Archive for category: Alumni Spotlight

Last month, the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors met for its quarterly meeting and had a chance to hear from Lynwood Blackmon, DeKalb County Extension Coordinator, with the DeKalb Mobile Farmer’s Market. This mobile food market is run through UGA Extension, which helps local communities as part of the university’s mission as a land-grant institution.

In addition to increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables at an affordable price, the Mobile Farmer’s Market also educates its customers about healthy eating habits.

So, how did this program get started? 

Officials in DeKalb approached DeKalb Cooperative Extension to discuss the possibility of launching a Mobile Farmer’s Market modeled after the Fulton County Mobile Market (Fulton Fresh). However, the initiative went well beyond the expected result and the market has become an amazing addition to the already established cooperative extension foundation. DeKalb County was able to provide a retired prison bus, which was retrofitted to accommodate this project.  

This program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) initiative to promote healthy eating and physical activity and help improve health and reduce health disparities for residents in DeKalb County

What is the program’s mission? 

The mission of the DeKalb Mobile Farmers Market is to provide access to healthy, affordable food. The market makes stops throughout the county bringing fresh regionally grown fruits and and vegetables to low income communities. The Mobile Market accepts EBT (SNAP benefits), credit cards, checks, and cash. The DeKalb Mobile Farmers Market is a program of DeKalb County Extension

The DeK goes to communities without access to grocery stores within a one (1) mile radius and provides an opportunity to learn healthy eating habits and purchase items.

How successful has the program been? 

Year One:

• More than 10,000 pounds of produce sold
• Served 8 communities and 2 employee-based locations
• Served 3,210 non-unique participants

 Year Two:

• More than 19,000 pounds of produce sold
• Served 10 communities
• Served 5,367 non-unique participants

How can people help out?

“Get on the DeK” – This will allow community members to make one-time or continuous donations to the DeK.  The funds will be used strictly for the programming provided by the DeK in DeKalb County.

Volunteer Opportunities – This would involve assistance during large-scale events in May and September of each year and will launch in 2017. Volunteers will go through a simple screening process and half day of training.

Community Partners – Another 2017 initiative is get people involved by having them bring DeK information to their communities and encourage visits to the market.

For more information or to get involved, please email mobilemarket@dekalbcountyga.gov or visit this website.

As a graduate of the University of Georgia, Stephanie Berrier (BBA ’07) has always been committed to staying involved with her alma mater. Originally involved with the alumni chapter in Chicago from 2007-2010, Berrier immediately reached out to fellow Bulldogs in 2013 when she moved to St. Louis. The rest is history! Today, Berrier is a president of the St. Louis Chapter, which boasts more than 700 alumni and friends in the area.

Digital communications intern Emily Middleton ’18 recently interviewed Berrier to learn more about the St. Louis Chapter.

When did you graduate from UGA and what are you up to now?

I graduated from UGA in May 2007 with a degree in International Business from Terry College, and also have an MBA from the Global Partners program at Georgia State and IAE Sorbonne in Paris. Since then, I’ve bounced around for my career and education, living in Chicago, Atlanta, Paris, and Santiago, Chile. Now I live in St. Louis with my husband, Stephen Berrier (AB ’07), and our dog, Savannah. I love to travel and I’ve been fortunate that my studies and work have made that possible!

How did you become involved in your local chapter?

I first got involved when I moved to Chicago, which has a really large chapter. My roommate and I both got involved with the leadership there in from 2007-2010. When I moved to St. Louis in 2013, I didn’t know anyone. So, I looked up the local chapter online to get involved and meet new people. It’s a great way to have a piece of home and make friends!

What chapter event are you most proud of?

Last December, our chapter was able to have an amazing event with the St. Louis Rams, including tickets and a post-game meet and greet with former Georgia Bulldogs Alec Ogletree, Will Witherspoon and Todd Gurley. It was particularly special as the team has now moved to Los Angeles.

How has being part of your local chapter benefited you?

It’s been a great way to meet people, especially as a new person in a new city. In my experience, the passion UGA alumni have for the university and Athens itself is so unique! I’ve literally met Georgia fans all over the world and we instantly had that connection, making it easy to grab a drink and cheer ridiculously within minutes of meeting.

What is the most important lesson you learned during your time at UGA?

It’s hard to pick just one! I think learning to embrace change during my time at UGA was most important. Friends move and change, relationships evolve, even jobs or majors can come and go. Learning to lean into changes, getting excited by the opportunities instead of being afraid or avoiding change, helps build strong character and a positive attitude. It also opens doors to life experiences you may never think you would have, which can be really fun!

