All Entries in ‘Students’

In June, a group of 11 students and faculty from the University of Georgia embarked on an incredible journey, to villages in sub-Saharan Africa so remote that few Americans have seen them. There they spent four weeks alongside the people of the Ukerewe Islands in Tanzania soaking in their culture, language and lifestyle. As part of the UGA-Gertrude Mongella Partnership, the Georgians offered the Tanzanians ideas for increasing economic independence and they in turn got a different view of the world.   Enjoy the entire story by Kelly Simmons in the Georgia Magazine by clicking here.

Posted in Program News, Students |

Twenty-five highly qualified high school seniors and their parents will visit the University of Georgia for an English/Spanish bilingual educational forum specially designed to welcome and encourage potential UGA applicants. Current Latino UGA students, parents, faculty, and alumni will be on hand to welcome the visitors and to share their experiences. English/Spanish interpreters will be available throughout the program. Continue reading »

Posted in Students |

Athens, Ga. (April 21, 2008) – Approximately 700 middle and high school students from throughout Georgia exhibited projects at the 60th Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF), held at the Athens Classic Center April 2-5. The University of Georgia has coordinated this program since 1948.

Exhibits in the fair included projects and experiments in seventeen categories. All participants earned the opportunity to compete in the state fair by winning honors in one of the twenty-one GSEF affiliated regional fairs.

Top high school honors went to Archit Bhise, Peachtree Ridge High School, Duluth; Stoyan Ivanov, North Springs High School, Alpharetta; and Marissa Pan and Kelsey Schodowski, Alpharetta High School, Alpharetta. These students, along with 39 others from across the state, received an invitation to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, May 11-16, 2008.

Top middle school honors went to Marguerite Bradley, The Walker School, Marietta; Deborah Postma, Brookstone School, Columbus; and James Conners, Fielding Keeley and Joseph Vanterpool, William James Middle School, Statesboro. These students received an invitation to participate in the Society for Science and the Public’s Middle School Program along with twenty-five other middle school students from throughout Georgia.

In addition to the grand award prizes, entrants in the GSEF competed for more than $48,000 in prizes and awards honoring best achievements in specific scientific areas. There were more than 100 award donors from universities, government, industry, and professional organizations.

The exhibits were judged Thursday, April 3, on creativity, scientific thought and engineering goals, thoroughness, skill and clarity. Two hundred judges from the University System of Georgia and contributing societies and industries judged these projects.

On Friday students, parents and teachers participated in various tours of the UGA campus.

Thirty-five projects in the Senior Division received all-expense-paid trips to the 59th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, Georgia, May 11-16, 2008. These Georgia students will compete against more than 1,400 students from 46 countries. Elizabeth Kornegay of Thomasville Scholars Academy was chosen as the Merial Biological Student of Promise and will travel to ISEF as an observer. The Intel ISEF is best described as the World Cup, The World Series and the Olympics of science competitions.

Posted in Students |

ATHENS, Ga. – A unique project by the students of the University of Georgia’s New Media Institute may soon make wireless phones a new vehicle for Public Service Announcements in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

With the support of Verizon Wireless and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the project organizers hope to create a new production model that allows public service announcement videos to be created by peers and delivered on personal mobile media devices. The goal of the AIDS Personal Public Service Announcement (PPSA) project is to increase awareness of the importance of HIV testing, encourage young people to get tested, and pioneer new ways to reach young adult audiences with vital educational messages.

“Delivering health messages to young people today can be frustrating,” said Dr. Scott Shamp, Director of the New Media Institute and professor of telecommunications at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “A whole generation isn’t using their parent’s media, so we have to find new ways to reach them. Mobile media has powerful potential for reaching young people with information to help them stay healthy and protect others.”

Coordinated by UGA’s New Media Institute, the project will bring teams of university students and faculty from around the Southeast together on April 22-23 in Atlanta. Using wireless phones and data equipment, student teams from Emory University, the University of South Carolina, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University will collaborate using wireless communications with producers from around the country to shoot, edit, produce and premiere short video PSAs encouraging HIV testing.

