Bigger than me: Alumna remembers first game day

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The 2015 football season is days away and the UGA Alumni Association couldn’t be more excited! Many alumni look back fondly on their first game day experience at UGA, what it was like to wake up and find campus covered in a sea of red and black. Today, we are featuring an article from alumna and middle school teacher Rebecca Hendrix (BSED ’08, EDS ’14) wrote to teach her students about the concept of theme.

Lonely.  Very lonely.  Will I make it here?  Do I fit in here?

“So, what are you going to wear to the football game on Saturday, Becca?” asked the pretty girl, Leigh, who lived across the hall from me in Creswell. I thought it was a really silly question. In my mind, football equated to hot dogs, hamburgers, sweat, shorts and T-shirts, and an all-around laid-back, exciting time.

“Um, I don’t know, I guess a Georgia shirt and shorts?” I didn’t have a creative answer to this one. Honestly, I hadn’t put that much thought into it.

“I heard that a lot of girls dress up for the games. I heard that they wear dresses and skirts and stuff,” mentioned Kimberly, another Creswell resident. Our group on the hall was a varied one, a mixed hodge-podge of ladies from all over the country, each very individual, but yet, somehow the same.

“Seriously?  I would never have thought that! Gosh, I don’t even like dressing up for church.” My response tried to shake off the fact that I was actually very nervous about the game on Saturday. This would be my first college football game, and I was beyond excited.  But this whole what-to-wear debate was just a smaller example of the larger issues I had faced during my first three weeks living on campus at UGA. I felt as if college was the middle school of my up-and-coming adult life. I didn’t know anyone, as I had come as the only person from my high school.  I was trying to figure out how to not get lost every day on the thick and twisted bus routes. And now, I was going to have to worry about wearing the wrong thing to a football game?

“I guess I could wear this black skirt I have, and I have a red tank top. That should be OK for the first game. But I’m not wearing heels. No way! There are too many hills; my feet will die!” We agreed in our little group that flip-flops were a definite must; I knew I could splurge on a pair of Georgia flip-flops I had seen at the bookstore just a couple of days ago.

Rebecca A. Hendrix (BSED ’08, EDS ’14) is a sixth grade English/language arts teacher at Ashworth Middle School in Calhoun, Georgia. She is also currently pursuing an Ed.D. in school improvement from the Univerisity of West Georgia.  Ms. Hendrix enjoys writing about her various experiences at UGA, particularly to share the importance of higher education with her students.

UGA student honors grandfather with charity golf tournament

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The following guest post is from Cole Calfee ’17, a student at the University of Georgia. Cole is a member of the Student Government Association and the Order of Omega. He co-founded Bowtie Brand, Inc., which was sold in 2014 after three successful years of operation. 

My name’s Cole, I’m a third-year business student at UGA, and I’m organizing a charity golf tournament on Friday, October 2 in Athens.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had October 3 marked on your calendar for quite some time. No loss is easy, but watching the clock tick to zero in the Georgia Dome in 2012 hurt more than most. Alas, the Bulldogs face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide in what is the most hyped SEC crossover game of the year on the first Saturday of October.

My thought for the golf tournament arose this past Easter, when I was in the room when my grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s disease, forgot my mom’s name. It tore me apart. A day later, I had the idea for this event and started working from there. Knowing how many folks would be coming into town for the big game, I thought it sounded like something that had the potential to raise a lot of money and ultimately do a lot of good in fighting a disease that affects so many of us.

The tournament is a 2-man scramble, and every penny we raise will go directly to The Alzheimer’s Association. I’d love for you and a partner to join us as we bring together alumni and students from both the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia for a morning of golf before the game the next day.

Checking in with Marc Gorlin (ABJ ‘95), No.1 Bulldog 100 business owner

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Director of Alumni Programs Frances Beusse (BS ’06) sat down with Marc Gorlin (ABJ ’95), serial entrepreneur and owner of Kabbage, Inc., the 2015 No. 1 Bulldog 100 business to discuss his latest venture, Roadie, the first neighbor to neighbor shipping network. 

Roadie delivers your stuff where it needs to go faster, cheaper, and friendlier. Learn more about Roadie and download the app at roadie.com/download.

Say you’re making a Roadie delivery from Atlanta to Athens. Describe your perfect day in the Classic City.

Well, the day obviously starts with me rolling into Athens with a package to deliver. I love meeting new people and the Roadie community includes more than its fare share of Bulldog fans, so that’s always fun. After that, I like to walk around campus and stop at the bookstore to get my kids something – you can never have enough UGA gear. Stopping by the Grady College is a must and Dean Charles Davis (MA ’92) usually has good stories to share. Finally, it’s hard to get me out of town without visiting The Grill. I used to enjoy that fine establishment much later in the evening during my days in Athens, but these day I go old school and drop in for a BBQ Burger platter with some feta fries and a chocolate milkshake. That always makes for a great day.

The start-up world is continuing to gain speed in the business world. As an alumnus, what advice do you have for UGA alumni or students looking to break into the start-up business?

