ATHENS, Ga. – Three University of Georgia students have been selected as mid-term recipients of the Foundation Fellowship, UGA’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarship. Their fellowships will cover the final two years of undergraduate study, including the full estimated cost of attendance, as well as international travel-study grants, academic research and conference grants, and numerous academic enrichment opportunities.
The 2004 Mid-Term Foundation Fellows are Melissa Cabinian, an environmental health science and microbiology major from Conyers; Joseph LeCates, an economics major from McDonough; and Matthew Stewart, a microbiology, cell biology and psychology major from Atlanta. Honors students in their third semester at UGA with a minimum cumulative 3.70 GPA and two years of study remaining are eligible to apply for mid-term fellowships.
Cabinian, a Presidential Scholar, participated in the Lipid Standardization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is currently involved in research analyzing the growth characteristics of cell lines in relation to feline injection-site sarcomas. She is planning to participate in UGA’s public health study abroad program in Ukraine early this summer and then do a research internship at New York University medical school.
LeCates is an advocate for the University Judiciary, intramural College Bowl champion, and vice president and founder of Students for the Promotion of Academic Recall Competition (SPARC), a group currently coaching Hilsman Middle School students to succeed at Academic Bowl tournaments. He is pursuing a joint B.A./M.A degree in economics and plans to participate in UGA’s new Maymester in Cuba program.
Stewart, also a Presidential Scholar, volunteers as a mentor at Clarke Central High School and is the current vice president of the UGA Cycling Club. He competes at both the state and regional level with the @ the Hub Bikes team and is the third-ranked collegiate cyclist in the SEC.
“These three students have already established very impressive records at UGA and show enormous promise,” said Steve Elliott-Gower, associate director of the Honors and Foundation Fellows Programs. “Our job is now to help them define their longer term academic and professional goals, and to help them figure out how to use the many opportunities provided by the fellowship to achieve those goals.”
The Foundation Fellows Program was established in 1972 by the trustees of the University of Georgia Foundation to foster an enhanced educational experience for academically outstanding undergraduate students. More information on the Foundation Fellows program can be found at www.uga.edu/honors/fellows.