“It’s exciting to not only see young people using our equipment and our network in an innovative way but to see how this can directly impact individual lives and the community at large,” said Jeff Mango, president of the Georgia/Alabama Region for Verizon Wireless. “Wireless technology has certainly become part of our daily lives both professionally and personally. It’s only fitting that we harness the power and reach of technology for the greater good and participate in this program.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a quarter million people are estimated to be living with HIV and are unaware of their infection. Often those infected exhibit no visible symptoms and are more likely to pass the virus to others. Knowing infection status can lengthen life expectancy dramatically as patients are able to start treatment earlier.

“Mobile media is an outlet for truly personalized content. It is an opportunity to reach a targeted audience in a personal way for the public good,” said Kelly Jones, a project participant and UGA student. “Especially for controversial and emotionally charged issues, personal devices are a discrete way to create awareness.”

Student teams will participate in a day of educational forums on HIV and related issues on Tuesday, April 22, including talks by professionals from a variety of organizations including top CDC experts on HIV/AIDS. Teams will begin video production at 9 a.m. on April 23 and end at 4 p.m. with final PPSA videos due by a 7 p.m. deadline. The AIDS PPSAs will be distributed via a variety of channels in association with a series of nationwide educational and promotional events associated with National HIV Testing Day, June 27, 2008. This annual event is organized by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA).

Founded in 2000, the New Media Institute is an interdisciplinary teaching and research unit of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication (www.grady.uga.edu) at the University of Georgia (www.uga.edu/). The NMI is dedicated to innovating with communication technologies.

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 65.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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Posted in Students |

Athens, Ga. (April 21, 2008) – The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel is currently accepting registration applications for the 2008 Summer Academy at UGA. SAUGA is a popular series of summer day camps designed to keep the minds and bodies of 10- to 17-year-olds active during summer break. Camps begin the week of June 2 and are held at the Georgia Center.

Since 2001, SAUGA has enriched the summers of more than 300 campers and has provided fun instructional activities in a wide range of subjects. Programs are divided into one- and two-week sessions. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

This year’s camp offerings include “Mini Medical School,” in which campers will perform surgery on mock specimens, take medical board exams, review x-rays, visit a dentist office and much more. Other new camps include “Sing Your Heart Out,” an American Idol-style voice workshop; “Rockin’ Rockets,” which will explore aerodynamics and physics; “Young Point of View,” an in-depth photography camp; and “Screenwriting and Production” camp. Also new this year is a “Young Actors” camp, which will be taught by an actress who appeared on Seinfeld, an Emmy-award winning TV series.

Other popular camp offerings include “DAWGWarts”, a Harry Potter-themed camp; “Video Production Camp,” “Comic Book Creation” and “Cartooning Camp.”

For more information or to register, please contact Kathleen McDermott at 706/542-3537, 800-325-2090 or Kathleen.McDermott@georgiacenter.uga.edu. Additional information is available online at http://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/ppd/summer_academy/.

The Georgia Center, a unit of the University of Georgia’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, provides innovative lifelong learning opportunities through its continuing education programs. On UGA’s campus, the Georgia Center includes a full-service hotel with 200 rooms and suites, restaurants, ballroom, conference rooms, auditoriums, a fitness center, and computer lab-all under one roof. For more information, see www.georgiacenter.uga.edu.

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Posted in Program News, Students |

Athens, Ga. (April 7, 2008) – The College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia’s annual Open House was held Friday, April 4, 2008. A parade of dog breeds, rodeo and farrier demonstrations, and veterinary hospital tours were just some of the activities available to young and old alike at the event sponsored by UGA’s veterinary students.

This annual event focused on veterinary medicine as an exciting, rewarding career, and demonstrated the variety of career options available to veterinary medicine graduates.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to see firsthand the role of today’s veterinarian,” said Dr. Lari Cowgill, faculty advisor for Open House. “Veterinary medicine entails so much more than the care of cats, dogs, horses and cows. What we learn from animal health has a significant impact on public health issues.”

Other activities included horseshoeing, hatching quail eggs, face painting, a dog dancing demonstration, and question and answer sessions with current veterinary students. Children also assisted while veterinary students repaired their favorite stuffed playmates in the Teddy Bear Surgery area.

“Parents and teachers look forward to this each year, and the kids always have a great time interacting with the animals and the veterinary students,” said Denise Brinson, vice president of the class of 2010 and co-organizer of the event.

In addition, tours of the small and large animal hospitals were available all day, with scientific exhibits showcasing every kind of animal from dogs to horses to exotics.

