactive ways for visitors and K-12 students and teachers to learn about marine science.

Nearby on the Isle of Hope, faculty, students, and community members have unparalleled opportunities for multidisciplinary research and education at the UGA Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe. Thanks to generous donors, including the Wormsloe Foundation, a new Experiential Learning Center will open in early 2023 to add to UGA’s offerings at this ecologically and historically significant site.

Down the coast on Sapelo Island, UGA’s Marine Institute annually hosts more than 4,000 students and researchers in ecology, anthropology, and other fields. The Marine Institute also serves as the home base for the National Science Foundation-funded Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research project, which is helping us understand the impact of humans and environmental change on the coast.

Through these and many other efforts, UGA’s sea-grant mission is helping to ensure the vitality of Georgia’s coast—and our coastal communities—today and well into the future.

Jere W. Morehead President

“Through these and many other efforts, UGA’s sea-grant mission is helping to ensure the vitality of Georgia’s coast— and our coastal communities—today and well into the future.”

UGA Z to

Highlights from across the UGA community

CERTIFIED GENIUS

UGA Professor Earns MacArthur Grant

Jenna Jambeck, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering, was named a 2022 MacArthur Fellow in October for her work investigating the scale of plastic pollution and galvanizing efforts to address plastic waste.

Commonly known as “Genius Grants,” the fellowship presented by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is among the most prestigious in the country. The honor recognizes individuals

who’ve demonstrated exceptional originality and dedication in work that benefits society. Fellows are nominated by a select pool of experts and leaders in the arts, sciences, humanities, and other areas.

Jambeck is the second UGA faculty member to receive the award. Her seminal 2015 study published in Science provided the first estimate of how much plastic waste enters the ocean each year: a staggering 8 million metric tons at the time.

She has also developed software and community programs that equip individuals and municipalities to tackle the problem of plastic waste at the local level.

“To have my work spontaneously recognized by my peers is incredibly meaningful, and the fact that this fellowship recognizes creativity is one of the best parts,” Jambeck says. “I think my creativity has served as a source of strength and perseverance throughout my career.”

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

UGA Earns Ninth Consecutive Honor

The University of Georgia’s commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence has earned national recognition for the ninth consecutive year.

INSIGHT Into Diversity’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award is the only national honor recognizing colleges and universities that demonstrate significant efforts and success in diversity and inclusion. UGA has earned this national honor every year since 2014.

“Diversity and inclusion is really about having a broader mindset,” says Michelle Cook, senior vice provost and co-chair of the committee that developed the Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Plan.

“For example, this approach can help us more critically think about and address the needs of rural students or first-generation students. Likewise, when our faculty work in communities across the state, we can do a better job because we’ve educated ourselves on the different dynamics in those communities.”

DAWGS ON TOP

UGA Team Wins Capital One College Bowl

The University of Georgia is adding a new trophy to its case.

On Friday, Oct. 28, seniors Aidan Leahy, Elijah Odunade, and Layla Parsa clinched a victory in the Capital One College Bowl, a multiweek trivia competition broadcast on NBC and hosted by Peyton Manning and Cooper Manning. They will each receive $125,000 in scholarship winnings for their success.

It was their confidence and quick reflexes that led the trio through the 16-team tournament, besting opponents that ranged from the University of Florida (a first-round smack down) to the reigning College Bowl champion, Columbia University (who fell in the final).

While the team embraced their strategy to win, they also enjoyed the camaraderie on set.

“It was a really positive environment. Everyone was there to support each other,” says Leahy, the team captain.

Another significant benefit of the College Bowl victory was the scholarship winnings, which the UGA competitors say will help create a base for their future education and career success.

“I want to go to graduate school, and that can sometimes be an expensive endeavor. This scholarship money opened a door,” Odunade says.

LEGACY OF SERVICE

UGA Names New Dean of Morehead Honors College

Margaret A. “Meg” Amstutz (left), an experienced higher education administrator known for guiding significant initiatives at UGA, is now dean of the Jere W. Morehead Honors College. Amstutz, who had served as interim dean of the Honors College, was previously associate provost for academic programs and chief of staff in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at UGA. Since 2019, Amstutz has served as UGA’s accreditation liaison to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, overseeing the university’s ongoing reaccreditation process and ensuring compliance with accreditation requirements. Amstutz also served as interim president of the College of Coastal Georgia and chief of staff in UGA’s Office of the President.

As dean of the Morehead Honors College, Amstutz oversees the operations of the university’s newest college as well as the campus-wide Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities and the Foundation Fellowship, the university’s top academic scholarship.

“Having witnessed the impact this college and its students have on the entire university, I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends to strengthen its legacy of scholarship and service,” Amstutz says.

andrew davis tucker

UGA Saxophone Quartet Takes Gold in a National Competition

Students in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music Saxophone Studio have been busy, and their hard work recently earned them national recognition.

The saxophone quartet Mixed Media won the gold medal in the senior wind division of the 49th annual Fischoff Competition, held at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, earlier this year.

Established in 1973, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association sponsors the world’s largest chamber music competition, drawing applications from hundreds of ensembles worldwide. Groups are invited to the competition after submitting a preliminary recording.

The quartet’s members are Michael Chapa on soprano saxophone, Julien Berger on alto, Lindsey Welp on tenor, and Grace Gelpi MM ’22 on baritone. They have been playing together for less than a year and believe their friendships and shared discipline helped fuel their early success, not to mention the six to eight hours of rehearsal per week.

As gold medalists, the quartet won a cash prize and went on the Winner’s Double Gold Tour in September.

Georgia Museum of Art

Sept. 3, 2022, through June 18, 2023

GMOA Receives Five Paintings in Support of American Art

The Georgia Museum of Art is borrowing five oil paintings for four years from the Terra Foundation for American Art. Terra is one of the leading foundations supporting American art. It owns more than 750 paintings, which it loans for the expansion of scholarship on and appreciation of American art.

The paintings on loan are by noted American artists John Singleton Copley, John F. Peto, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Charles Sheeler, and Joseph Stella. Four out of five are on display in the museum’s permanent collection galleries, with the fifth to arrive in 2023. The Terra Foundation also provided a grant for $25,000 each year of the loan to fund exhibitions, such as one on Tanner, who was a mentor to generations of Black artists in the years surrounding the tur n of the 20th century.

A GEORGIA GREAT The Storied Life and Career of a UGA Sports Icon

Charley Trippi BSEd ’51, regarded by many as the greatest all-around athlete ever to play football for the University of Georgia, died on Oct. 19 at his home in Athens. He was 100 years old.

Trippi is a member of the National College Football Hall of Fame and the National Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of UGA’s Circle of Honor and one of only four Georgia players to have his jersey retired. Trippi died just days before another iconic bulldog, Vince Dooley. They were remembered at UGA’s game vs. Tennessee on Nov. 5.

During his storied collegiate career, the legendary halfback helped the Bulldogs finish the 1941 and 1946 seasons undefeated, with SEC championship wins both years, and he led the team to the 1942 National College Football Championship, the first national title for the Bulldogs.

During World War II, Trippi’s collegiate career was interrupted as he served in the Air Force for two years before returning to UGA and rejoining the team.

After college, Trippi signed with the Chicago Cardinals and led them to NFL championship in his rookie season. He scored twice in the championship game and went on to play with the Cardinals for nine seasons.

“In Dialogue: Henry Ossawa Tanner, Mentor and Muse”

ART PARTNERS

henry ossawa tanner “les invalides, paris,” 1896, oil on canvas.

The saxophone quintet Mixed Media (from left to right) Michael Chapa, Lindsey Welp, Julien Berger, and Grace Gelpi won the gold medal at the prestigious Fischoff Competition earlier this year. The Fischoff is the world’s largest chamber music competition.

DOGGONE GOOD PARTNERSHIP

New Animal Shelter Medicine Program Established

In 2020, the Athens Area Humane Society had plans to grow, including building a new facility. Construction began just as the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine was exploring options to establish a shelter medicine program.

It was the perfect opportunity for a partnership.

The Humane Society’s new 15,000-square-foot surgical suite opened in September 2021, and it allows staff to perform more than 500 surgeries a month, provide pet food for families who struggle to cover its cost, and care for more animals while also opening doors for UGA vet students to get more hands-on experience.

This summer, Staci Cannon BS ’06, DVM ’10 returned to Athens to serve as the college’s first faculty shelter medicine specialist, solidifying UGA’s partnership with the local humane society.

Cannon is based at the Humane Society, where she uses her background in shelter medicine and public health to support community outreach initiatives. She also teaches fourth-year UGA veterinary students completing clinical rotations at the humane society.

“There is a shortage of veterinarians engaged in shelters,” Cannon says. “Through this program we are taking a higher-level view. We want to equip the next generation of veterinarians to help shelters and care for animals in all areas of our communities.”

Terry Namesake Leaves Lasting Legacy

Mary Virginia Terry, namesake of the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business at UGA, died on Oct. 29 in Jacksonville, Florida.

UGA’s business school was officially named for the Terrys in 1991 in recognition of the couple’s generous support of faculty and academic programs that facilitated the college’s mission of educational excellence.

Following her husband’s death in 1998, Terry continued to support the university and its students through gifts toward faculty endowments, medical research, and scholarship funds. She also served UGA in many capacities, including as the honorary chair of the Building Terry Campaign, which raised $121 million, and as a supporter of the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program and The Mary Virginia Terry Student Support Fund.

The university recognized Terry’s services through numerous awards. She received the Blue Key Service Award, the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award, the Regents’ Hall of Fame Alumni and Distinguished Friends Award, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, the highest recognition the university can bestow.

Diverse Landscapes at the Heart of Bee Conservation

New UGA research examined the effect of human development on bee populations. It yielded surprising results.

The study found that mixed land use, such as developments interspersed with forest patches, may actually improve bee diversity and lead to new solutions for bee conservation.

Led by Kris Braman, a professor of entomology, the team of researchers found that small amounts of development had a positive impact on the number of bee species in the study area.

More than 110 bee species were found across a variety of properties around Athens, representing around 20% of known species in Georgia and demonstrating the immense bee diversity hosted by the Classic City.

The results revealed the importance of forest remnants, which are small pieces of forest left in otherwise developed areas, once again reinforcing the benefits of blended landscapes for increasing bee diversity.

BUSY BEES

A new partnership between the Athens Area Humane Society and the College of Veterinary Medicine could lead to more specialized care for pups like this.

dorothy kozlowski

peter frey

chad osburn

Researchers Discover Potential Treatment for Parasitic Disease

UGA researchers have developed a new drug to treat Chagas disease, a potentially debilitating condition that affects tens of millions of people. The discovery marks the first medication in more than 50 years with promise to successfully and safely target the parasitic infection.

Human clinical trials of the drug, an antiparasitic compound known as AN15368, will hopefully begin in the next few years. The drug works by targeting the parasite that causes the disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, also known as T. cruzi

“I’m very optimistic,” says Rick Tarleton (right), corresponding author of the study and a UGA Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “I think it has a really strong chance of being a real solution, not just a stand-in for something that works better than the drugs we currently have.”

Nearly all people infected with the parasite experience flulike symptoms, such as fever, headaches, and vomiting. But for 30% to 40% of patients, the infection can result in severe heart damage that can be life-threatening.

T. cruzi is carried by blood-sucking insects known as kissing bugs. The insects can be found throughout North, Central, and South America, particularly in low-income areas where housing isn’t ideal.

In homes with thatched roofs, mud walls, or inadequate protection from the elements, kissing bugs thrive, making infection more likely. The disease also poses a significant threat to outdoor pets in the U.S., particularly working dogs and other animals that spend extended periods outdoors.

DISEASE FORECASTING Researchers Developing Tools to Predict Next Pandemic

What if public health officials had a way to forecast pandemics the way meteorologists forecast the weather?

HONEST ABE

Women’s Hoops Coach Offers Wisdom, Encouragement

Before her upcoming first season on the bench, former Bulldogs women’s basketball player and new head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson (right) has been reacquainting herself with campus. One of her first stops was the second annual College of Public Health Alumni Board Retreat.

Abrahamson-Henderson energized and motivated board members, saying that she works hard to help her players learn good communication skills so they can have a conversation with anyone.

“Sometimes it’s exhausting to work really hard all the time,” AbrahamsonHenderson says. “But you’re going to have great teammates, and you’re going to have good energy.”

Abrahamson-Henderson (affectionately known as “Coach Abe”) played at Georgia from 1986 through 1988, and she brings a career coaching record of 370-156 to Athens. In 17 years at Missouri State, Albany, and Central Florida, Abrahamson-Henderson took her teams to the NCAA tournament 11 times, advancing to the second round twice.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists with the University of Georgia Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to find a way to do exactly that. The researchers, led by Regents’ Professor John Drake of the Odum School of Ecology, will use the grant to build systems for infectious disease intelligence that could predict—and ultimately help prevent—future pandemics like COVID-19.

The goal is to enable public health authorities and other decision-makers to understand in real time where and how spillover (when a disease jumps from wildlife or livestock to humans) may occur, how an outbreak spreads, and how to encourage different groups of people to adopt behaviors to keep them and their communities safe.

The team, which includes several faculty members from UGA as well as researchers from the University of Michigan and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, has 18 months to show how their technological innovations can help global industries, governments, nonprofits, and societies handle the next infectious disease spillover event or outbreak.

The parasite that causes Chagas disease is carried by kissing bugs like this one. A new drug developed by UGA researchers could potentially treat Chagas disease.

That's a big fish! And an important one too. Graduate students Savannah Perry and Matt Phillips hold an adult lake sturgeon they collected in the Coosa River.

After this photo was taken, they released the fish.

