While undergraduate Keri Epps has worked in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine for the past two years, she has also been able to participate in the Honors Program and maintain grades placing her in the 95th percentile in her class. She is a volunteer for Hands On Northeast Georgia and is also involved with the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity. Although she graduated from high school with a small class of 33 students, she has enjoyed her time at UGA. After graduation, she would like to attend law school and then work in New York City or London in the publishing industry.
Hometown:
Claxton, Ga.
High School:
Pinewood Christian Academy
Degree objective:
A.B. in English with a minor in Latin
Expected graduation:
Spring 2010
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
During my time at UGA, I have been fortunate enough to become a member of the Honors Program, which has allowed me to do multiple projects and develop several close relationships with many amazing faculty members at the university. I have maintained a cumulative grade point average that has placed me in the top 5 percent of my class in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. I have also been recently named a JURO@GA content editor and will begin working on editing articles submitted by CURO participants in the fall. In addition, I have been involved with the pre-law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, since spring 2008. I have received the HOPE Scholarship every year, and I was also the recipient of the Governor’s Scholarship.
Current Employment:
I have been employed at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine since the spring of 2007. I am a student assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs, and I have been entrusted with a wide variety of sensitive and confidential administrative jobs. I assist the staff and faculty with a number of duties that primarily involve applicants to the veterinary program and current veterinary students. I aid in the planning and organizing of the graduation ceremony and the annual Honors and Awards Banquet. In addition, I organize the current veterinary students’ schedules and assist with grade entry. I also help verify the applicants’ transcripts, organize statistical data and help to plan Orientation for the incoming class.
Family Ties to UGA:
My father, Dennis Epps, graduated from the university in 1983 with a B.S. in agriculture. He now works at the University of Georgia as the Director of Operations for the Archway Partnership—a community/higher education platform designed to link community needs to community and economic development and higher education resources throughout the University System of Georgia. My mother, Tina Epps, also graduated from the university in 1983 with a B.B.A in marketing.
I chose to attend UGA because…
I wanted a change from the small, rural area to which I had grown accustomed. I graduated from high school with only thirty-three other students, and I wanted to prove to myself that a small-town girl like me could succeed at a university as prestigious as UGA. I also love the energy of Athens and the many cultural events and opportunities that are available to its students. The amazing football program was an additional factor in my decision to attend UGA.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
…to read on a bench behind Park Hall or study at the library. I also love to attend the football games and gymnastics meets and go to plays that are presented by the Department of Theatre and Film Studies.
When I have free time, I like…
…to travel with friends and family, read for pleasure and attend plays at The Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. I also enjoy volunteering at Athens Clarke County Animal Control, because I love animals. Even though I work at the vet school, I very rarely see animals! I also enjoy volunteering for various Athens community events through my involvement with Hands-On Northeast Georgia.
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
Last summer, one of my best friends and I decided to camp out at the Chick-Fil-A on Gaines School Road for twenty-four hours in hopes of winning free Chick-Fil-A for a year. We won fifty-two free meals, but we had to sleep in the parking lot in the middle of July! I have never done something so drastic for free food, but I would definitely do it again!
My favorite place to study is…
…Barnes and Noble. I love studying there because I like to see the wide variety of people that go there to socialize and read. It is a very relaxed atmosphere, filled with many people, like me, who genuinely love books…and coffee.
My favorite professor is…
…Damaris Corrigan. Dr. Corrigan is a professor in the Classics Department and has taught me Latin for two semesters. She has certainly fostered my love of Latin with her unique teaching style and her own appreciation for the language. She is also the primary reason that I decided to pursue a minor in the language.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
…Nancy G. Brinker, sister to Susan G. Komen and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Because my mother has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, I would like to sit and talk with Ms. Brinker about her personal dealings with breast cancer. I would love to discuss how she decided to start the foundation and the steps she took to make the organization what it is today.
If I knew I could not fail, I would…
…find a cure for breast cancer and travel around the world to promote breast cancer awareness.
After graduation, I plan to…
…attend law school and study intellectual property and/or entertainment law. After graduation from law school, I would like to combine my interests in law and the publishing industry by working for a large publishing company in New York City or London.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
…Freshman College Summer Experience in the summer of 2006. I had just graduated from high school, and only a couple of short months later, I was moving into Russell Hall and completing Orientation at the same time. I will always remember that experience because I gained so many friendships that I still have today and because it was the perfect stepping stone from my small high school class to the thousands of university students that arrived that fall.