The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1946, is dedicated to training future veterinarians, providing services to animal owners and veterinarians, and conducting investigations to improve the health of animals as well as people. The College benefits pets and their owners, food-producing animals, and wildlife by offering the highest quality hospital and diagnostic laboratory services. Equipped with the most technologically advanced facilities located on a university campus, the College is dedicated to safeguarding public health by studying emerging infectious diseases that affect both animal and human health. The College enrolls 96 students each fall out of more than 500 who apply. It has more than 130 faculty members.
For more information, please visit www.vet.uga.edu/ERC/openhouse.

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Posted in Events, Students |

Athens, Ga. (March 24, 2008) – The 60th Georgia Science and Engineering Fair will be held at the Athens Classic Center April 2-5, 2008. Since 1948, the University of Georgia has been home to this statewide science competition where Georgia’s top students exhibit their original scientific research.

Approximately 700 students in grades 6-12 were selected to exhibit their research projects. Each participant earned the opportunity to compete in the state fair by winning top honors in one of 21 affiliated regional fairs. Exhibits will include projects and experiments in 17 distinct categories, including biochemistry, engineering and plant sciences, among others.

Science fair research projects provide education and training opportunities to Georgia’s students by preparing them to succeed in college and to flourish in an increas ¬ingly complex and highly technical world. The exhibits will be judged on creativity, scientific thought and engineering goals, thoroughness, skill and clarity. Judges are recruited from the University System of Georgia, private institutions, scientific organizations and members of industry and govern ¬ment laboratories. A total of 185 judges will participate in this year’s event.

In addition to four grand award prizes of all-expense paid trips to the International Science and Engineering Fair, entrants will compete for more than $48,000 in prizes and awards honoring the best achievements in specific scientific areas. More than 65 award donors from corporations, colleges and universities, government, industry, and professional organiza ¬tions have donated prizes.

Judging will take place Thursday, April 3. The public is invited to view the projects during the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair open house, Friday, April 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Athens Classic Center.

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Posted in Students |

Athens, Ga. (March 24, 2008) — Students ages 15-19 who show a demonstrated interest in building leadership in Latino communities are encouraged to apply for the Fanning Institute’s Leadership Sin Limites! youth leadership program. Applications are due by April 15, 2008.

The Latino Youth Leadership Program was created as a vehicle to develop leadership skills in high school-aged students and to encourage the attainment of a higher education, based on the philosophy that developing youth as leaders will increase their knowledge of and access to educational opportunities.

For more information or to download an application, visit http://www.fanning.uga.edu/our-work/lylp.

Posted in Students |

The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine Canine Club held its annual Canine Spay Day on January 26, 2008. Junior veterinary students performed the surgeries on 24 dogs from the local Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter (MOAS), with sophomore and freshmen students providing anesthetic services. The Canine Club provides this spay/neuter service free of charge to a local animal shelter each spring.

“Our entire club budget goes to Spay Day each year,” says secretary Shirin Modaresi. “All of our fundraisers pay for making these animals ready for new homes.”

Once the dogs are spayed or neutered, they are prepared for adoption at the animal shelter.

“The service they provide makes such a difference,” says Cat Lindsey, director of MOAS. “We normally pay a veterinarian to perform the spay and neuter surgeries. By not having to pay for these 24 animals allows us to save money for other medical treatments, supplies and general upkeep of the shelter.”

“We are proud to have our veterinary students taking an active role in helping control pet overpopulation in our area,” says UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Sheila W. Allen. “The Canine Club has sponsored Spay Day for the last several years. Their participation has not only helped them gain valuable experience to become better prepared as veterinarians after graduation, but it also has generated a positive relationship with local shelters and the community.”

“The students did an excellent job,” Lindsey adds. “We were expecting a couple of the females to have a longer recovery time, but they all hopped out of the trailer when they got back to the shelter, ready to go!”

According to Lindsey, two of the dogs have been adopted within a week after the Canine Club’s Spay Day.

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The Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach will host the 2008 Padres e Hijos weekend, an educational forum for academically qualified high school seniors, September 19-20, 2008. Applications are due by May 15, 2008.

Twenty-five highly-qualified high school seniors and their parents will visit the University of Georgia for an English/Spanish bilingual educational forum specially designed to welcome and encourage potential UGA applicants. Current UGA students, parents, faculty, and alumni will be on hand to welcome the visitors and to share their experiences.

Download the 2008 application here.

Posted in Events, Students |