RE-STURGENCE

Native Fish Making a Comeback

Researchers studying lake sturgeon in Northwest Georgia’s Coosa River have found evidence that the fish, which first appeared in the fossil record 136 million years ago, may be reproducing in the river for the first time since disappearing in the 1970s.

In 2002, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources began a project to return lake sturgeon to the river. Working with wildlife officials in Wisconsin, home to a population of lake sturgeon similar to what was found in Georgia, DNR officials collected lake sturgeon eggs and brought them south. They incubated and hatched the eggs, and then released the fish into the river.

This summer, a team of graduate students from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, led by associate professor Marty Hamel, launched a project to help scientists understand more about the sturgeon population. The UGA team spent time catching lake sturgeon and implanting them with radio telemetry tags to track the fish and get estimates of their survival, population size, and growth rates. In the process, the team made an important discovery: There were mature female sturgeons in the Coosa River for the first time since reintroduction 20 years ago.

With this discovery, signs point to a more positive future for Northwest Georgia’s lake sturgeon population.

Online Platform Helps Vets Support Each Other

Veterans are passionate about helping other veterans; however, these same veterans don’t always feel comfortable seeking help themselves.

That’s according to UGA psychology researcher Brian Bauer.

Bauer was recently awarded $250,000 by Mission Daybreak to develop an online platform that will enable vets to help each other.

Formerly known as the Suicide Prevention Grand Challenge, Mission Daybreak is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ 10-year strategy to end veteran suicide through a comprehensive, public health approach.

“If we’re only focusing on people who were going through a crisis and are currently at high risk, we’re going to lose the battle of suicide prevention,” says Bauer, an assistant professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “We also need to focus on assisting veterans and their family members build better lives to help prevent people from reaching high risk.”

Bauer’s Continued Service Network features two components: a website that analyzes user interactions and information to offer personalized treatment recommendations, and a smartphone app that collects passive data to detect when a veteran might need help, to recommend problem-solving skills, or to connect the user with another person or chat bot if they need more support.

HELLO FROM THE EDITOR

What Year is It?

Happy 2023!

We hope you will enjoy reading the Winter 2022 issue of Georgia Magazine!

No, really.

Let me explain.

andrewdavis

Many publications have experienced delays, and Georgia Magazine is no exception. Supply chain issues followed by printing bottlenecks have slowed things down for readers of university magazines everywhere, and for that, we apologize.

Normally our Fall issue comes out in September, but when that was pushed back to December, we decided to move this issue to early 2023 but keep the Winter 2022 designation. That way there is no duplication when our Winter 2023 issue comes around later this year. On time, we hope.

One thing is for sure, you aren’t missing any of Georgia Magazine ’s award-winning content. As an alternative, all of our stories can be found online at news.uga.edu/georgia-magazine.

Go Dawgs and thanks for reading! No matter what year it is.

—Eric Rangus MA ’94 | Georgia Magazine

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Honoring the Past, Building the Future

Renovation of one of UGA’s oldest buildings will honor the legacy of its namesakes

OOn Jan. 9, 1961, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter walked past the Arch and entered the University of Georgia Academic Building to register for classes. It was a walk taken by countless UGA students, but this one required a federal legal battle and brought protesters and national media to campus as Holmes and Hunter sought to become UGA’s first African American students.

They would face more obstacles during their time as undergraduates, but when they left the Academic Building that day, they had achieved an important goal. In 2011, exactly 40 years later, the scope of their achievement was made clear when that same building received a new name— two names, to be exact: the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building. Today, the facility is undergoing a comprehensive renovation.

“This building, located beside our iconic Arch, honors two individuals who changed our institution for the better and left monumental legacies,” says UGA President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80. “The work that happens in the Holmes-Hunter Building— which will be tremendously improved by

this project—and everything the HolmesHunter Building stands for are central to this university.”

A Historic Renovation

The estimated $30 million project was approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in November 2021. The extensive renovation of the building will include a restoration of its original 1906 courtyard as a space that pays tribute to Holmes BS ’63 and Hunter ABJ ’63 (now Hunter-Gault).

“Our family is excited to see the HolmesHunter Building be renovated and continue to be an important gathering place,” says Hamilton Holmes Jr. BBA ’90. “Charlayne and my father provided an opportunity for all students to learn and achieve at UGA. They will always be remembered not only for their steadfastness in being trailblazers, but for their numerous contributions to the university, which still continue today.”

“The Holmes-Hunter Building is not only getting older, but getting better, thanks to leadership at the University of Georgia that has continued to work on making it the place Hamilton and I hoped it would become once

we walked into that building for the first time,” says Hunter-Gault.

The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation pledged $15 million in support, matching the state funding for the project. Other donors, including Georgia Power Company and the Correll Family Foundation, are supporting the project by creating endowments for the units that will occupy the renovated building.

“My wife and I saw this as an opportunity to honor two legendary individuals and invest in continued transformation at UGA,” says UGA Foundation Trustee Michael Patrick BBA ’03, who works in marketing at Chickfil-A and was the first individual to donate to the project. “We’re thrilled to watch this project take shape. The building will set an inspiring tone for future generations of students as they pass through the Arch. We’re honored to support our alma mater in this historic endeavor.”

Over the coming months, the university plans to unveil further avenues for support that will allow individuals to give at any level and become part of the historic building’s next era.

Ivy Building opens

Central courtyard is filled in to increase building space

Ivy and Library buildings are connected to create the Academic Building

A Historic Building

The origin of the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building can be traced to the first half of the 19th century. Ivy Hall was constructed in 1831 as a two-story classroom and library building. Nearly 30 years later, UGA’s first dedicated library opened just a short distance away. In 1905, the two buildings were joined, resulting in the three-story structure with Corinthian columns that we are familiar with today.

In the roughly 120 years since, numerous renovations of varying scopes reshaped the building again and again. Many times, these changes were made on an as-needed basis, which ultimately created a confusing layout within the building and limited the efficient utilization of space. The current renovation project reshapes the interior of the building once again—this time with an eye for optimizing every square foot of space.

Demolition work is scheduled to start in January 2023 with full construction beginning in May. The building will reopen for the 2024 fall semester.

The Holmes-Hunter Building is one of the few buildings at UGA with offices that every student accesses. It houses Student Financial Aid, Institutional Diversity, and the Registrar, as well as the African Studies Institute and Institute of African American Studies.

Physical upgrades to the building will be extensive, including:

• Redesigned layouts that allow for consistent, intuitive pathfinding.

• Rooms equipped for modern technological requirements.

• Updated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.

• An elevator and new stairs for increased accessibility.

• Two benches that recognize Holmes and Hunter-Gault created by noted artist and Athens native Harold Rittenberry Jr. (left).

• Reintroduction and revitalization of some of the building’s most distinctive historical features, such as the original cast-iron support beams, a classroom from the 1905 design, and the interior courtyard.

Academic Building is renamed as Holmes-Hunter Academic Building

Renovation project begins

Renovated Holmes-Hunter Building will reopen

A Powerful Partnership

Thanks to a grant from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, 15 Division of Family and Children Services managers will earn their master’s degrees in social work from UGA.

by alexandra shimalla ma ’19

From July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, 15,834 families benefited from assistance from the state of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

The future and safety of these vulnerable Georgians—both children and adults—often depend upon the service workers assigned to their cases. While expertise is at a premium, it is no longer a requirement for management at DFCS to have graduate degrees or advanced education. However, with dozens of cases rolling in per month, it can seem impossible for DFCS employees to even consider returning to school for an advanced degree in social work.

“I have a deep love for child welfare and always wanted to get my Master of Social Work,” says Kenya Wooden MSW ’21, now a Newton County director. “Finding the time was difficult. Having self-doubt in my ability to manage a demanding job, family, and school was unnerving.”

Thanks to a four-year, $650,000 grant from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, UGA’s School of

Social Work helped Wooden and five other DFCS leaders in the state earn advanced degrees. Nine more will graduate in the next two years.

“It was a huge blessing to focus on my own development,” she says.

Working closely with Georgia State University and Albany State University, the School of Social Work is changing workforce development in Georgia’s DFCS. This four-year grant has provided department leaders with the funding to further their education, share their knowledge with those they supervise, and better care for Georgia families.

From the Classroom to the Cases

“I coach and mentor supervisors and case managers,” says Jane Yang MSW ’21, (right) permanency field program specialist. “Being able to relate what I learned at UGA to child welfare has helped my supervisors and case managers in their engagement with families.” Yang serves in 12 counties as a policy expert, consulting

on difficult cases, such as those involving child abuse or barriers to foster care.

The degree itself has far-reaching impacts for DFCS offices. Students are given the space to level up their on-the-job knowledge and training by enhancing their ability to establish relationships with people, identify and assess needs and services, and navigate hard conversations.

Wooden gained an understanding of the kinds of experiences that shape the families served by social workers. “The families we work with have all experienced trauma, and the program broadened my understanding so I can better serve families. It gave me a fresh outlook.”

As part of the grant, students completed a cultural competency assessment. For instance, if a DFCS employee is working with a military family or within the

immigrant community, this opportunity allowed them to tune into potential subconscious biases and gain a greater understanding of what unique situations and lived experiences others have had. “It was an opportunity for students to do some self-reflection and exploration on how their identities might impact their work in multiple cultural contexts,” explains Allison Dunnigan, assistant professor in the School of Social Work.

For Tasha Head BSW ’09, MSW ’21, social services supervisor for the family preservation unit and foster care in Barrow County, the grant and opportunity to go back to school allowed her to consider the “macro” perspective of social work by looking at the “micro” perspective from different lenses. Head explains that students were able to “look at the bigger picture and offer better resources for reunification and case closure.”

Wooden even started a book club within her office, using the books she read in class. “My staff was able to grow alongside me.”

Each student in the master’s program has to complete an internship, but for grant participants in particular, this time provided an opportunity to address an issue they’ve noticed for years but didn’t have the time or resources to devote to solving. Head used her internship time to work closely with her department’s providers such as

counselors and school partners, ensuring everyone was “on the same page.”

“I believe we are seeing more success and movement with our cases,” she says. “This also makes sure that services involved with families are working and effective.”

Pre-pandemic, another student had the idea of looking at the issue of hoteling within the industry, where foster kids are placed in hotels with DFCS staff, rather than homes, due to a lack of available families. Although the project shifted as a result of the pandemic, they were able to address an equally important need: designing protocols for virtual visits.

Building a Nationwide Network

Dunnigan joined UGA’s faculty after spending five years serving as a court representative for foster care cases in the St. Louis family court system.

In addition to teaching, Dunnigan is the director for UGA’s Title IV-E program. It’s a stipend program where students’ tuition and fees for the Master of Social Work degree are covered in exchange for working for DFCS for the same length of time after graduation. It’s aimed at strengthening the workforce that supports the welfare

of children and their families. It’s through this program that Dunnigan learned of the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute’s grant. Usually, the institute helps universities build or expand on their existing IV-E programs, but since UGA already had a robust program, the funding allowed Dunnigan and her colleagues at Georgia State and Albany State to become one of the institute’s seven Workforce Excellence sites by expanding the Title IV-E programs at each institution.

As for DFCS, the agency gained betterprepared employees at the leadership level and received an in-depth assessment at the start of the grant. After interviews, focus groups, and a survey that received an 80% response rate, strengths and weaknesses were revealed, such as worker safety, workload, peer and supervisor relationships, growth opportunities, and retention. Dunnigan continues to meet monthly with her partners at DFCS to help the agency address issues the assessment highlighted.

Several institutions from both inside and outside of Georgia have even approached Dunnigan about learning from her and her colleagues’ Title IV-E programs.

“It is my goal for us to have MSWs in every DFCS county office,” says Dunnigan. “Every office that has another MSW as a resource, as someone in a supervisory position, can address issues with their knowledge—then all of those families served by that office are impacted. For students at the state office, they are applying their knowledge to the training and quality assurance efforts that impact the entire state. As we continue to grow and expand, we’re going to see a more wellinformed, more skilled workforce that’s better able to respond to the needs of the families it serves.”

Allison Dunnigan, assistant professor of social work, shown here with graduate students Hannah Armstrong and Kasandra Dodd, is the principal investigator in the School of Social Work’s partnership with the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute.

scientific study of the human mind and behavior

Mysteries of the Mind

by leigh beeson ma ’17

Researchers in the Franklin

One of the most popular majors at the University of Georgia, psychology offers students a broad, science-based education that can be useful in various fields. And it’s just really cool.

From learning about personality disorders like narcissism to how people set and achieve goals to how we form meaningful connections with others, UGA psychology researchers are conducting work that isn’t just fascinating. It’s useful.

College of Arts and Sciences explore why humans do what we do—and how we can change.

The Greatest Disorder Ever

Keith Campbell professor of psychology

The textbook definition of a narcissist is someone obsessed with themselves.

They’re not just GREAT. They’re the best [fill-in-the-blank] that ever existed. Everything they do is ART.

But decades ago, people barely knew the word narcissist, let alone what traits make one, says Keith Campbell, a narcissism expert and a professor in UGA’s behavioral and brain sciences program.

Now, narcissism is probably one of the most talked-about personality disorders.

Most of the time, when people talk about how narcissistic someone is, they’re thinking of what is actually a normal personality trait.

Just about everyone has some narcissistic tendencies, and that’s not a bad thing, Campbell says. Confidence can help you get the job or lead your team to victory, after all.

But when it reaches a point of clinical significance, narcissism takes on a different meaning.

People with grandiose narcissistic personality disorder have such an inflated sense of self-worth that it makes them incapable of forming healthy relationships. They lack empathy. They need constant praise. And they can lash out when criticized.