If there is any advice you could give to a current student, what would it be?

Enjoy your time at UGA – not just socially, but embrace all the opportunities to get involved! It’s a time to learn and ‘fail’ in a safe environment. Learning what you don’t want to do with your life is an important part of the journey to figuring out what you actually do want to do!

When it was time for Kelly Smith (AB ’00) to choose a college, she toured different schools: big, small, all girls, coed—she saw it all. However, upon stepping onto UGA’s campus, her decision was made. As a political science major, she studied abroad in Verona, which Smith says taught her unique ways of thinking about the world.

Today, she works at Lighthouse Counsel in Nashville, a company owned by a fellow UGA graduate, that helps nonprofits succeed through fundraising consulting. Getting connected with the Nashville Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association helped her to meet other alumni in the city, and as president, her leadership has grown the chapter. In a conversation with Smith, she shares memories of her college experience, and imparts her wisdom on how students can get the most out of college.

What was your favorite class at UGA?

All of the classes I took while studying abroad in Verona were amazing. It might have just been the setting, but I really loved them. It was such a great opportunity. My favorite class on campus was the Intro to Political Science course that made me decide on it as my major. It was mind-opening and exposed me to so many ideas that I had never considered in the past. That was the beginning of my interest in political science.

How did you get involved with the UGA Alumni Association?

When I first moved to Nashville, before social media was a thing, I remember getting on a website and finding the Georgia Bulldog Club, which I was vaguely aware of. There was a contact here in Nashville and I asked him how I could get involved. He told me there were a few guys who go to the games together, and that if I wanted to get involved I could, so I did. I ended up tracking down people in Georgia T-shirts and stopping to talk to people with Georgia stickers on their cars—really defining what going organically means—to grow the group, and it took off from there.

What chapter event are you most proud of?

I remember we had a tailgate for Vanderbilt five years ago that was packed—I mean jam-packed. Locals, out-of-towners, UGA employees and people from Athletics were all there.  What was neat was that we had a connection with someone who was selling condos that weren’t open yet, so they gave us full range of the whole facility and pool for the tailgate. We probably had 300 people there, and of course the Alumni Association helped us out a ton. Another one that we have done for years is a water station at the Country Music Marathon. It’s good visibility and marketing for us, and it’s also great from a volunteering standpoint that we can help out.

What is your favorite thing to do in Nashville?

Eat. We have the best restaurants and new ones open all the time. I have a mason jar full of Post-it notes of restaurants that I want to try. I like to try all the new chefs since a lot of them come from Atlanta and beyond. We have great food!

What advice would you give to graduating seniors and recent graduates?

Get uncomfortable. Reach out, network and pick up the phone to call people. I get emails all the time. Emails are great, but I think there’s value in getting uncomfortable and putting yourself out there to grow your circle of friends and connections.

This blog was written by Nellie Pavluscenco ’18, intern for DAR Communications. 

Homecoming at the University of Georgia holds a special place in many graduates’ hearts. From the annual concert, to the parade through downtown Athens, or the carnival, there are plenty of memories to be made. This week, memories are cherished even sweeter for previous Homecoming Kings and Queens. I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with some of UGA’s past Homecoming royalty last month to see where they are today and learn more about their experiences being crowned Between the Hedges.

1) When did you graduate from UGA? What are you doing now? When were you crowned as Homecoming King/Queen?

Mel Baxter (AB ’12): I was crowned Homecoming Queen in 2011, and graduated the following spring. After graduation, I enrolled at Clemson University for graduate school and then moved to San Francisco to work at the Stanford Visitor Center. A year ago, I accepted my dream job as the Visitor Center Director at The University of Texas at Austin. Though I left Athens soon after graduation, and have worked at a variety of schools, I still bleed red and black and am a proud UGA alumna.

Colton Fowlkes (BS ’16): I left UGA in May 2015, and I graduated with degrees in biology and psychology, a minor in religion, and a certificate in personal and organizational leadership. I was crowned during my senior year in October 2014. I am in my first year of dental school at The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University.

Johnelle Simpson (AB ’16, BBA ’16): I graduated from UGA in May 2016. I am now employed by the Clarke County School District in Athens, where I serve as the district’s coordinator for Great Promise Partnership and Work Based Learning. I was crowned King in Fall 2015.

Christina Swoope (BS ’11): I graduated from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and was honored to be UGA’s 2009 Homecoming Queen. I work at the White House Office of Management and Budget as a program examiner. In this role, I have the opportunity to serve America’s most vulnerable population through my work on the Medicare program.

