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UGA selects 17 incoming students as Foundation Fellows

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia has awarded 17 Foundation Fellowships to high-performing undergraduate students joining the Class of 2020.

Administered by the UGA Honors Program, the Foundation Fellowship is UGA’s premier academic scholarship; the recipients were selected from among 1,100 applicants. The Foundation Fellowship was created in 1972 by trustees of the UGA Foundation to enrich the educational experience of outstanding undergraduates.

The incoming class has an average SAT score of 1564 (math and verbal) and an average ACT score of 35, as well as an average high school grade point average of 4.22 on a 4.0 scale; extra points indicate advanced placement courses.

“It is a pleasure to welcome this extraordinary group of impressive individuals to the Foundation Fellowship,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of UGA’s Honors Program. “They are sure to make a very positive impact both on and beyond campus.”

Through the Fellowship, in-state students receive an annual stipend of $12,300 and the Zell Miller Scholarship. Out-of-state students receive an annual stipend of $20,000 and out-of-state tuition waivers. In addition to group travel-study experiences, including a Maymester study abroad at Oxford University and three spring trips, Fellows also receive $9,000 in individual travel grants and $1,750 to fund research and academic conference attendance and will enroll in the UGA Honors Program.

The 17 incoming Foundation Fellows, listed below with their high school, hometown and major, bring the total number of current recipients to 87.

Avni Sheel Ahuja, Alpharetta High School, Alpharetta, biochemistry and molecular biology.
McKenna Aliya Barney, Indian Springs School, Venetia, Pennsylvania, environmental economics and management.
Rebecca L. Buechler, Greater Atlanta Christian School, Duluth, mathematics.
Claire Martha Drosos, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, Cincinnati, Ohio, finance.
Montgomery Lloyd Fischer, Henry Sibley High School, South St. Paul, Minnesota, mathematics.
Emma Marie Goldsmith, Deerfield-Windsor School, Albany, journalism.
Nicole Marie Googe, Clarke Central High School, Athens, mathematics.
Griffin Scott Hamstead, West High School, Knoxville, Tennessee, journalism.
Mackenzie Rose Joy, Sequoyah High School, Woodstock, physics.
John Gabriel Kolb, Atherton High School, Louisville, Kentucky, biology.
Aditya Krishnaswamy, George Walton Comprehensive High School, Marietta, statistics.
Nicolas Leis, Cambridge High School, Milton, economics.
Jessica Yan Ma, Northview High School, Johns Creek, biology.
Jon Mallory McRae III, Grace Christian Academy, Bainbridge, chemistry.
Nina P. Reddy, Lambert High School, Suwanee, management.
Margaret Grace Russo, Blue Valley North High School, Overland Park, Kansas, English.
Andrew Dunivin Schmitt, Brighton High School, Rochester, New York, biochemistry and molecular biology.

For more information about the UGA Honors Program and the scholarships it administers, visit https://honors.uga.edu/.