“You could be really good at becoming a leader because of your narcissism, but you may be too self-centered and a little corrupt,” Campbell explains. “And that might destroy or kind of impede your ability to be a leader over time. Or you could be really good at starting relationships, but to transition from a dating relationship to a more emotionally committed marriage, you’re not going to be so good at that.”

So can you “fix” a narcissist? Maybe.

Like those with antagonistic personality disorder, the verdict is out on how many narcissists actually WANT to change.

They are perfect specimens, after all.

#Goals

Michelle vanDellen associate professor of social psychology

As the New Year rolls around, Michelle vanDellen will be waiting for it—the whole “New Year, New Me” phenomenon when people decide they’ll actually make a change. They’ll eat organic foods, exercise more, and do so regularly.

And one by one, those proclamations will crumple like so many discarded $1.99 party hats.

As a researcher who specializes in goals and how people’s thoughts and motivations influence those goals, vanDellen finds it interesting that people focus on these signposts of a supposedly healthy lifestyle.

“I always say goals are often things that people don’t necessarily know they have,” she says. “Goals to be a supportive relationship partner, goals to think positively about themselves, goals to feel accomplished—people don’t really think about those.”

The way people think shapes the goals they pursue, and the goals they pursue often shape the way people think, vanDellen says.

People wanting to eat in moderation, for instance, are more likely to be biased as to what moderation means when it comes to the foods they like.

Take vanDellen. She’s an avid Diet Coke drinker, so if you asked her how much Diet Coke is a moderate amount to consume, “I’d be like, 'Oh, a liter a day? That’s probably fine,’” she says with a laugh. “But if you ask about regular Coke, I’m like, ‘No. Sugary beverages are bad. You should only maybe have a can a week.’”

It’s all about perspective.

So the next time you’re setting personal objectives, consider both what’s achievable and where your biases may blind you. It just might help you crush your goals.

Left, Keith Campbell, professor of psychology

Right, Michele vanDellen, associate professor of social psychology

dorothy kozlowski

Social “Me”dia

Josh Miller professor and chair of the clinical

program

Josh Miller is both fascinated and horrified by what he sees on social media.

“I was just looking at someone on Twitter today and was like, ‘Holy cow. The narcissism is so unbelievable,’” Miller says.

To even the untrained eye, narcissists seem to abound online.

The Kar-Jenners, for example, are a masterclass in narcissism.

Kim Kardashian posting videos of her asking her children how much they love her. Kylie Jenner asking her boyfriend publicly on Instagram whether he wanted to take her private jet or his. Or her mother’s response when she commented “decisions, decisions” on the same post.

(Miller refrains from making personality disorder diagnoses from afar. But surely if the Kar-Jenners aren’t narcissists, who is? That’s this writer’s take, anyway.)

But it’s not a trait confined to celebrity. Look at your Instagram or Facebook feed, and you’ll likely see at least a handful of gratuitous selfies searching for online validation.

“And I love seeing it because it’s part of my research,” Miller says.

Miller studies personality disorders. He’s particularly interested in those related to antisocial and aggressive behaviors, like psychopathy and narcissism, and the frequently unpleasant behaviors accompanying them. But his research shows that not everyone with these traits thinks they’re wholly bad.

People with an antagonism-based personality disorder, for example, disregard others’ needs. They’re self-centered, callous, and often willing to manipulate others to get what they want. And many of them recognize that their disorder blocks their ability to form lasting, fulfilling relationships.

But when asked if they want to change, they’ll often hedge.

“On the one hand, they’re saying, ‘It hurts my life. My wife wants me to be nicer,’” says the professor of psychology. “‘But on the other hand, this is what makes me good at my job: Nobody pushes me around.’”

psychology

Above, Josh Miller, professor and chair of the clinical psychology program

Right, Richard Slatcher, Gail M. Williamson Distinguished Professor in Psychology

“Relationships are the most important thing in the world. They are what get us up in the morning.”

—richard slatcher, gail m. williamson distinguished professor in psychology

With a Little Help from My Friends

Richard Slatcher

gail m. williamson distinguished professor in psychology

There are a lot of ways to try to be happier in your romantic relationships.

Communicate openly. Say “I love you” more. Learn your partner’s love language. (That last one isn’t particularly scientific, but it’s fun even if there isn’t any clinical significance to the concept.)

But one way to improve your love life you might not have thought about is finding other couple friends—ones that are happy in their relationships, specifically.

Richard Slatcher found that couples with more shared friends were more satisfied in their romantic relationships.

Using a method called Fast Friends, Slatcher and his colleagues introduced couples to one another with fun icebreakers that are scientifically proven to help people form bonds quickly.

“We brought in pairs of couples and had them go through this, and a full third of them actually became friends in real life,” Slatcher says. “I'm not sure I would like to go out with a third of the couples I meet in daily life, so this was pretty effective. We found that immediately after this interaction, couples felt better about their own relationships. They felt closer to their romantic partners.”

While an admirable goal in and of itself, that relationship satisfaction has an added bonus: physical health. In another study, Slatcher showed that the happier people were in their relationships, the better their health tended to be.

“Relationships are the most important thing in the world,” he says. “They are what get us up in the morning. They are the thing that usually bring us the most joy, sometimes the most heartache. They are vitally important, from an evolutionary standpoint, to our survival.”

An online test inspired by University of Georgia research can help you figure that out.

The Difficult Person Test draws from the work of Chelsea Sleep PhD ’21

While at UGA, Sleep and her colleagues uncovered the seven factors most associated with antagonism.

• CALLOUSNESS. “Think of this as someone with a complete lack of concern for someone else and a lack of guilt or remorse for their own actions,” says Sleep, who now works at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

• AGGRESSION. Unsurprisingly, antagonists are rude, hostile, and generally unpleasant to be around.

• MANIPULATION. Antagonists are willing to threaten, bribe, or exploit to get what they want. They’re not afraid of putting others down if it will make themselves look good.

• GRANDIOSITY. “Grandiosity is more than thinking you’re good at something,’” Sleep explains. “It's believing you’re the best, superior to others, or particularly special or unique.”

• DOMINEERING. People with antagonistic personalities dominate not just social conversations but also other people.

• SUSPICIOUSNESS. It’s common for these individuals to think everyone is out to get them. They trust no one.

• RISK-TAKING. Perhaps a more unexpected finding, people with antagonistic personalities search out thrills. They’re relatively carefree and willing to risk a lot just to have a good time.

Though the test is fun—less so for this writer, who scored the designation of a “somewhat difficult person to get along with”—it’s not the end goal for Sleep.

“I’d like for my work to mean something for patients,” Sleep says. “How can we better define and understand personality impairment? How can we use this information to help people make meaningful changes in their lives?”

—Leigh Beeson

HOT WHEELS

written by heather skyler

It’s a Wednesday evening in September, and about 35 University of Georgia students gather in a Driftmier Engineering Center classroom.

They sit in small clusters around computers and schematics, joking and talking quietly—most likely about cars—as they wait for the meeting to begin.

Soon, fifth-year engineering student Alex Reyes steps to the podium and calls the meeting to order. He is director of the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers team at UGA Motorsports. And he is leading the team that’s building a formula car to race in the spring.

The Society of Automotive Engineers, or SAE, is a U. S.-based, globally active association for engineering professionals in various industries. The organization hosts Collegiate Design Series competitions for university students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop, and race a variety of vehicles. These UGA students are just beginning the design portion of a Formula SAE car. In May 2023, they will compete with the finished vehicle at the Michigan International Speedway, about an hour from Detroit.

Reyes is back in the U.S. after spending a year abroad in Germany studying at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as part of UGA’s dual degree in engineering and German, a five-year program resulting in two bachelor’s degrees. Students spend four weeks in intensive language instruction at the Goethe Institut in Bonn and then complete a semester at Karlsruhe, one of Germany's top-ranked technical universities.

Reyes interned with Schaeffler Group, which manufactures parts for companies such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche. He worked in the research division on a prototype electric robot for use in the company’s warehouses.

Students race cars they build themselves and gain handson engineering experience through UGA Motorsports.

Alex Reyes drives UGA Motorsports’ Formula SAE car at a testing event during the 2021 season in Barnesville, Georgia.

But he’s excited to be back in Athens, finishing up his degree and working on building this year’s SAE formula car for competition. One of the reasons he decided to attend UGA was the opportunity to be an integral part of the Motorsports Team, even as a new student.

“There’s a more personal approach here, and I’m able to develop a more personal relationship with the professors,” says Reyes.

STUDENT ORGANIZATION PICKS UP SPEED

UGA Motorsports was founded in 2014 by a group of students who loved cars. Sam Hepburn BSME ’17, who now works for the electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, reached out to associate professor John Mativo, and they officially formed the Society of Automotive Engineers at UGA. They spent the next four years building the student-driven club.

UGA Motorsports has two official divisions: Formula SAE and Endurance Racing. The Formula team builds a small-scale Formula One race car to compete internationally. The endurance team takes preexisting cars and turns them into vehicles that have the durability to race in the ChampCar Endurance series. In an endurance race, teams of multiple drivers cover a large distance in a single event.

The Formula SAE team got a breakthrough in 2018 when students received the necessary support from Don Leo, dean of the College of Engineering, to design and build their first Formula SAE vehicle. In one year, they built a car and competed in a race in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Two new divisions have been added to the club in recent years: a Baja SAE team and an SAE Electric Vehicle team. Designs for a Baja SAE vehicle began in Fall 2020. Baja cars, which look similar to dune buggies, are off-road vehicles that can withstand rough terrain. During the 2021-2022 school year, Matthew Colquitt BSME ’22, who now works for Cessna, led the team to finish the initial designs and

assemble parts for the Baja SAE car. The team was able to build the frame of the Baja car before Colquitt’s graduation in May. Other students are now completing the project and they plan to race the car sometime in 2023.

Colquitt says communication was among the most difficult parts of being a team lead. “It was a challenge leading engineers because they aren’t as communicative as a group of journalism students,” he laughs. “But I think one of the best things about UGA engineers is that they have that skill of talking to people. I know a lot of people in this industry who sometimes prefer a Georgia engineer over another school because they have those communication skills.”

A Formula SAE Electric Vehicle team, which was started in 2021-2022, built a successful powertrain. If all goes well, the Formula EV should be ready to ride in 2025. You don’t have to be an engineering student to be a part of UGA Motorsports, though many of its members are. All are welcome, even students who have never touched an engine before.

“Prior experience and your major don’t really matter,” says Maisi Corbin (left), this year’s UGA Motorsports club president.

“We want to see what your personality is like and how committed you are to being part of a team.”

Corbin says the club has about 70 members this year, and the commitment is significant at five to six hours a week— more when they are getting close to a competition. “This is really like having another class,” she says. In fact, in 2019, the UGA Motorsports club was recognized as an approved experiential learning program, enabling students to fulfill their experiential learning graduation requirement at UGA.

GAINING VALUABLE CAREER EXPERIENCE

That time commitment frequently pays off with career opportunities. Corbin says she has applied for a few internships that require you to be on an SAE team. “Companies really want you to have SAE experience.”

Reyes echoes that sentiment, saying he only got an interview for the internship at Schaeffler Group because of his experience. “Ninety percent of what I did in that internship, I learned from this club,” he says.

Right now, the SAE Formula team is designing the frame and suspension of the 2023 Formula SAE car. “That takes a long time to manufacture, so it has to be done

Several members of the UGA Motorsports design team working on the Formula SAE vehicle for 2023.

Inset: Maisi Corbin is the current president of UGA Motorsports.

peter frey

first. If we all finished at the same time, it wouldn’t work. We have to stagger our deadlines,” Reyes explains.

Phase two involves manufacturing all the controls, such as the steering wheel, seat, and shifting. During phase three, students work on the headers, intake, and final drive. “We use motorcycle engines for this,” says Reyes. “But we make our own transmission, which is the biggest part of this phase.”

They hope to begin testing the finished vehicle in late January. They will race in May at Michigan.

Once it’s all finished, Reyes will have a pretty good start on a resume for his dream job: a trackside engineer for a Formula One team.

Top: Ben Parker works on the rear upright and axle on the 2022 Formula SAE car.

Top inset: Leslie Lewallen draws part of the roll cage during the design phase.

Above: Alex Reyes, Ashton Baraji, and Trace Lurch ready last season’s Formula SAE car for display automotive conference in Atlanta.

Bottom inset: A design of the team’s Baja SAE car.

peter frey

PIT BOSS

written by ireland hayes

In IndyCar racing, successful pit stops can mean the difference between the winner’s circle and the back of the pack.

Multiple times in every race, pit crews change all four of a car’s tires, fill its tank, and make crucial mechanical adjustments in less than seven seconds before sending it back out onto the track.

But Mallorie Muller BSFCS ’08 and the rest of her team at Paretta Autosport have trained for this. Every move is succinct and choreographed, each person completing her job as quickly as possible.

The adrenaline rush you get jumping that wall is addictive, and Muller is hooked.

Muller is a lifelong athlete, but her sport of choice was not always racing. She grew up in Gainesville, Florida, but when it came time to apply to college, she did not want to be too close to home.

“I had always thought of Georgia as a rival that I respected,” Muller says. “When I started applying, Georgia was at the top of my list, and I was excited to be able to get in.”

Muller joined the Bulldogs’ competitive cheerleading squad, and some of her fondest memories from her time at the university are of cheering with the team.

After graduating, she transitioned to competitive CrossFit but eventually wanted to try something new. When she and her then-boyfriend—now husband— moved to North Carolina, a NASCAR hotspot, she decided to give racing a shot.

Muller found a pit school in Mooresville and trained on a stock car team, where she developed a love for racing. She worked on NASCAR teams for about a year but stepped away to open an acupuncture practice with her husband—a discipline she was trained in as well.