Collette Toney (BSED ’13, AB ’13, MED ’15): I graduated from UGA with undergraduate degrees in both social studies education and history in May 2013. I then graduated from UGA with my master’s degree in May 2015. I was crowned UGA Homecoming Queen in Fall 2012. I am now an educator and cheerleading coach.

Darryl Tricksey (BSEH ’10): I graduated from UGA in 2010. Now, I am a senior associate consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their People and Organizations practice. I was crowned in 2009.

Amanda Turner (’17): I finished my coursework at Georgia this past May, and am completing an internship in Augusta before receiving my diploma in May 2017 in human development and family sciences. I am the most recently crowned Homecoming Queen, having received this honor in fall 2015. I am interning with the Children’s Hospital of Georgia for the Child and Adolescent Life Department to be a child life specialist. Child life specialists are development experts, trained to help children process and cope during stressful experiences and specifically within the hospital environment. We help the child or teenager understand their medical diagnoses and corresponding procedures through medical play, procedural support, coping and distraction, family support and normalizing their environment.

2) What made you want to run for Homecoming Court?

Simpson: I was nominated by the Student Government Association to be its representative for Homecoming King.

Toney: I had a lot of friends who encouraged me to run for Homecoming Court. My sorority sisters nominated me to represent our sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Personally, I thought it would be so wonderful to serve as a representative for UGA on Homecoming Court. UGA was the place where I found the most inspiring and faithful friendships, organizations that molded me into the person I am, staff members who believed in me, and academics that gave me the desire to strive for excellence. I couldn’t imagine NOT wanting to represent the place that has so much of my heart in it!

3) Describe your crowning experience.

Fowlkes: It was pretty surreal walking my mom out Between the Hedges at the homecoming game. I’ll never forget looking up toward the front of Section 309 and looking straight ahead toward the hedges and seeing all of my friends cheering for me. My favorite part of my crowning experience, though, was being able to look my mom in the eyes and simply thank her for giving me the opportunity to attend the University of Georgia.

Swoope: I am so thankful that someone videotaped the halftime crowning in 2009 because I was so excited and surprised that I honestly can’t remember it fully. To say it was an overwhelming moment would be an understatement as, for me, some of the most amazing moments in my life have all taken place on the 50-yard line of Sanford Stadium and never in my wildest dreams would have I have imagined that this would be one of them. Exactly five years prior, I had been invited to conduct the Redcoats at homecoming as a high school junior, and I specifically remember thinking that conducting the Redcoats that day would be a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. Three years later, I marched onto the field for my first pre-game show as a Redcoat Band Drum Major, being the first African-American female in the history of this university to do so. In that moment in 2009, I stood on the field in total disbelief as a member of the 2009 Homecoming Court representing an organization that I can honestly say has had a large hand in making me who I am today. Very rarely can you say that something has truly changed your life, but I know that I am the person I am today and the leader I will be tomorrow because of the amazing experiences, relationships, and challenges I faced at the University of Georgia. Crowning in 2009 is the moment at which all of that became apparent to me.

Turner: Wow, there are almost no words to tell you how overwhelmed and loved I felt. It is such a powerful experience to stand before a student body of 35,000 students, look into the crowd, and know that most of the incredible faces staring back at you are your friends. Not just people you pass on the bus or in the street, but real friends with whom you have had real experiences. It was such an overwhelming moment to experience all the love you’ve poured into others’ lives and experiences, reverse and pour right back onto you. It’s one of those beautiful, Heaven meets Earth, humbling moments that I think only come a few times during your lifetime. To have one of those moments, surrounded by my family and friends, on Stanford Stadium is something I will never forget. Through the entire experience, I wanted to illuminate the stories and peers that had changed me, not just what I had done during my time at Georgia. I would not be the Georgia Bulldog I am without the influence of others. I hope that in that moment of crowning, that my fellow Bulldogs in the stands felt that their stories were being celebrated right alongside mine.

4) What did it mean to you to be elected Homecoming King or Queen?

Baxter: Being voted Homecoming Queen meant the world to me. I came from Kansas to be a Georgia Bulldog, and being a student changed my life in a number of ways. It was an incredible honor to represent the place that I love so much, and I will always be grateful for the opportunities that UGA has given me.

Tricksey: It meant that I was able to represent the entire class of 2010 and all that we had accomplished. To this day, I am amazed at the impact that we had on the university, and I am proud not just to be a Georgia Bulldog, but to also have graduated with such a dynamic group of people.

This year’s King and Queen will be crowned during halftime of the Vanderbilt football game on Saturday, October 15. To learn more about Homecoming 2016 and to view a schedule of Homecoming events for students and alumni, please visit www.ugahomecoming.com.