Athens, Ga. – Twelve University of Georgia undergraduates enrolled in the Honors Program were awarded $1,000 William Moore Crane Leadership Scholarships for their stellar academic records and outstanding campus leadership.
“This year’s Crane Scholars have demonstrated tremendous commitment to civic engagement while balancing the demands of rigorous academic programs,” said Jessica Hunt, scholarships coordinator of UGA’s Honors Program. “We are proud of the ways they have impacted local, national and international communities.”
The Crane Leadership Scholarship, administered by UGA’s Honors Program and the Center for Leadership and Service, is named after a 1921 UGA graduate who was influential in the founding of the UGA Alumni Society. Selected candidates must be third-year students enrolled in the Honors Program with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.7 and demonstrated leadership in extracurricular activities and/or involvement with civic, community or religious organizations.
“We are very impressed with this year’s scholarship recipients,” said T.W. Cauthen, director of the Center for Leadership and Service. “They have proven themselves as both scholars and community leaders and represent the epitome of a University of Georgia student. We can expect great things from these young women and men.”
The 2008-2009 Crane Leadership Scholars are:
Jeremy Akin, international affairs, Savannah
Akin, who is also pursuing a minor in African Studies, is an advocate for fighting global poverty and disease in his role as president of ONE Campaign to End Poverty at UGA, a campus chapter of the national non-profit organization. His extracurricular activities include performing with the UGA Opera Ensemble, writing and singing original songs and painting.
Sarah Alongi, marketing and public relations, Woodstock
Alongi, who is a Leonard Leadership Scholar, spent the summer in Tanzania studying the country’s developing economy in a May term program sponsored by the Institute for Leadership Advancement in UGA’s Terry College of Business. On campus, she currently serves as vice-president for Volunteer UGA and as co-director for AIDS Walk/Run Athens.
Patrick Dever, economics, Lubbock, Texas
Dever, who is pursuing combined bachelor’s/master’s degrees in economics, is involved as policy director of the student-run think tank Roosevelt@UGA and as director of public affairs for the University Judiciary. He is a Leonard Leadership Scholar and has served on the student selection committee for UGA’s Delta Prize for Global Understanding.
Stephen Dorner, microbiology, Alpharetta
Dorner, who is pursuing minors in Spanish and environmental health, is the president of the UGA chapter of Global Endeavors, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides sustainable public health programs in underserved international communities. He also serves as president of Volunteer UGA and is involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
Chandler Holbrook, international affairs and history, Monroe
Holbrook has studied abroad, teaching English to a kindergarten class in Xi’an, China. She most recently worked with resettled refugees from Asia and Africa as an intern for the International Rescue Committee. Holbrook also is a goodwill ambassador and executive board member with UGA’s Arch Society and has served as co-leader of Bulldawg Bigs Mentoring Program.
Betsy Katz, mathematics, Spanish and religion, Thomasville
Katz, who has been to Mexico and Argentina to teach English and volunteer in a nursing home, has participated in local community service as a Spanish language interpreter and as a tutor for immigrant students at Pinewood Branch Library and Clarke Central High School in Athens. She is also involved with the Presbyterian Student Center at UGA.
Lauren Kelly, microbiology, Johns Creek
Kelly serves as coordinator for service-learning with UGA’s Alternative Spring Break and has led several trips, including traveling to Philadelphia this past spring to work beside adults with developmental disabilities. She has also worked with service-learning abroad in both Tanzania and Nicaragua. Locally, she gives English lessons to day laborers and serves as a Spanish language interpreter with Mercy Health Center, a clinic for the uninsured.
Asiya Khan, religion and psychology, Alpharetta
Khan is a mentor at the Thomas Lay After-School Program in Athens and an assistant teacher with the local Autism Angel Network. These activities have developed her interest in helping individuals with learning and psychosocial disorders. She also has conducted neuroscience research at UGA and the Medical College of Georgia, focused on basic learning mechanisms.
Katie Moore, broadcast news and French, Charleston, S.C.
Moore has interned at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation where she taught basic typing skills to high school students in the radio journalism sector of Kumasi. She has also interned with the National Geographic Society’s communications department, researched eco-tourism in Fiji and New Zealand, and volunteered to reduce ecological waste at sustainability forums.
McCoy Pitt, international affairs, Atlanta
Pitt, who is pursuing certificates in global studies and personal and organizational leadership, interned with U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss this summer in the Military and Defense Legislative Department. He traveled to Budapest, Prague and Krakow with UGA’s Terry College of Business during the Maymester. Pitt is currently a Leonard Leadership Scholar and a participant in UGA’s ROTC program. He also has been involved with the Student Government Association.
Selena M. Robinson, public relations, Harlem
Robinson has maintained a 4.0 GPA while holding several campus leadership positions. She has been involved with UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences student senate and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, served as an ambassador with the Honors Program and the Franklin College, and completed a Washington internship with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
Kristen Tullos, economics and international affairs, Valdosta
Tullos, having worked in the office of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, is involved with the student-run think tank Roosevelt@UGA. In leading the group last year, she helped focus the members’ policy efforts on local Athens issues. Tullos currently is a teaching assistant for the Roosevelt Scholars Seminar in which participants learn how to write effective policy proposals.
For more information on the Crane Leadership Scholarship or UGA’s Honors Program, see http://www.uga.edu/honors.
For more information on UGA’s Center for Leadership and Service, see http://www.uga.edu/cls.