But she never closed the door on auto racing. In 2020, she got a call from a former coach about a new IndyCar team putting together a majority-female crew. Muller made the cut and joined the Paretta Autosport crew. With Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro behind the wheel of their car, the team made history in 2021 as the first crew made up primarily of women to compete in the Indianapolis 500.

During the race, Muller set up and broke down the pit box (where the crew works on the car during the race) and lugged heavy supplies, ensuring all ran smoothly so that the mechanics and data analysts could work efficiently.

Muller is a pivotal part of the team’s success. Her athleticism makes it easier for her to get physical tasks done quickly, a valuable asset in a sport that is often decided in seconds.

IndyCar racing is a historically maledominated sport, but Paretta Autosport is climbing the leaderboard. After their 2021 Indy debut, in 2022 De Silvestro and the team competed in four races, finishing in the top 20 in one of them, and bettering their starting position in all.

The team chemistry at Paretta Autosport reminds Muller of her time at UGA.

“Of course, every team wants to win, but there is this kind of camaraderie, family dynamic, where everyone is pretty supportive,” she says. “I feel like that was the case in cheerleading too.”

As a mother, balancing family and racing is still a challenge. But she wants to show other moms that it is possible. And she wants to inspire her daughter and other young women to dream big.

“I feel really proud and empowered being a mom in this sport,” Muller says. “Who can say as a mom that they get to jump in front of a 60 mile-an-hour car on the weekends?”

maria grady

Mallorie Muller reunites with her daughter after Paretta Autosport team competed in the 2021 Indianapolis 500.

Mallorie Muller (fourth from left) and the rest of the Paretta Autosport team competed in the 2021 Indianapolis 500. The crew made history as the first majority female crew to compete in the event.

Mallorie Muller takes the fast track from Athens to the Indy 500.

THE RACING LIFE

written by cole sosebee bsa ’19

EASLEY, SC – FRIDAY, 4:23 P.M.

While other students are getting ready to go out or studying for finals, Hayden Swank only has one thing on his mind as he watches his competitors circle the track at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. His best lap time is 0.3 seconds behind the leader. No matter what his team does, they can’t manage to close that last gap.

Between brainstorming sessions in the trailer and running out to make last-minute changes, Swank is intensely focused on his car.

The skill to navigate a racetrack at top speed is one that Swank has been working on since he was a small child. Members of his race crew say that he has been a sound driver since the age of 7, when he first started racing in quarter-midget cars on local tracks.

As the tires wear down and the light fades, the team calls it quits for the day. After all, they spent all day Wednesday following the exact same motions to dial in every point of contact between the car, the track, and Swank.

Hayden Swank is carving out his spot in stock car racing while also double-majoring in advertising and marketing.

Hayden Swank uses business skills to push boundaries on the racetrack

SATURDAY, 7:16 P.M.

Swank dons his fireproof suit in the trailer as the previous race runs its last laps. His race should start at 7:30, but an old transformer blows on the back half of the track, killing the lights. This means a later start for Swank and more time for strategy.

Swank has spent his entire life preparing for the wave of the start flag. His opponents now are big names with big money backing them—racers like Josh Berry and Chad McCumbee.

“It’s like, man, I asked him for an autograph when I was 12 and came to watch these races,” Swank says. “And we haven’t looked out of place against them. But for me, this isn’t the end goal.”

Swank’s ultimate target is to race in the NASCAR Cup Series, a goal that his team says Swank is always working toward.

While it is tough for Swank to compete against teams with seemingly endless financial backing, this isn’t the only hurdle that Swank has had to overcome in his racing career.

“Nine times out of 10, I'm going to be the only Black driver—not only in my division but in the whole competition,” Swank says. “It’s not uncommon for me to walk into a track and not only be the only mixed driver or the only Black driver, but the only person of color on the premises.”

Swank says that this division puts extra pressure on him as a driver.“I feel like I have an extra responsibility and extra obligation to represent, you know what I mean? I want to put on a good show and prove that I have a place in the sport, and I want to prove to everybody else that anybody can make it.”

Despite the differences and setbacks, Swank remains unfazed as he pulls off a 13th place finish at his third race of the season and on this tour. While not on the podium, this is no small feat considering his starting position amongst 26 other drivers, including several with more years behind the wheel than Swank has been alive.

ATHENS, GA – MONDAY, 8:47 A.M.

Swank is back in Athens, and his focus shifts to college life.

Double-majoring in advertising through the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and marketing through the Terry College of Business, Swank is in his third year at the University of Georgia.

Going to school while managing a racing career is a challenge, but it’s one he’s up to.

“I think being one of the very few drivers pursuing a degree that's very relevant to what we do on a day-to-day basis does give me an

edge,” Swank says. “I take a lot of what I learn in my advertising and marketing classes and apply that to the racing industry, like the pitches I make when I have to approach a company for the funds to keep the team alive and actually go racing.”

So far, he has used his business savvy to acquire sponsorships for this racing season from the General Motors Bring Us Your Talent Initiative, Chevrolet Performance, AC Delco, Overtime, and Epic Insurance. But he also likes to keep those two worlds separate.

“I try not to talk about racing too much or let people know that I race because once I do, I guarantee you that's all I will talk about with them,” Swank says. “I want to have a life outside of racing, and school's the best way to do that.

“But I do get a certain sense of fulfillment when I can get somebody interested in racing that would have had no exposure to racing otherwise. I've gotten my roommates to the point where they can carry on a conversation about racing. And I'm like, ‘OK, I did my job here.’”

chamberlain smith

Being one of the only Black drivers in his circuit puts extra pressure on Swank to perform at the highest level at every race.

Mostly Sunny

written by eric rangus ma ’94

photos by chamberlain smith ab ’18

What’s the weather like today? In Atlanta and across north Georgia, hundreds of thousands of viewers tune in to local news every day to find out. Some of the most trusted weather voices are UGA alumni. Recently, these on-camera meteorologists visited Athens to talk with Georgia Magazine about the weather, why it’s important, why they chose their career, and how UGA helped them get there.

Eric Rangus MA ’94 editor | georgia magazine

The TV industry is a business, and it’s very competitive. But you all get along well. How do you balance that?

Chris Holcomb ABJ ’85 chief meteorologist | 11alive/nbc

David and I have been friends for a long time. We go way back to our Macon days. And we've talked about how we were friends before we were competitors. And there's always that line of things that we don't talk about, because it is a competitive business. But we're friends first, and, of course, we have this connection with UGA as well. So that brings us together even more.

Ella Dorsey BS ’13 meteorologist

weekday mornings | wanf/cbs

When I interned for WSB 12 years ago, David was there. And I've always looked up to Joanne and Chris. So now just to get to work in the same market as them feels almost unreal. I see them as meteorologists who have really paved the way—especially Joanne—for women in this industry, in top markets, and also in mornings.

David Chandley ABJ ’84 chief meteorologist | fox5

Even as an intern with little experience, Ella was very comfortable in front of the camera. I recall she was passionate about the weather and eager to start her career.

weekday mornings | fox5

Yes, we do a brutal shift in the mornings. Both of us. But back to that idea of friends versus competitors. When I was in college here, I remember watching David and Chris before I even made the decision that this is what I wanted to do. You feel like you already know everyone in this community before you even have to think about looking at them as being part of the competition.

GM: Joanne, when did you realize that this is what you wanted to do?

Feldman: My path at UGA was actually very winding. I came in as a theater major and eventually switched over to journalism. Somewhere along the way, I kind of stumbled into Weather and Climate 101. Something clicked, and I loved it. And I realized that I had always had an interest in weather. It just never dawned on me that it was something I would want to do for a living.

Dorsey: It has a lot to do with the professors here. Dr. [Tom] Mote, Dr. [Marshall] Shepherd, Dr. [John] Knox. Just fantastic teachers. Dr. Shepherd continues to be a huge source of guidance and an inspiration to this day. I looked forward to going to classes like synoptic meteorology and mesoscale meteorology. I'd sit in the front row, read everything, and have a million questions.

Holcomb: When I was in sixth grade, my teacher challenged us to dream about what we wanted to do when we grew up. And I knew that I wanted to be involved somehow in TV news. I came to Georgia for the journalism school thinking I was going to be a reporter or an anchor. And I took the Weather and Climate class just to have in my background in case I ever filled in for weather. And then my first job ended up being reporting three days a week and weather on the weekends. And I found myself looking forward to the weekends more.

Joanne Feldman BS ’98 meteorologist

Chandley: I was 10. I told my parents that I wanted to work in television news. The person on the TV had information first, and they were relaying it to people. I thought that was pretty cool. So, I came to UGA to study journalism, thought I was going to be an anchor or sports reporter. And it was [the late] Bill Martin, [who taught Newswriting for Broadcast] in Grady, who took me aside. He said, “Have you ever thought about doing weather?” He said that I had the gift of being able to ad lib.

My first job was at WALB in Albany, and I auditioned for weather. Gil Patrick was the meteorologist there. An old Navy guy who was as crusty as he could be. He sat there and just smoked all the time. But he took me under his wing, and he taught me some basics. I was 22 years old and thought, “This is what I want to do.”

Feldman: I was well into my junior year at UGA when I had that epiphany. Dr. Mote pulled me aside and said I had an aptitude for this. Since we didn’t have a meteorology degree here, my option was to take every weather and climate class the geography department offered, and take every physics and calculus class to try to cobble together something that was as close to a meteorology degree as you could get. Then go to graduate school for meteorology.

And, Ella, by the time your group was coming in, that was when the atmospheric science certificate came along, right?

David Chandley ABJ ’84

Chief Meteorologist, WAGA/FOX 5 Atlanta

Weeknights: 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m., 11 p.m.

Major: Broadcast Journalism

• Served as a student trainer for the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs national championship team.

• Previously worked in Albany, Macon, Columbus, and for more than 25 years at WSB/ABC in Atlanta. Joined FOX 5 as chief meteorologist in 2015.

“When I started this, I couldn't believe somebody was actually paying me to be on TV. I keep waiting for somebody to say, ‘Excuse me, you need to go. Your time is up.’”

david chandley

Mornings: 4:30 a.m.-11 a.m.

Major: Geography

Dorsey: Right, I have a geography degree with the atmospheric science certificate. I did a lot of studying. And every single day, I use the knowledge that I gained from going to UGA.

Chandley: What we do is certainly a great combination of science and communication. First, we take science, but if we can't tell somebody what we're talking about, then it doesn't do us any good. It comes down to connecting with somebody on the other side of that screen. There are two challenges I see today, 1) getting people to watch when there are so many broadcast choices, and 2) how do you get a viewer to act? That’s my biggest challenge: How do you get somebody to act? When it comes to severe weather, what pushes somebody's button? What words do we need to use? That's something we learn as we work.

Feldman: I think that it took me a long time to transition from feeling like I needed to prove to viewers that I knew what I was talking about, versus just being a good communicator, especially in broadcast meteorology. I would argue, in this day and age, sometimes our ability to communicate the forecast is even more important than our ability to put together the forecast.

GM: What has worked as far as just getting the word out?

Holcomb: People don't really make an appointment anymore at 6 or 11:00 to watch the news. So it's our challenge to be where they are and to use new platforms to reach them.

Dorsey: The biggest challenge for people my age is that they get their forecast from the iPhone app, where they open it up and it says 70% chance of rain. The app is wrong a lot of the time. But like Chris said, people my age are not watching local news. So putting your forecasts on your Instagram or on Facebook Live is crucial.

Feldman: It's about providing the context. It's so easy to open up the phone and see, like you said, 70% chance of rain today and plan accordingly. But does that 70% chance of rain mean it's going to rain for five minutes of your day? We have that context.

I think authenticity plays a huge part in it also. We are in a career where there are people who are simply in it to have their face on television. I think viewers can see right through that. If you are someone that viewers like and trust, they know you're being real

Joanne Feldman BS ’98 Meteorologist, FOX5 Storm Team and Co-Host of Good Day Atlanta at 10 a.m.

• Previously worked in Fresno, California, and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. Joined FOX5 in 2007.

• Voted “Favorite Weathercaster in Atlanta” by the readers of Jezebel Magazine in 2011.

“We are in a career where there are people who are simply in it to have their face on television. I think viewers can see right through that.

If you are someone that viewers like and trust, they know you're being real with them.”

joanne feldman

with them. They will connect with you more. And, hopefully, when that snow is in the forecast, they will come to you for that information.

GM: This was alluded to earlier, but it’s like you all have different jobs. For instance, Joanne and Ella, you work in the mornings. People start their day with you. The first thing people do is turn on the television to see if they need to wear a jacket.

Feldman: Getting to prepare someone for their day is the part I love most about morning news. But from the lifestyle perspective, it isn't natural. My alarm clock goes off at 2:30 in the morning, and I do have a family. The hours are a grind.

It's hard to take care of yourself when you're getting just a few hours of sleep a night. But I love what I do. This is what I signed up for. And with morning news, viewers in a sense are inviting us into their home. They feel like they know us, and we're part of their family.

Dorsey: Since I switched to morning news, more people have come up to me and said, “We watch you every morning, and you have changed my life. You make me happy.”

Meeting people whose lives I get to be a part of every day makes all the sacrifice worth it. And when I'm in those moments where I wake up and I've gotten two hours of sleep, and I just want to cry, and I'm so exhausted, I remember that there are people out there every day who we're impacting in a positive way. Not many people can say they do that.

Chief Meteorologist, WXIA/11 Alive/NBC and WATL Weeknights: 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 11 p.m. on 11 Alive and 10 p.m. on WATL

Major: Broadcast Journalism

• First job was at WMAZ AM/WAYS FM radio in Macon as an afternoon news reporter and then moved to the TV side as a reporter and weather anchor for WMAZ-TV. Joined 11Alive team in 1991.

