Senior Jenny Trout takes her work as an advocate for cancer patients seriously. Besides serving on numerous committees for her sorority, she also has participated in the UGA Dance Marathon which has raised more than $1.25 million for the Children’s Miracle Network since 1996. More recently, she has focused her efforts on UGA’s Relay for Life, a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, where she worked as the Executive Survivorship Chair to encourage participation from more cancer survivors than ever in UGA Relay for Life’s history. She has volunteered at the Hope Lodge-Home for Cancer Patients in Atlanta, and hopes to work at a cancer support center when she graduates next year.
Hometown:
Marietta/Kennesaw, Georgia
High School:
Harrison High School
Degree objective:
Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in Health Promotion and Behavior
Expected graduation:
August 2006
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
I received the Service Award for the Health Promotion and Behavior Department and the Rotaract Club Top 12 students at UGA Award this year. I have been a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority since freshman year. I have served on the new member education council and judicial committee in ZTA. I was elected and served as the Executive Scholarship/Scholastic Chair last calendar year for ZTA and now I am the Semi-Executive Co-Judicial Chair. I was also involved with Dance Marathon for my freshman and sophomore year as a participant and a part of the recruitment committee. Last year, I began volunteering with Relay for Life, to benefit the American Cancer Society, and I was a Team Captain and on the Survivorship committee. This year, I was the Survivorship Chair, and we had the highest participation from cancer survivors in UGA Relay for Life history! Next year, I will be the Cancer Prevention and Advocacy Chair.
I chose to attend UGA because…
..one of my friends who was a student here introduced me to the amazing town of Athens. The first time I came to Athens and UGA in high school, I knew that I wanted to attend this school. The town is so magnetic, and there are so many opportunities to give to the community here and to meet amazing people. UGA truly is an eclectic school. I love all the different groups of people with whom I am able to socialize.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
…work out at Ramsey Center, participate in Relay for Life fundraisers at Tate, lay on north campus and read my favorite books, and simply watch all the different people walk on campus between classes.
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
…gone paragliding in the Swiss Alps in Interlaken, Switzerland last year when I was studying in Verona, Italy.
My favorite place to study is…
…at either Starbucks or Hot Corner downtown. I love both of these places because, first of all, they have amazing coffee, but also because they are downtown and I can watch the people outside when I am just pretending to study. Both of these coffee shops are amazingly relaxing.
My favorite professor is…
…Robert Avery. He was my public speaking professor last year, and he was really just amazing. He had a great personality and really interacted with the students. He put himself on our level which made me so much more comfortable when I was speaking. He taught us how to get in front of people and be ourselves, which is so important when you are speaking in public. I really felt that if I had a problem in class I could go and talk to him and he would not only give me his undivided attention but also give me an unbiased answer.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
…Lance Armstrong. He is such an inspiration to me. He took his cancer and turned it into one of the biggest single fundraisers for cancer ever. I would ask him how he did that and how he feels about his results. I would also ask him how his experience being a cancer survivor has changed his outlook on life. I think that everyone could learn something from his journey.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to…
…pay for every cancer patient’s chemotherapy, radiation, and post-cancer counseling. I think these people are really overlooked by the insurance companies, and we tend to forget that after they have survived cancer they still need emotional support. Also, not everyone is able to pay for the most up-to-date treatment. We need to help patients who are not able to pay the balances left over from their insurance, if they have coverage.
After graduation, I plan to…
…work with a cancer support center in Atlanta. These centers hold group and individual counseling for cancer patients, survivors, and their care-givers. They also help educate at health fairs and advocate for more funding for cancer research and counseling. This is really where my heart lies and I hope to work in the area of cancer support for the rest of my life.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
…my freshman year. I think that being here really opened my eyes to all the different types of people there are and the great opportunities that are available to everyone. I will remember my dorm, my new friends, and all the late nights of talking about life with the girls on my hall. You really can’t get much better than dorm life, especially in Brumby Hall!