Start early and start often. Don’t be afraid of failure. Coming out of school is your best time to take risks. Most students aren’t coming out of school with a spouse, mortgage payments or kids. Take chances and don’t be afraid to break things. My Dad always told me, “Don’t get a job, find a deal.”  Whether you’re starting a company or just figuring out the right career to begin with, it’s important to find your deal.

With all of your business ventures throughout your career, you’ve met and worked with some pretty accomplished people. Who is the coolest? Celebrities count, too.

The real superstars in my world are the people on my team. They’re the ones that propel the business forward and I’m fortunate to have the job where I get to talk about all the awesome stuff they’re building everyday. Outside of that, meeting Steve Case, founder of AOL, was pretty cool. We met this summer as he toured the country on his start-up tour called Rise of the Rest. What he’s doing is very exciting in our community. But, I’d have to say my favorite is Chris Bridges, better known as Ludacris in the music world, Roadie’s newest partner. This guy is a Grammy Award-winning artist, he’s about to start filming Fast & Furious 8, and he’s so down to earth, and easy to work with. Not to mention that getting to know him has been seriously great for my street cred.

What did it meant to you to be the owner of the No. 1 Bulldog 100 fastest growing business in 2015?

It was a huge honor. There are so many great Bulldog businesses out there, so to come out on top was an unexpected but crazy awesome honor. I love that it was the first time someone from the Grady College has won the award. That made it even more special to me, and based on his reaction, Dean Davis was pretty excited about it, too.

As a UGA student, what impacted you the most? Any student groups, notable professors or light bulb moments that helped to launch you?

It’s not every day that a tech entrepreneur comes out of journalism school, but I think that experience had a huge impact on me. It helped develop my natural curiosity for people and for how things work in the world. That’s what being an entrepreneur is all about. Conrad Fink was one of my favorite professors in J-school. He taught me to ask great questions and narrow in on the essence of an idea or concept. He probably exhausted more than one box of red pens getting that point across, and for that I owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Your career path has had lots of twists and turns. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Assuming Roadie’s partnership with Ludacris continues to go well, I plan to start my own hip-hop career under the stage name Lil’ Roadie and I hope to fill stadiums worldwide and make billions. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll be thankful to be running the most innovative company in the shipping industry and helping make the world a better, greener, friendlier place.

Alumnus Spotlight: Joey Shonka (BS ’05)

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Joey Shonka (BS ’05), a long distance hiker and mountaineer, is trying to become the first person to traverse the entire Andes mountain range on foot. He has completed the Triple Crown of Hiking, which refers to the three major U.S. long distance hiking trails: the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). Joey has written the following books about his experiences hiking each of these trails.

“The Darkness in the Light” (about the AT)

“An American Nomad” (about the PCT)

“A Strong West Wind” (about the CDT)

In July 2013, Joey began his attempt to create the first unbroken chain of footsteps across the continent of South America. He started his trek at Cape Froward, the southernmost point on the mainland of South America. As part of his current journey, he has already hiked nearly 5,000 kilometers, crossed parts of the world’s third-largest glacier network and summited seven of the highest peaks in the Americas. Joey checks in via a location tracker on his website to keep family, friends and fans updated. Recently, he was spotted near the Rio Vilcanota in Peru. Joey plans to culminate his hike in Columbia, political unrest permitting, around March 2016.

Learn more about Joey and follow his adventures around the world here.

Alumnus and longtime supporter brings NASA to campus

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Roger Hunter’s (BS ’78, Mathematics) passion for UGA is unmatched by most, and despite living thousands of miles from Athens, his veins are still filled with red and black.

In 2014, the associate director for programs at NASA Ames Research Center in California gave the fall commencement address and a TEDxUGA Talk. This past summer, he hosted UGA President Jere W. Morehead (JD ’80) and other university representatives on a tour of Ames, even surprising them with an image of Uga IX on Mars – the first “earth-being” to visit the surface of the Red Planet.

His commitment to UGA continued this fall when Roger brought two of his NASA colleagues, Roberto Carlino and Jasper Wolfe, to campus to present to and mentor students and faculty on the Friday prior to the UGA vs. South Carolina football game.

Malcolm Adams, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Math, arranged for an afternoon lecture in the Miller Learning Center that was open to all students and promoted in STEM classes on campus. The presentation focused on the history and future of the use of Cube-Sats (mini satellites used for space research) from the perspective of the NASA Ames Research Center.

Earlier that day, though, the NASA representatives participated in a seminar/workshop for a group of faculty and students who are planning to build the first UGA CubeSat to gather spectral data off the Georgia coast. The group includes faculty from geography, marine science, physics and math, and 25 to 30 undergraduate students.

Both the students and faculty in attendance were inspired by the exciting, breakthrough technology presented by the visitors, and were appreciative of the first-hand mentoring offered.

Roger Hunter continues to contribute to UGA through his time, expertise and financial support. His involvement is greatly appreciated and can be seen as a stellar example of alumni enriching the learning experience on campus through volunteerism.

If you are interested in mentoring on campus or bringing a special project to UGA students, please email alumni@uga.edu and indicate your interest.

Update: the Red & Black, UGA’s student newspaper, ran a feature on the student cube sat project at UGA. Read more.