• Received the John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2019.

GM: Joanne, you’ve expanded your work as co-host of Good Day Atlanta at 10 a.m. Tell me about moving into the entertainment side.

Feldman: I love that hour of my day because it is something different. But after you've talked about the same forecast for five and a half hours, it is refreshing to step into a completely different role. Because Good Day Atlanta at 10 a.m. is more of an entertainment and lifestyle show, it allows viewers to see a different side of me and maybe connect with me more. I hope I can use that connection when I need viewers’ attention in a serious weather situation. On top of that, it's just a lot of fun.

GM: David and Chris, you are both chief meteorologists at your networks. How do you approach that responsibility?

Holcomb: We have to be leaders of our weather department and our weather team. We also need to send reporters to certain areas to cover whether it's snow or storms coming in. Research shows the No. 1 reason people turn to local news is for weather. We are responsible for that and how it's going to be covered.

Chandley: I think it's also our job to kind of set the tone of how we're going to present the forecast. It’s also important to plan the approach to winter weather or other severe weather. The other thing that surprised me—and I can't speak for Chris—is the process of hiring people. Ultimately, it’s the news director and the general manager's decision of who we bring on. But, you know, I had far more input than I thought that I would, and that's kind of neat, right? You try to bring people in that will fit well with what we're trying to do, and I think we've succeeded in that.

Chris Holcomb ABJ ’85

“We have information that can save people's lives.”

chris holcomb

GM: As you all have mentioned, severe weather is when most people will really pay attention to their local meteorologists. How do you handle severe weather and help your viewers get through it?

Holcomb: I think it's adrenaline. Five hours of wall-to-wall coverage, and you just do it. But we have information that can save people’s lives. Our radar technology gives us the ability to zoom in to street level mapping and detect a tornado signature that could be moving through your specific neighborhood. Giving people information that can help them protect their families is what drives us.

Chandley: You go back to the Newnan tornado we had in March 2021. It went through a big metropolitan area. We were on the air the whole time. I know Chris was on the air too. And I think that we saved lives that day.

Holcomb: You normally can’t see a tornado at night. But we had information from the National Weather Service coming in, and they were using words like “catastrophic.” I think there are visual cues, as well as verbal cues. People can tell in our voices when something dangerous is happening.

Feldman: And I think that that's a perpetual challenge in our field. What is the real deal versus something that maybe isn't quite as concerning? Not all weather is created equal. You can’t always use hyperbolic messages.

GM: People clearly are comfortable approaching you and talking about your expertise. How does that feel?

Dorsey: I think people probably connect with meteorologists more than anchors because we're able to show a little bit more personality. We ad lib a little bit more, and it feels a little bit looser. And because not every news story impacts a person at home, but the weather is always doing that. So, they listen a little bit more. It is really flattering.

Chandley: There's not a week goes by that I don't run into somebody that says that I came to their school. I did thousands of those back in the day. I made a connection with a viewer because I went to their fourth-grade class, and they thought enough of it to come up and tell me 40 years later.

Meteorologist, WANF/Atlanta News First, CBS Mornings: 4:30 a.m., 5 a.m., 6 a.m., and 9 a.m.

Major: Geography with a certificate in atmospheric sciences

• As a UGA student, interned at WSB with David Chandley.

• Previously worked in Knoxville, Tennessee. Joined Atlanta News First in 2016.

Ella Dorsey BS ’13

“Every single day, I use the knowledge that I gained from going to UGA.”

ella dorsey

Holcomb: Our car was getting serviced, and the 20-something-year-old guy behind the counter was, like, “You spoke to my school. I know who you are.” And I’m thinking, “Great, this is an adult telling me this.”

GM: What is special about working in Atlanta and north Georgia?

Holcomb: I was born here, and I grew up here. And it was always my dream to work in my hometown. And I knew when I was here at UGA that it might be rare. And I knew that I may have to move around. Luckily, I was able to jump from Macon to here. And then the challenge was, “OK, I've made it to Atlanta. Now I have to stay.” Atlanta is just such an amazing market, and we're now the sixth largest market in the country. And we get to forecast all different kinds of weather.

Feldman: Obviously growing up here, this was my home, and I wanted to come back here and work. But you take that first job wherever you can get it. Mine was in Fresno, California. It's a desert climate, but every now and then I got to forecast a snow storm in the Sierra Nevada or something. But that was about the extent of it. Those first two

years of my career gave me a chance to focus on the broadcasting side of things. Then I went to Raleigh, and, now, “Hey look, there is an opening in Atlanta. I do get to work in my hometown.” I hope that I can do this until I'm ready to retire. Not until somebody else tells me I need to retire.

Chandley: When I started this, I couldn’t believe somebody was actually paying me to be on TV. I keep waiting for somebody to say, “Excuse me, you need to go. Your time is up.” I moved around a lot as a kid, but metro Atlanta was always my family’s home base. And then I started at UGA in 1980. I never left the state. I've worked in Albany, Macon, Columbus, and then Atlanta. I wanted to raise my family here.

I was at Channel 2 for all those years, but I never thought I’d get an opportunity to be a chief meteorologist. I took a leap of faith that that was going to happen, and it did. It turned out wonderfully. It's hard to believe that was eight years ago.

GM: We’ve talked about the academic side of the university, but what are your favorite memories from your days at UGA?

Weather Program

UGA’s degree program in atmospheric sciences is just five years old and growing rapidly.

For years, UGA students with an interest in meteorology had to build a curriculum that touched on the subject but rarely explored it in great depth. That changed in 2000 when the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences established the atmospheric sciences certificate program within the Department of Geography.

That worked for a while, but as the field expanded to include more scientific interest in climate change, so did the desire to study it. In 2017, Franklin College addressed this problem with the launch of an undergraduate degree program in atmospheric science.

It was about time.

“If you think back to your own educational experiences—things like weather, climate, hydrology, oceanography, marine science—we only get little samples of that in our K-12 training,” says Marshall Shepherd (inset), a leading international expert in weather and climate and the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at UGA.

“People are never taught about how our Earth works as a system, and more importantly, because of the low science literacy in general. There are people that take advantage of that by propagating misinformation about things like climate science.”

Students complete a total of 30 course hours in the program headlined by "Introduction to Weather and Climate" and "Weather Analysis and Forecasting." For budding on-camera meteorologists, students have the opportunity to work with a green screen and other broadcast technology.

On the research side, faculty work ranges from the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events to the role of human activity in weather changes.

—navya shukla

Feldman: We had so many life events happen while I was here. I met my husband while I was waiting tables at Red Lobster. And our son was born at St. Mary's Hospital. So, it’s hard to pick just one good memory. Would it sound like I'm boasting if I say when I won Miss University of Georgia?

Dorsey: There are so many different memories that I could talk about. Being in a sorority was a great experience. Going to school with all of the professors we talked about was a great experience. But now that my grandparents aren't here anymore, I think my favorite memory was that they lived 30 minutes down the road in Hoschton.

I was my grandmother's first grandchild to graduate from UGA and graduate with honors. And then also watching my grandma watch me graduate, I think, is something that I hold even higher now that she isn’t here anymore. And just how proud they were to see me.

Grandma watched me on TV every single day. When she learned how to text, she’d message me: “Ella, the right side of your hair's messed up.”

peterfrey

Karissa Chilcote, a third-year double major in atmospheric sciences and geography, delivers a report in front of the green screen in UGA's climatology recording studio.

Inset: UGA professor Marshall Shepherd is an internationally regarded expert in weather and climate.

Channeling the Weather

the remotes, which run the gamut from tropical storms to blizzards to mudslides to beautiful fall days, are what provide the adrenaline rush.

In a sense, The Weather Channel is a local Atlanta station. Its headquarters in Cobb County overlooks the I-285/I-75 interchange. But its scope is global. That’s ideal for viewers who need to know the daily forecast from wherever they happen to be.

The job of explaining the practical implications of the weather—as well as its subtleties—falls to the network’s on-camera meteorologists, who include UGA alumni Alex Wallace ABJ ’04 and Molly McCollum BS ’15.

“A lot of people who watch The Weather Channel want to know what the weather is, of course, but they're also interested in the why,” McCollum says. “And because we have unlimited time to talk about that, we get the chance to dive into the nitty gritty of the science, which is a lot of fun for us.”

McCollum started as a musical theater major at the University of Alabama, but after experiencing the devastating Tuscaloosa tornado of 2011, she turned toward meteorology.

“So many of those skills I learned while I was studying theater are directly transferable to being on camera,” she says.

McCollum transferred to UGA, where she majored in geography and was a member of the last atmospheric sciences certificate class before it became a major. After graduating, she worked in Wichita, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, before landing at WGCL (now WANF) in Atlanta in 2018. She moved to The Weather Channel in 2021.

Wallace, who majored in broadcast journalism at UGA, took a more direct path to The Weather Channel. He interned at the network while pursuing his graduate degree in meteorology from Mississippi State (David Chandley and Chris Holcomb also earned their master’s degrees there). He was hired in 2006 immediately after earning that degree. Wallace worked his way up; he started with delivering local online forecasts. The nonstop, three-hour shifts rubbed his throat raw.

Soon, he graduated to broadcast. He bounced from studio work to show hosting and to remotes. For on-camera meteorologists,

“You kind of want to be in the action but not in the action, if that makes some sense,” Wallace says. “Safety is always number one when you're out there. But it is thrilling.”

What’s also exciting for Wallace and McCollum is the technology available to them. As meteorologists working for a network devoted to weather, expenses are rarely spared when it comes to new technology.

“The Weather Channel is great at pushing creative boundaries,” McCollum says. “We have an immersed reality set where we can take you to different cities and show you what it's going to be like as storms move in. It's especially powerful in hurricane communication, where they have made this great video about what storm surge looks like.”

Wallace and McCollum don’t get to work together very often, but when they do, they make sure to mention UGA on air—with three-hour shifts, there is a lot of space to banter. They both keep their ties to campus strong too. McCollum mentors current atmospheric science students, and Wallace served on the Grady alumni board for several years. In 2012, Wallace received the John E. Drewry Award for Young Alumni Achievement from Grady College.

“You have to love it,” Wallace says about the advice he gives to students who are thinking about getting into the weather business. “I think we've all watched someone on television and you can tell they don't really believe what they're saying.

Do what you like, and it will show. It will pay off at

molly mccollum on interning with joanne feldman at fox5 as a uga student

“It was special to have a UGA grad as a mentor. She has continued to be incredibly supportive of my career, and her help is a big reason I feel so passionate about paying it forward and helping students in UGA’s program now.”

UGA alumni meteorologists Alex Wallace and Molly McCollum are fixtures at The Weather Channel

100 YEARS CELEBRATING HOMECOMING

This fall, the University of Georgia celebrated the 100th anniversary of Homecoming. The week-long celebration included the annual parade through downtown Athens and carnival, as well as a Bulldog victory over Vanderbilt. This year’s homecoming king and queen were crowned at halftime.

Friday featured a special appearance by Amy Robach ABJ ’95, who returned to her alma mater to celebrate UGA Homecoming with a live broadcast by Good Morning America. President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80 declared Oct. 14 "Amy Robach Day" to honor the award-winning journalist’s special visit.

written by ireland hayes

photography by dorothy kozlowski bla ’06 , abj ’10, chamberlain smith abj ’18, and alton standifer p h d ’21

Don’t Miss Out!

2023 bulldog 100

The movers, shakers and entrepreneurs who own or lead the 2023 fastest-growing Bulldog businesses will be back on campus in February to find out who will land at No. 1 on this year’s Bulldog 100 list. Check out who made this year’s list at alumni.uga.edu/b100.

Chapter Spotlight

MILWAUKEE ALUMNI CHAPTER

All Wisconsin residents are invited to participate in Milwaukee Alumni Chapter events

Chapter President:

Takiyah Ball BS ’99, BS ’01, MS ’06

Number of Alumni in the Area: 572

The Milwaukee Chapter hosts many events and programs that are building a strong local Bulldog community in Wisconsin. Events such as trivia with other local alumni organizations, Humane Society drives, wine-tastings, park clean-ups, and gamewatching parties connect Bulldgs who are eager for a taste of Athens in Wisconsin.

NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH

Join the UGA Mentor Program in celebrating National Mentoring Month throughout January. Visit mentor.uga.edu to learn more about how you can change the life of a UGA student by sharing your experiences and insights as they navigate college and career planning.

NOMINATION PERIODS FOR BULLDOG 100, 40 UNDER 40

Nominations for the 2024 Bulldog 100 are open now at alumni.uga.edu/b100 and nominations for the 2023 40 Under 40 open Feb. 1 at alumni.uga.edu/40u40.

Stay in the Know: UGA Alumni Blog + Social

Visit alumni.uga.edu/blog throughout the year for alumni spotlights, spirited content, and news from campus. Into shorter-form pieces? Follow @UGAAlumni on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

New Year, New You

The university is here to support alumni yearround, worldwide, and lifelong—especially when they may be re-entering the workforce, seeking a career change, or simply searching for a new job. The UGA Career Center offers alumni free career development resources at career.uga.edu/alumni, including resume critiques, webinars, a four-module, selfpaced Job Search Bootcamp, and more.

Alumni Trivia

Test your Bulldog knowledge. Answers below—but no peeking!

1. In honor of Valentine’s Day, how many living alumni are named Rose?

A. 83

B. 103

C. 27 D. 117

2. How many alumni serve as chapter leaders around the world?

A. 356

B. 900

C. 275 D. 150

2. There are 356 alumni who volunteer to coordinate events and programs for alumni in 80+ cities around the world. Find your chapter at alumni.uga. edu/chapters.

