This spring, eleven UGA undergraduate students will launch a new phase of their venture as 2012-2013 Public Service and Outreach Scholars as they begin 150-hour internships paired with faculty mentors in one of nine public service and outreach units.
Supported by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and administered through the Office of Service-Learning, the yearlong scholars program provides students with the opportunity to learn about UGA’s public service and outreach (PSO) mission.
This past fall, students were introduced to key areas of PSO and UGA’s land- and sea-grant missions through group meetings, site visits, and volunteer activities such as working with Campus Kitchen at UGA, a student organization that provides free, healthful meals to area senior citizens by using donated food that would otherwise go to waste.
Spring semester internships typically offer students a combination of job shadowing, special projects and applied research, said Paul H. Matthews, assistant director of the Office of Service-Learning.
Students work in one of the nine PSO units or the vice president’s office to gain a deeper understanding of PSO’s mission, help them link these experiences with their career and educational goals, and create a community of student scholars who understand the role of university outreach and engagement.
The 2012-2013 PSO Student Scholars have majors and minors in seven of UGA’s schools and colleges, hold an average GPA of 3.58 and represent the geographic, ethnic and linguistic diversity of UGA’s student body. The 2012-2013 Student Scholars are:
- Xanna Burg, a fourth-year dietetics major; she will serve her internship with the Office of Service-Learning.
- Chinwenwa Emeruem, a third-year economics major; she will serve her internship with the Small Business Development Center.
- Megan Ernst, a second-year public affairs journalism and political science double major also enrolled in the MPA program; she will serve her internship with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
- Amber Flanigan, a fourth-year psychology major and child and family development minor; she will serve her internship with the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
- Erica Flanigan, a third-year business management and sports management major; she will serve her internship with the UGA Center for Continuing Education.
- Sue Joe, a fourth-year sociology major; she will serve her internship with the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.
- Jamelia Jones, a fourth-year criminal justice, psychology and music business major; she will serve her internship with the Marine Extension Service.
- Nicholas Mizaur, a third-year economics and international affairs double major minoring in French; he will serve his internship with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
- Alexander Newell, a fourth-year history, political science and philosophy major; he will serve his internship with the Archway Partnership.
- Stephanie Rattanong, a fourth-year landscape architecture major; she will serve her internship with the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development.
- Annie Stocklin, a third-year economics and anthropology double major; she will serve her internship with the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development.