Answers: 1. A. There are 83 living alumni named Rose; there are 123 alumni whose last name is Rose. |

Drive Like a Dawg Across Georgia

State of Georgia drivers: Snag a UGA specialty license plate to show your Bulldog pride as you hit the road. Every plate purchased or renewed includes a $10 contribution to scholarships for UGA students. Learn more at alumni.uga.edu/license.

Stay Connected!

YEAR-ROUND,

WORLDWIDE, AND LIFELONG.

Check out what's going on for alumni and update your email or mailing address with UGA.

class notes

Compiled by Ireland Hayes and Rachel Cooper

Ready for Takeoff

Edgar L. Helmey waited in the cockpit of the single-engine T-6 for clearance to take off. His feet held firmly to the brakes. His knees, however, were shaking.

It was 1952 on a Lakeland, Florida airstrip.

By this point, Helmey had flown dozens of times without incident in Air Force flight school. This time, though, there was no flight instructor in the back. No one to take over if something went wrong.

But if he was going to earn his wings and become an Air Force pilot, he had to ace this high stakes test.

Training to become an aviator was never part of Helmey’s plans. Heck, he’d never even flown in a plane before joining the service.

The Georgia native was born at his family’s farmhouse in Effingham County near Savannah in 1928. He went to high school during World War II. Though his family didn’t have much money, Helmey was determined to go to college and become an engineer. He was able to secure financial support to attend Georgia Tech, but that support fell through after his first semester.

He returned home to work until he secured the funds to attend the University of Georgia to study agricultural engineering.

While on campus, Helmey BSAE ’51 took classes with the late Rudolph Driftmier, then-director of the agricultural engineering program; worked at a lab curing sweet potatoes; and saw the Bulldogs play between the hedges at a much smaller Sanford Stadium—compare 36,000 seating then to nearly 93,000 now.

By the fall of 1950, Helmey was in his last semester at UGA. But the Korean War had just started, and Helmey’s number was one of the first on the Army’s draft board.

He was able to delay his induction by a few weeks and joined the Air Force instead that December. The dean of the then-College of Agriculture checked Helmey’s grades and waived his final exams so he could report for

ALUMNI PROFILE

1960-1964

Arnold C. Young BBA ’63, LLB ’65 of HunterMaclean was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Best Lawyers in America.

1965-1969

Jim Breedlove BBA ’65, MBA ’68 retired from his position as vice president of external affairs

at the Fernbank Museum in Atlanta. He will now serve as a special advisor to the CEO of the museum.

David F. Sipple AB ’66, MPA ’69 of HunterMaclean was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Best Lawyers in America.

1970-1974

Harold Rozier Jr. BSF ’70 was re-elected for his third term as the District 1 commissioner on the Pierce County Board of Commissioners.

Bill Hendrick ABJ ’71 released his book, The Atlanta Daily Intelligencer Covers the Civil War, in August.

Edgar Maxwell III BS ’72 retired from his position as a regional sales manager at J.M. Huber Corp.

Frank Flanders BSA ’74, MEd ’75, EdS ’83, EdD ’88 retired from his position as associate professor in agricultural education at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in August. He was

duty and still get his degree. His engineering career would have to wait.

Helmey passed basic training and was directed to the Air Force’s electronic school for ground control radar. No one in his class could get leave during the 28 weeks of training, which meant Helmey wasn’t allowed back in Athens for his June graduation ceremony.

But Helmey was determined to make it anyway.

After pressing his first sergeant, Helmey scored two successive three-day passes, but they were only good for a 200-mile radius of Biloxi, Mississippi. Athens is more than 400 miles away. If caught outside that range, he could be arrested, but at least he wouldn’t be AWOL.

He was willing to risk it.

“I am the first college graduate of all the Helmey descendants that came here in 1734—and I wanted that diploma,” Helmey says. “They said they would mail it to me, but I wanted to go get it.” And he did.

Helmey hitchhiked to Georgia, where his parents watched him walk the stage at Sanford Stadium. He took a bus returning to Biloxi to ensure he reported back in time.

While finishing electronics school, the Air Force selected Helmey for flight school.

After watching other would-be pilots—guys who had boasted of their aviation skills—wash out of flight school, Helmey assumed that, sooner or later, he’d be sent away next.

But here he was on a small Florida airstrip about to take his first solo flight.

Needing to control his nerves in the cockpit, Helmey took a breath and attempted to steady his mind and his legs.

“I tried to hold them still with my hands, but they wouldn’t stop,” he recalls.

Finally, Helmey was cleared for takeoff. As he taxied to the runway, the shakes began to settle. The quiet determination that had and would carry him through difficult times took over.

In his nearly 30 years of combined active duty and reserve service, Helmey would take many more flights. He piloted clunky B-29 bombers, supersonic jets, and massive cargo planes. Although the Korean War ended before Helmey could be sent there, he was recalled during the Vietnam War to take exhausting trans-Pacific cargo flights, which kept him in a constant state of jetlag.

Being a pilot was just one facet of many in Helmey’s life. He and his wife, Marilyn, had two sons, and Helmey had a successful career as an agricultural and civil engineer for the federal government in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

After Marilyn died in 2015, Helmey began writing his story in a three-part book series, Life As I Remember It. Much of that writing came in 2020 while Helmey was locked down in his assisted living facility in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Helmey lives now at the age of 94.

But back in Lakeland, 70 years ago, Helmey was instructed to land. Focusing more on keeping control of the aircraft after touchdown than a perfectly smooth landing, Helmey completed his first solo flight. His instructor came over the radio, “A good job. Now give me two more just like that.”

He did.

Later that day, per the first solo flight tradition, Helmey’s shirttails were cut off.

Edgar L. Helmey BSAE ’51

written by aaron hale MA ’16

named an emeritus professor upon retirement and received the 2022 Donaldson Award for Outstanding Student Engagement.

1975-1979

Gary Lewis BBA ’75 celebrated his 30-year anniversary as a mortgage broker in 2022.

Frank Baker ABJ ’77 released his graphic novel, We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story, in September.

Charles Hall BLA ’79 and Lillian Ansley BFA ’78 founded The Olmsted Plein Air Invitational in Braselton.

Ed Smith BBA ’79, MAcc ’81 is the chief financial officer at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties.

Wade Williams BBA ’79 is the owner of Williams Landscape in Perry.

1980-1984

Russell Greer BBA ’80 retired from his position as a history teacher at Chattooga County Schools.

Frank Eldridge BBA ’81 started a new position as manager of client strategy at Sterling Seacrest and Pritchard in Atlanta. Adele Hamilton BBA ’81 has worked at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise for 38 years and currently serves as global enterprise account manager.

Denise Juliana BSEd ’81 retired from her position as CPA and partner with Eide Bailey in May 2020 and is chair of the Board

of Trustees for the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado.

Alice Hale Murray AB ’81 was an adoption attorney for over 30 years and is now the operations manager for End Games Press.

Shaun Andrew AB ’82 is an engineer for the United States Navy Flight Simulation Division.

Christopher W. Phillips BSFR ’83, MFR ’85, JD ’88 of HunterMaclean was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Best Lawyers in America. He was also listed as a Lawyer of the Year.

1985-1989

Robert Sasloff AB ’85 started a position as counsel in the Business Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group at Leech

Tishman Robinson Brog in New York City

Keith Speed BS ’86 is the CEO of Remedy Distillery in Gainesville, GA.

Donna Williams BSA ’87 is the owner of Meadowdale Learning Centers, a collection of childhood education facilities in Houston County, GA.

Guy W. Millner Jr. BBA ’88 is the president of Millner Construction Management and president and CEO of The CAVU Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial support and mentorship to current and former UGA ROTC cadets.

Linda Hurtado Bond ABJ ’89 released her fourth book, the thriller AlltheBrokenGirls , in August.

Fruits of Our Labor

Sharing food within your community is a long-standing southern tradition. As the co-owner and chief gardener of Abundance Landscapes and Gardens in Atlanta, Sarah Jackson AB ’11, MPA ‘15 has taken that generosity to new levels.

Jackson grew up in Ohio, but her fascination with farming and sustainability started while studying human geography at the University of Georgia.

“A lot of the professors are really into local food issues,” she says. “All of our projects were oriented around local community service involving food access or gardening or nutrition.”

It didn’t take long for Jackson to be inspired.

written by jayne roberts

In 2010, as a Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar, she helped found Campus Kitchen at UGA, a sustainable hunger-relief organization that is still going strong today. Since its founding, Campus Kitchen has provided nearly 100,000 homemade meals to people in need. Student leaders and volunteers provide emergency hunger relief to the Athens community as well as develop sustainable solutions for food waste. On average, over 400 students a year volunteer with Campus Kitchen.

After graduating, Jackson moved to Atlanta and started working for the Georgia Food Bank Association, doing everything from fundraising to event planning and disaster relief. She later worked for the

Sarah Jackson AB ’11, MPA ’15

Georgia Emergency Management Agency, helping with disaster response and recovery. Service and community were the foundation of every new opportunity. Still, Jackson always wanted a way to combine this drive with her creative instincts.

In 2020, Jackson and her husband, Daniel (at left with their dog, Lucy), combined their love of landscaping, sustainability, and event planning to create Abundance Landscapes and Gardens. They wanted people to not only grow their own food but learn to enjoy it. At the time, people were stuck at home, and grocery stores became a less reliable place to find what you were looking for.

Relying on their backgrounds in sustainable agriculture and food-related nonprofits, Sarah and Daniel turned their own quarter-acre backyard into an edible landscape they call a “snackyard.”

“This isn’t necessarily your grandma’s garden,” Jackson says. “It’s not a little crop that grows in your backyard. Our plan is to make it just as beautiful as it is bountiful.”

Starting with her own and recently expanding to clients around Atlanta, Jackson creates comfortable outdoor spaces that make people feel like they’re in their living room—only surrounded by fruit trees, berries, and garden seating. She and her husband now spend most of their time outdoors and grow a lot of the food they eat.

“It definitely supplements most of our groceries. I’ll get up with a cup of coffee and just take a walk, picking berries as I go,” she says. Even their dog, Lucy, is obsessed with fruit. She often follows behind Jackson, waiting for a bite. “She’s really into tomatoes right now.”

Through Abundance Landscapes and Gardens, Jackson’s goal is to help people see the potential of their space. It can provide a welcoming and bountiful living area as well as benefit local ecosystems.

People are moving away from conventional lawns Jackson says, and the maintenance involved with keeping them lush. Edible gardens are a new way to go.

“We get so much joy out of our garden and sharing that with our friends and our family,” Jackson says. “To be able to extend that joy and connection beyond our inner circle to our community in a way that is still a viable business is really special. I think we’re often pinching ourselves that we get to do this.”

CLASS NOTES

1990-1994

Michelle Jenkins BS ’90 was named in Best Self Atlanta’s Top 10 Women in Health and Beauty. She is a family medicine physician at North Atlanta Primary Care in Cumming.

David Kramer ABJ ’90 was promoted to president of United Talent Agency, a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, CA.

Stephanie Calabrese BFA ’91 had her first documentary feature film, UNSPOKEN, premiere at the 14th annual Macon Film Festival in August. The film was also an official selection for the 4th annual Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival in September.

Holt Webb BFA ’92 released his

first children’s picture book, I Know in My Heart, in July.

Christina DiFonzo AB ’93 is the recruiting coordinator for financial advisors at Peachtree Planning in Sandy Springs.

Christopher Semerjian BS ’94 retired in January 2022 from his position in the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division where he developed a statewide spatial database and crowd-sourced data capture for wildlife management areas and other properties.

1995-1999

Amanda Iden BSEd ’96 retired from her position as state inspector general with the North Carolina National Guard

in September.

Todd Tucker AB ’96 is the executive vice president and managing broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties.

Brian Vancil BS ’96 is the owner of Mall of Georgia Dentistry with practices in Buford, Hamilton Mills, and Auburn, GA.

Kimberly Jones Ivester BSEd ’97 was reelected to Zeta Tau Alpha’s National Council for its 2022-2024 term.

Marla Vickers AB ’98 was named the vice president for university advancement and president of the FSU Foundation at Florida State University.

Derek Smith AB ’98 completed his first season as a playby-play announcer for the

Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league with Major League Baseball.

Norm Wood III AB ’98, ABJ ’98 is a senior technical writer at Index AR Solutions, a software development company in Williamsburg, VA.

2000-2004

Calvin Orlando Smith AB ’00 sang backup for Garth Brooks during his recent stadium tour and made his Carnegie Hall debut in June, singing the baritone in Brahms Requiem.

Neil “Hondo” Williamson AB ’00 was inducted into the inaugural Friends of Georgia Radio’s Hall of Legends.

Looking Up

Jerry Swain BSEd ’68

Jerry Swain Jr. spent the first part of his career as far from the ground as possible. And he’s spent every day since helping others go even further.

As a child and into his college years, Swain BSEd ’68 was always looking up. Although he came to UGA in 1964 to play for what was the late Vince Dooley’s first football team, Swain spent more time looking at the sky than the field. And at the end of his first year, he switched his focus to his dream of becoming a pilot through the University of Georgia’s Air Force ROTC program.

After graduating with a degree in education, Swain was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. During his service, he flew almost 200 combat missions during two tours in Vietnam and led Army and Air Force units in Germany.

So in 1980, when NASA recruited him to join the space shuttle program, Swain didn’t hesitate.

“The space shuttle program was just starting out, and I was one of the first ones they hired,” he recalls. “NASA had a lot of engineers, but they didn’t have a lot of ex-military guys who had flown airplanes and knew how to talk to pilots who were

written by rachel cooper

training to be astronauts.”

Swain began his NASA career as a control and propulsion systems instructor, but with his teaching background and military experience, it wasn’t long before he became team lead for a series of shuttle crews, including the ill-fated Challenger crew in 1986.

“My team and the Challenger crew, we did everything together,” Swain says. “We celebrated together, we went to each other’s houses, we knew each other’s kids. After the accident, everybody here was dedicated to figuring out what happened.”

The cause of the shuttle explosion was a failed seal between rocket boosters. As NASA mourned the loss of the Challenger crew, it grounded the shuttle program and turned to other projects. Swain found himself advising on one of NASA’s newest ventures: the International Space Station.

His main job was teaching flight crews again, but this time, he was creating the training requirements for astronauts who would spend quite a bit more time in space than those who came before.

Teaching teams how to put the space station together in orbit, one piece at a time, was a daunting feat. But by this point, Swain was

no stranger to teaching under high stakes.

“I think UGA trying to make a teacher out of me and the Air Force making a pilot out of me is what got me here,” he says.

After the successful launch of the space station in 1998, Swain returned to the shuttle program. Having come full circle, Swain evaluated and provided guidance to shuttle instructor teams, just like the ones he led in the ’80s, until the program concluded in 2011.

These days, Swain’s home and office feel like a glimpse both past the stars and back in time with shelves lined with photos, memorabilia, and even a toy rat that was a stowaway on a 1983 space shuttle mission.

It’s befitting for NASA’s resident storyteller who now guides celebrities, foreign dignitaries, former presidents, and groups of curious students through 40 years of space exploration at NASA. His current role as speaker, tour guide, facility manager, and historian gives Swain the opportunity to tell the stories of the space program that has inspired him and challenged him for decades.

And he’s grateful that he never stopped looking up.

Building a Community

Juan J. Mencias BBA ’15

Juan J. Mencias BBA ’15 is known for his extraordinary efforts in connecting with Latino students at UGA. An Ecuadorian student who’s now a senior at UGA once reached out to Mencias on Instagram to let him know how much of an impact his achievements had on her. Seeing another person from Ecuador let her know what a small world it really was and inspired her to strive toward the same level of success.

Mencias, the founding president of the UGA Latino Council, came from Ecuador to Georgia with his family in 2000. His Latin American roots and Bulldog spirit have come together to make him the person he is today.

“Ecuador is where I was born, and Georgia is my home,” he says.

Honored as a member of UGA’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 and as the 2022 Young Alumni Award winner, Mencias’ commitment to supporting students at the University of Georgia has not gone unnoticed.

For Mencias, receiving the Young Alumni Award (left) felt like a victory for everyone who helped him along the way, including those involved with the Latino Alumni Group. Seeing their hard work translate into results was proof of how the connections made at UGA can lead to incredible futures.

“I carry the university on my back each and every day,” he says. “I’m a representative, so I do my best for the University of Georgia.”

In 2017, Mencias and Rosa Arroyo Driggers, UGA’s associate director of admissions, realized that Latino students were a rapidly growing demographic at the university and founded the UGA Latino Alumni Council. Mencias was surprised by the impact created and the many relationships that were established from the very onset. He even recalls connecting a fellow UGA grad with a former teacher at their very first event.

“The UGA Latino Alumni Council allows us to give proper representation in our communities, so everyone feels comfortable, whether you’re Latino or not,” Mencias says. “It’s about creating a welcoming environment and supporting students who want to go to UGA and see someone on campus that looks like them.”

written by jayne roberts

Cassaundra Govan BBA ’01, PhD ’12 opened The Coaching Clinic Counseling and Consulting in Lithonia. She was previously the interim director and chief psychologist for the City of Atlanta’s Psychological Services and Employee Assistance Program.

W. Ashley Thiem BBA ’02 is one of six professionals leading the newest branch of Diversified Trust, a wealth management firm in Charleston, SC.

Will Harkins BBA ’03, MAcc ’03 was appointed vice president, chief accounting officer, and

corporate controller at Mohawk Industries.

Emily Robinson AB ’03, MEd ’05 testified at a listening session for the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee about her experience with Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Jennifer Dixon BFA ’02 was promoted to division director and deputy state historic preservation officer with the Georgia Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

More than Just Farming

Michelle Samuel-Foo MS ’03, PhD ’08

After earning her master’s under Johnson’s tutelage, Samuel-Foo stayed to study integrated pest management for her doctoral degree but this time with co-mentors UGA entomologist John All and plant breeder Roger Boerma (both retired).

“During my last semester at UGA, I started to look for jobs because being an international student, that clock is ticking,” Samuel-Foo says. “You want to be sure you have employment lined up to gain some experience in your field.”

Samuel-Foo found that and more at the University of Florida, where she joined the Institute of Food and Agriculture (UF-IFAS) as a faculty member working in specialty crop pesticide registrations as part of the IR-4 program. At UF-IFAS she had responsibility for ensuring that residue field trials were conducted under good laboratory practices to help establish tolerances for reduced risk pesticides. In the process she worked with a vast network of entomologists, weed scientists, and plant pathologists across 13 Southern states and Puerto Rico who cooperated in the program.

After about a decade, Samuel-Foo joined the faculty at Alabama State University, a non-land grant HBCU that didn’t have any agriculture focused program at the time.

“I recognized that the college community was just ripe for an introduction to urban gardening, and programs dealing with sustainable agriculture,” Samuel-Foo says.

The administration at ASU, led by Quinton Ross, agreed and they allocated half an acre on the campus for a teaching and research garden to be established.

“I think COVID-19 really helped us realize how critical food insecurity is on college campuses, particularly minority-serving institutions,” Samuel-Foo says. “Introducing agricultural programming is critical because you’re helping to bridge that gap.”

As a child, Michelle Samuel-Foo would wake early on Saturday mornings to help her mother get the crops ready for market. She loved working on her family’s farm, where they grew everything from spinach to okra to tomatoes. Being in the field and watching insects do their jobs to help—or sometimes hinder—the family’s efforts to make a living from the land were a favorite pastime.

But Samuel-Foo MS ’03, PhD ’08 saw how difficult the rural way of life could be in her hometown of Sangre Grande in Trinidad and Tobago. She wanted something different for herself: formal higher education.

Samuel-Foo thought she’d immediately enter the workforce after graduating from Brewton-Parker College, a small liberal arts school in Mount Vernon, Georgia. But her advisor had collaborated with the University of Georgia’s Jerry Johnson, who was working on a wheat-related project at UGA’s Griffin campus. And he thought Samuel-Foo would be a good fit for UGA’s crop and soil sciences program. She was.

That passion for helping people recognize the power of agriculture and entomology as a field informs her current position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture as well.

Samuel-Foo is also keenly aware that she’s somewhat of an anomaly in the field, a Black entomologist. Only about 3% of the Entomological Society of America’s membership identifies as people of color. In 2021, Samuel-Foo was awarded the Founders’ Memorial Award, one of the highest accolades given by the society. During her keynote address, Samuel-Foo highlighted the work of USDA-ARS Hall of Fame Black entomologist, the late Dr. Ernest Harris.

“I’ve had many opportunities bestowed upon me and have benefited from tremendous mentors throughout my career,” Samuel-Foo says. “I recognize that I’m somewhat of an unlikely success story, unlikely in the sense that I came from a very humble background in Trinidad, immigrated to the U.S. and was able to earn a terminal degree and build a successful career out of my love for agriculture.”

written by leigh beeson MA ’17

R E A L E S

Brad Wright BS ’03 is a professor and chair of the Department of Health Services Policy & Management in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina.

Adon Solomon BBA ’04 started a position as a partner at Fox Rothschild in the Taxation & Wealth Planning Department in Atlanta.

2005-2009

Chowning Aguilera ABJ ’05 was promoted to agency partner at Jackson Spalding, an Atlanta-based public relations and marketing agency.

Dominic Brown II ABJ ’05 is a meteorologist at KTVT-CBS 11 in Dallas-Fort Worth. He and his weather team won the 2020 Southeast Emmy Award for their live coverage of Hurricane Dorian.

Rendi Moore Carter BSW ’05, MSW ’07 is a licensed clinical social worker and the owner of Moore Counseling and Coaching.

Richard Donofrio BLA ’05 is a senior manager of area development and design on Universal Studios’ upcoming project Epic Universe in Orlando, FL. He also recently finished work on the Universal Beijing Resort.

Staci Cannon BS ’06, DVM ’10 started a new position as a faculty shelter medicine specialist at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She is the first to hold this position as part of the college’s newly established partnership with the Athens Area Humane Society.

Ben Martie AB ’06 started a new position as an associate at Morningstar Law Group in Raleigh, NC.

Aftan Mitchel BS ’06 is a pharmacist at Walgreens in Jackson, MS. She recently opened the online business Afghans by Aftan, where she sells handmade crochet items.

Damaris Johnson BS ’08 is the clinical director and founder of The Walk of Life Counseling Center in Atlanta.

our georgia commitment

parents with purpose

When their daughter enrolled at UGA, Talia BBA ’84 and John Murphy committed to making the university a better place through their philanthropy and service.

Talia Murphy stepped foot on campus as a freshman in 1980 just in time to experience the University of Georgia’s national championship win later that year. Now she enjoys the pride of yet another national championship for the Georgia Bulldogs as her daughter, Lily, attends classes.

“Being back on campus with this victory buzz in the air has been so fun, and finding our own place on campus through the Parents Leadership Council has strengthened the experience for our whole family,” Murphy says. Talia and her husband, John, co-chair the Parents Leadership Council (PLC), a group of parents who are eager to contribute to the university and support student-serving organizations.

After Talia graduated from UGA, the Murphys and their three daughters spent 30 years overseas before returning to Atlanta for John’s career at The Coca-Cola Company. When Lily enrolled at UGA, Talia reconnected with her alma mater and John, a citizen of Ireland, became an avid Dawgs fan.

The Murphys knew they wanted to make a significant investment in UGA. Together, they created a Georgia Commitment Scholarship (GCS) to provide need-based scholarship support to UGA students. With support from the fund, GCS students have gone on to become highly engaged leaders who make a difference on campus and in their communities.

The Murphys are happy to support UGA students, but there is, of course, one student in particular who drives their involvement. The prospect of supporting Lily during her time in college is what inspired the couple to serve as co-chairs of the PLC.

“We love that there’s an organization where we can really make a difference as parents,” Talia says. “It taps parents into what’s happening and allows us to address the needs of students as they come up through the PLC Grants Program.”

Through the Grants Program, the PLC annually awards funding to support critical undergraduate student needs and further enhance the UGA student experience. Private donations from PLC members and other Parents Fund donors enabled the Grants Program to disburse 100 grants totaling more than $875,000 for the 2022-2023 academic year. The Murphys are eager to see these numbers

grow, making an even bigger impact across campus. They’ve seen that parent donors are capable of enacting real change by enhancing valuable programs like Student Care & Outreach, Designated Dawgs, the Rural Scholars Program, and more.

“Where your kids are, that’s where you put your time, your effort, and your financial support,” Talia says. The Murphys are passionate about creating change on campus and supporting their daughter and other students through programming that caters to their unique needs.

Learn more about joining the Parents Leadership Council to become more involved on campus and directly enhance UGA’s undergraduate student life.

edwin hammond

Stephanie Matthews BS ’08 is the deputy workforce development director at Three Rivers Regional Commission in Griffin.

Regina Williams BS ’08 is an assistant professor of counselor education at North Carolina Central University. She received the 2021 Devoted Service Award from the North Carolina Counseling Association, and is a 2022 research grant recipient from the American School Counselor Association.

Nujhat Jahid-Alam BFA ’09 is president of the Georgia chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. She is also a senior occupancy planner at CBRE in Atlanta.

Bailey Maxwell ABJ ’09 is an inclusion and development leader at Bennett Thrasher in Atlanta. She is also a vice-chair on the board of directors of the International Community School in Dekalb County.

Wesley BSW ’09, MEd ’15 and

Tiffany AB ’11, MPA ’15 Wooten welcomed their son, Zachary, in August 2022.

2010-2014

Tanner Stines BBA ’10, MS ’14 started his position as the UGA Athletic Association athletic director for facility operations and capital projects in April.

Robert Carnes ABJ ’11 released his book, The Story Cycle: Your Business Guide to Better Marketing, in October.

Jacob Moskowitz AB ’12 is the chief innovation officer of Friends of the Underline in Miami.

Jamie Lincenberg BBA ’13 is an entertainment attorney at Weintraub Tobin in Los Angeles, and has been named to the 2022 Southern California Rising Star list.

Dustin Osborne BBA ’13 was promoted to partner at Goldberg Segalla in January.

2015-2020

Julia Aman BBA ’16, MPA ’20 started a new position as an associate budget analyst at the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, DC, in July.

Zachary Bernknopf AB ’16, AB ’16 serves as a community economic development volunteer in Kosovo for the Peace Corps.

Hannah Boyd BSW ’17 was promoted to director of information management at AuthoraCare Collective, a not-for-profit hospice and serious illness healthcare organization.

Nia Hampton AB ’17 is an associate manager of client success at Twitter.

Tara Poston BSEd ’17 is a pre-kindergarten teacher at White Bluff Elementary School in Savannah.

Maddie Miller BBA ’18 graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law and started her career as a law clerk with Tyson & Mendes in Denver.

Lauren Diaz AB ‘19 is a senior public relations specialist for Gwinnett County Government.

Alexandria Mann AB ’19 is a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Baltimore.

Katherine Twomey AB ’19 is pursuing a juris doctorate degree at the Mercer University School

Ready to Rock

Chapin’s front yard growing up. If you’ve visited Chattanooga recently, you’ve probably encountered one of See Rock City, Inc.’s tourist-oriented businesses, which range from area museums to meeting and hospitality facilities to gourmet food shops.

One of those shops gave Chapin his first taste of working in the family business. He took over Clumpies Ice Cream, a craft dessert maker with a shop in North Chattanooga.

The role fit Chapin well. Under his leadership, Clumpies added two more stores and expanded its production facility.

Eventually, Chapin became director of special projects for the company. In 2019, his father was ready to step away, and the family seriously considered selling the gardens. By early 2020, the family had received letters of intent from prospective buyers.

Then the pandemic hit. The attraction shut down. And so did talk of selling.

“We looked at the way we care for people,” Chapin says, referring not just to visitors but also to the company’s 300-plus employees they refer to as “partners.”

“Even if we get to give someone one experience, one memory, that is something that really matters. We are affecting people’s hearts and minds and serving them in ways that are really important, especially when times are so hard.”

See Rock City!

That invitation has greeted generations of travelers across the Midwest and Southeast, splashed on billboards and—most memorably—painted on the sides of barns as they headed South to visit family or enjoy a vacation.

With its lush gardens and memorable views, there has always been a lot to see at the popular destination atop Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Doug Chapin AB ’11, BBA ’11 saw Rock City all the time. Every day, in fact.

He grew up in a house just steps away from Lover’s Leap, one of Rock City Gardens’ most stunning overlooks. The property, and the attractions that make up its core, have been in Chapin’s family since before World War II.

Chapin’s great-great uncle, Garnet Carter, founded Rock City Gardens in 1932. In the 1950s, as modern car culture began to take hold, ownership passed to Carter’s nephew

(and Chapin’s grandfather) E.Y. Chapin III. Doug’s father, Bill, purchased Rock City in 1985.

While Doug has nothing but positive memories from growing up in the middle of a tourist attraction that draws 500,000 visitors a year, that didn’t mean he necessarily saw himself following in the footsteps of his older family members.

“I have three older sisters,” Chapin says. “My parents made it clear that we didn’t need to feel any pressure to go into the family business. So we took them at their word.”

After graduating from high school, Chapin came to the University of Georgia, where he double-majored in economics and international affairs. After earning his degree, he took a sales job, but two years later he felt the pull of the family business.

That family business, formally named See Rock City, Inc., encompasses much more than just the gardens that served as

The Chapin family decided to hang on to See Rock City, Inc. In early 2022, Doug purchased the business from his parents and siblings and stepped into the new role as president and CEO.

When Rock City reopened in May 2020, it did so with several changes. The Rock City team had the footpath through the gardens realigned and introduced timed ticketing to reduce overcrowding.

With the Gardens’ 90th anniversary in 2022, there is a lot more to come.

“You can go to a theme park, and most of those are built on flat pieces of ground, and then everything is created around that,” Chapin says. “The difference here is that there is only one Fat Man’s Squeeze; there is only one Lover’s Leap. Try as hard as you want, it just can’t be made again. It’s only here.

“We want to lean into those defining things. People come, and they are not on their phones. People are fully engaged with this place. We don’t want to lose it.”

chris collins

written by eric rangus MA ’94

Doug Chapin AB ’11, BBA ’11

Rocket Woman

Before she started booking acts there, Jordan Anderson had never stepped inside the Troubadour in West Hollywood. But like every music industry professional—and millions of music fans around the world—she knew its reputation.

For 65 years, the legendary club has hosted rock history on multiple levels. Not only is the Troubadour one of music’s most coveted stages, but the venue is also a rendezvous for generations of the music-minded.

Don Henley and Glenn Frey first met at the front bar. Carly Simon and James Taylor did too. Guns N’ Roses earned their first record contract after a Troubadour show. Artists ranging from Elton John to Fiona Apple to the Fleet Foxes made their LA debuts on the Troubadour stage.

“You know, when I told my grandparents I took this job, they were, like, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to book the room that Elton John started in?’ They knew,” says Anderson, referencing John’s first U.S. concerts at the Troubadour in 1970—a moment memorably

recreated in the Academy Award-winning 2019 film Rocketman

opening act

Anderson AB ’13 was born in another legendary rock destination: Tupelo, Mississippi. She came to UGA after falling in love with Athens while visiting a childhood friend. While a student, she quickly got a taste of the music industry, interning with Widespread Panic’s management team.

After graduating with a communications degree and music business certificate, Anderson moved to Nashville and landed a marketing gig at the popular clubs Marathon Music Works and Exit/In.

In Nashville, marketing and booking go hand in hand, and as Anderson gained experience, her reputation grew. But in 2020, the pandemic shut the industry down. And while Anderson experienced the career uncertainty most everyone in the entertainment industry had to navigate, a cold call from the West Coast in the summer of 2021 changed

everything.

“Would you ever consider moving out to LA to book the Troubadour?” asked Evan Bright, a California-based music manager who Anderson had known for years.

Hesitant to upend her life, Anderson turned down the offer. But when the club came back to her, she said yes and took the job just before it reopened. Her first show was Twenty-One Pilots.

“I remember walking in and they turned on the Troubadour sign and just got chills,” Anderson recalls upon entering the room for the first time. “This is where so many artists started in the United States but in LA in particular. And it’s pretty much exactly the same as it was. The crowd’s always stoked to be here; you can feel it in the room. There is a lot of history in these walls.”

And history continues to be written most every night.

written by eric rangus MA ’94

Jordan Anderson AB ’13

peter frey

the headliner

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriterviolinist Amanda Shires is Americana royalty and right in the wheelhouse of artists tailor-made for the Troubadour stage.

Shires (inset, at left) is a little bit rock, a lot country, and all attitude. She also has multiple Athens connections. Shires met her husband, fellow Grammy-winner Jason Isbell, following a concert in the Classic City. Her Nashville-based booking agent Jonathan Insogna AB ’04 is also a UGA grad. Insogna was acquainted with Anderson before she moved to California, and that rapport made booking his client’s first solo headlining show at the venue that much simpler.

“Jordan’s a great communicator,” Insogna says. “She’s easy to talk to, she’s fun, and she’s enjoyable to work with, which is, honestly, 90% of it.”

The Amanda Shires show falls in the middle of a run of more than two weeks straight of bookings. And the roster is diverse. The week ends with two sold out nights headlined by Laufey, an LA-based singer-songwriter-instrumentalist who bills her style as “Icelandic jazz.”

Not quite Guns N’ Roses territory, but the artistic shape-shifting is by design.

“We are a room that helps launch artists,” Anderson says. “Through the years, you had the hair metal of the ’80s, and you had the alt rock of the ’90s, and then the 2000s have just been a cluster of absolutely everything. It’s cool to be a part of an artist’s story.”

encore

Shires had originally been booked to headline the Troubadour in March 2020—before Anderson had even been hired. More than two years later, she and her seven-member backup band made the most of their new opportunity. They played two hours, rocking the whole time.

Coming at the end of her workday, Anderson staffs most of the shows—mainly as a helping hand. Frequently she’ll haunt the bar just inside the front door. But she always makes her way toward the stage eventually.

“I find it in those moments when I’m sitting out there watching a show,” she says. “The crowd’s focused on that artist, and I’m like, ‘This is how it’s supposed to be.’ And it feels awesome.”

of Law and is the president of the Student Bar Association.

Kyle Chiu AB ’20 started a new position as a digital developer at The Home Depot.

Gregory Fish BBA ’20 started a new position as senior associate in the transaction, strategy, and execution group at EY-Parthenon in Miami.

Lauren Willis AB ’20, AB ’20, MEd ’22 started her position as a career advisor at Furman University in June.

2021-2022

Madison Drummond AB ’21, BSEd ’21 started a new position as the events and program coordinator for the vice president of student affairs at Florida State University.

Sydney Brazile AB ’22 is a first-year student at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law.

Christopher J. Clements BBA ’22, BBA ’22 started a new position as a marketing analyst at Deloitte in Houston.

Paige Gossett BBA ’22, MS ’22 started a new position as a cyber defense associate at KPMG in Aurora, CO.

Rebecca Hays BSBE ’22 started a bioengineering doctoral program at the University of Maryland. She has been recognized as a Clark Doctoral Fellow, an honor given to 30 incoming engineering students at the university.

Stephen Horn BBA ’22, BBA ’22 is an associate at Ashford Advisors in Dunwoody.

Pauline Keller AB ’22 works in technical sales at Simulmedia New York City.

Sheila Lorusso BSBE ’22 started a new position as a customer

success consultant at QGenda, an Atlanta-based software company, in September.

Caroline Odom BBA ’22, AB ’22 is an internal consultant for the LEAD development program at Cox Communications in Atlanta.

Madison Powers AB ’22 is an e-commerce merchandise coordinator at Carter’s in Atlanta.

Ankita Shah AB ’22 is a student at the Medical College of Georgia.

Catherine Vaughan BSEd ’22 is teaching AP economics this fall and completing her master’s degree at UGA.

grad notes

agricultural & environmental sciences

David Wyche MS ’21 started a new position as business manager, commercial strategy, and analytics at Celanese in Dallas, TX. He is pursuing an MBA degree at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.

arts & sciences

Ramie Gougeon PhD ’02 is chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of West Florida.

Leslie Petty PhD ’03 was presented the 2022 Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service. She is an associate professor of English and chair of the English department at Rhodes

College in Memphis, TN.

Thomas Taylor Dickey DMA ’10 was the gold prize winner in conducting at the 2022 World Classical Music Awards. He won the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming for the second time and was named a national finalist for The American Prize in both the professional and college/university orchestra conducting divisions.

Marlon Burnley MFA ’18 is an assistant professor of directing and also teaches acting at Kennesaw State University. Jugal Panchal MS ’18 started a new position as a technical program manager at Amazon in Seattle in July.

business

DeAnn Golden MBA ’95 is the president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties.

Dustin McCormick MBA ’18 is running for Georgia House District 45 in Marietta, GA, in the 2022 election.

Seoyoung Kim PhD ’22 joined the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University in New York City as an assistant professor in marketing.

education

Christine Craig Seckel MEd ’89 released her book, Going with God!! Path to Peace and Joy!, in July.

Doug Dixon MEd ’90, PhD ’97 released his book Beyond Truman: Robert H. Ferrell and Crafting the Past in 2020.

Rose Opengart PhD ’03 released her book Find Your Where: Turn the Tables, Negotiate Your Success, and Do Work and Life on Your Own Terms in October 2019. Meridith A. Balas MEd ’15 was selected to serve as the executive director of alumni engagement for the West Virginia University Alumni Association, where she continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member, mentor, and active researcher.

Thomas Mahar MS ’16 started the Los Angeles-based rock band Francis Retrognome as lead vocalist and guitarist in 2022.

Jennifer Martin MAT ’19 is a marketing instructor at Flowery Branch High School and is pursuing a doctorate in workforce education at UGA.

journalism & mass communication

Tom Hagley Jr. MMC ’92 retired from his position as a district administrator at Vancouver Public Schools in Washington after 30 years. He is now a strategic communication consultant for LSW Architects PC.

public & international affairs

Keith Gåddie MA ’89, PhD ’93 has been named the inaugural holder of the Al and Dawn Hoffman Chair of the American Ideal, a newly endowed position in the Department of Political Science at Texas Christian University.

Joseph Vann MPA ’96 earned a Purple Heart for his service in the Vietnam War as well as a Bronze Star. He retired in 2020 after 41 years with Airgas.

Dominique Cooper MPA ’15 is a human resources generalist at Honeywell International Corp.

Lee Robinson PhD ’19 joined the faculty at the United States Military Academy as an academy professor of American politics in May.

pharmacy

Flynn Warren MS ’70 received the Larry Braden Award for Meritorious Service from the Georgia Pharmacy Association in June.

Antonia Fagbamiye PharmD ’22 is a PGY1 pharmacy resident within the Wellstar Health System.

social work

Sean Williamson MSW ’04 was named director of counseling services at Piedmont University.

law

Gary E. Jackson JD ’75 was given the Frost Ward Lifetime Achievement Award by the Council of Municipal Court Judges. He was also reelected as a 5th District representative to the Council of Municipal Court’s executive committee and is a judge of the Municipal Court of Atlanta.

Amanda Ward JD ’18 started a new position as an associate at Hulsey, Oliver & Mahar in Gainesville, GA. Sonya Lee-Coggins, MSL ’20 was appointed to the position of chambers staff advisory representative for the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Jung Sun Lee

Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences College of Family & Consumer Sciences

In the U.S., food insecurity is a complex problem that often goes unseen.

Food might seem like an abundant resource in the States, and we don’t typically see people who look as if they’re starving. But one out of every 10 American households has experienced bouts of food insecurity over the past year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Jung Sun Lee is passionate about ensuring people can access the healthful food they need to thrive.

What first drew you to the field of nutrition sciences?

I became interested in the field of nutritional sciences, especially in community nutrition. I wanted to understand and contribute to how each society could support optimal nutrition for its people to maintain active and healthy lives. Nutrition is critical for health across the lifespan. Malnutrition, either undernutrition or overnutrition, has detrimental and long-lasting developmental, economic, social, and medical impacts on individuals, families, communities, and nations.

Your research focuses on food insecurity and improving the capacity of food nutrition assistance programs. Why are these such important issues to you?

I became passionate about this topic by learning about the experiences of my grandparents and parents with hunger during the Korean War, ongoing severe famine in Africa, and even middleclass older couples eating cat food for lunch in the U.S.—the country with the world’s largest economy and food production. Indeed, food insecurity is a persistent and growing public health problem.

What’s something you wish people knew about the work you do or your field in general?

Food insecurity in America could be eradicated if we increase funding for effective programs, work to eliminate poverty, and invest in all of the people in the nation. I hope my work focusing on food insecurity contributes to promoting awareness of food insecurity and catalyzing collective actions and collaboration among diverse stakeholders to solve food insecurity and poor nutrition issues.

andrew davis tucker

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