Alumni Spotlight Archives

Full-circle moments: The UGA Mentor Program at its finest

January 14, 2022/by Emily Munnell

[Image above (L-R) – Christina Carrere (BS ’11) and Kelly Strachan (AB ’21) on a balcony overlooking the West Wing of the White House, Spring 2021.]

In a perfect world, participation in the University of Georgia Mentor Program begins as a student in Athens and continues for a lifetime—once a Dawg, always a Dawg—once a UGA Mentee, forever a UGA Mentor. That’s what’s shaping up for Kelly Strachan (AB ’21).

Finding her footing as a first-gen student

The first in her family to attend college, Kelly Strachan realized how overwhelming navigating life at UGA could be when she moved into Creswell Hall her freshman year. Finding mentorship within the UGA alumni base helped her grow confidence and find direction. Kelly took the initiative to find three different mentors during her time at UGA. She first connected with Brian Dill (AB ’94, MBA ’19). Kelly credits Brian, VP of External Affairs for Tanner Health Systems, with helping her find her passion for health administration and policy. Later, Marylen Rimando (PHD ’19), who represents strong women in the field as a health scientist with bioinformatics firm IHRC, Inc., became Kelly’s mentor. Kelly has stayed in touch with both her earlier mentors, but it was her mentorship with Senior Medicare Program Examiner with the White House Office of Management and Budget, Health Division, Christina Carrere (BS ’11), that has proven to be truly life-changing.

From SPIA to the White House

Kelly was a student in UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs when she first reached out to Christina through the UGA Mentor Program. Christina says a part of her heart will always be in Athens, but since her work largely keeps her confined to Washington, DC, she looked for more consistent and meaningful ways to stay engaged with UGA and its students. The UGA Mentor Program fit the bill. What started as a general informational interview with Kelly, quickly grew into deeper discussions about graduate school, career paths, personal challenges each have faced, diversity in the workplace, resulting in a connection that has long outlasted the formal mentor-mentee cycle in the UGA mentor program (typically 16 weeks).

“Kelly and I initiated our mentor-mentee relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was important given my work in health policy and her interest in the field. The timeliness of the pandemic gave us opportunities to discuss the different roles individuals play in responding to something of this magnitude as well as the good, bad and ugly of how policy is formed and shaped using real-world examples in real time,” said Christina.

Several months into their connection, Christina wrote a letter of recommendation for Kelly to Christina’s graduate school alma mater (John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where Kelly is now a graduate student and a graduate teaching assistant). Later, Kelly spotted a posting on Christina’s LinkedIn page about an internship on Christina’s team at the White House. Kelly applied and got the position all on her own. It just so happened that Christina was on a leave of absence throughout the application and interview process. Back in time for Kelly’s first day, Christina counts taking Kelly on her first tour of the White House complex and grabbing a picture with her outside the West Wing (see photo above) as a cherished memory.

Christina says, “Seeing a relationship that started as a virtual connection grow into all of this is a testament to the power of the UGA Mentor Program and its ability to connect students and alumni across the world in meaningful ways.”

Paying it forward

Even while still a student at UGA, Kelly wanted to make certain that every student experienced how giving and supportive the UGA community can be. “One of my proudest roles was being an ambassador for the Mentor Program,” Kelly says. Ambassadors of the UGA Mentor Program work with other students and UGA Career Center staff to foster a culture of mentorship at UGA by developing programming, partnerships and marketing strategies that bring heightened awareness to the UGA Mentor Program.

Recently, Kelly heard from previous mentor Marylen about her current mentee, a UGA student who wants to follow a path similar to Kelly’s. Kelly was all too happy to connect with her and plans to stay in touch. Kelly described it as a full-circle moment. “I truly hope every student at UGA, who may be feeling a little lost or overwhelmed like I was, finds the support they deserve.”

January is National Mentor Month, and January 17 is International Day of Mentoring. To learn how you can become involved with the UGA Mentor Program, visit mentor.uga.edu.

Full medal jacket: Harold Berkman’s SVRC legacy

November 5, 2021/by UGA Alumni

This was written by Charles McNair

Alumnus Harold Berkman fought for his country … and the Student Veterans Resource Center will remember him for it

On Friday, November 19, 2021, the University of Georgia’s Student Veterans Resource Center (SVRC) will proudly dedicate a new display – a waist-length wool jacket spangled with World War II combat medals.

The Eisenhower jacket perfectly fit UGA alumnus Dr. Harold Berkman (BBA ’49) from 1945 until the day he passed away in 2020 at age 94.

“Dr. Berkman was very proud of that jacket and what it stood for,” says Steve Horton (ABJ ’71, MED ’85) of the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors. “He only wore it around fellow veterans and on special occasions.”

Horton first met Dr. Berkman around 2016. Horton, retired Associate Director of Athletics at the University of South Florida (USF), was serving as scholarship coordinator for USF’s Office of Veteran Success. After retiring in 2007 from the University of Miami, Berkman had started a charitable foundation that awarded scholarships to combat veterans at a number of universities, including both USF and UGA.

Naturally, two men with UGA degrees became friends.

“He was a Bulldog,” Horton says. “He was proud of it, proud of his family, and proud of his military service.”

Berkman’s jacket exhibits that service pride. It bears the elite Army Combat Infantryman Badge, a Bronze Star, the Chevalier de las Legion d’honneur from France, and three campaign stars for action in the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns.

After Berkman’s death, Horton worked with his family to find a natural ‘fit’ for the jacket. He looked at a number of military museums, then decided (with the Berkman family’s approval) on the University of Georgia and its SVRC. That organization supports military-connected students by easing their transitions into civilian life, improving their educational experiences, and preparing them for civilian careers.

“Dr. Berkman would be proud to know the university and its veteran resource center displays his jacket and medals,” Horton says.

A girl in the Catskills

Berkman’s illustrious life – and his path to UGA – began in New York.

His parents, first-generation Belarus Jewish immigrants, carved out their version of the American Dream. They did well enough to vacation in the Catskills where, one golden summer in his childhood, Harold met an attractive young girl named Muriel.

She never left his thoughts.

Berkman graduated from high school in June 1944, the same month as D-Day. He got a draft notice, went through basic training, and shipped off to Europe. The 18-year-old rode with 22,000 other GIs aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, a gigantic Cunard luxury liner recommissioned for the war as a troop ship.

Berkman reached France in early January 1945. Manning a machine gun, the young man spent his first 55 days in unrelenting combat as part of the 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division, units in General George S. Patton’s 3rd Army.

As the Allies drove Hitler’s German forces back through France, Berkman won a Bronze Star for valor. He lived through the Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s last offensive against Allies on the western front. Near the war’s end, the Jewish kid from New York was among the first soldiers to liberate Buchenwald, the notorious German concentration camp.

After the war, Berkman joined a wave of returning soldiers attending college on the GI Bill. He chose the University of Georgia, and he raced through school in less than three years to get back to Muriel, that girl from his Catskill summers, as soon as possible.

In an interview with the University of South Florida Foundation, Berkman explained, “If I didn’t get home, she would have been lying on the beach with somebody … and it wouldn’t have been with me.”

Muriel, now 92, lives in retirement in Florida.

“When Harold came back, we started dating,” she says. “He lived in Monticello, New York, and I lived in Brooklyn, so he would drive three hours to take me on a date. We married in 1950 in Brooklyn. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon.”

A rising academic star

The couple cruised into married life in Far Rockaway, New York, where the enterprising Harold opened Valencia Liquor in nearby Jamaica, New York. He grew that entrepreneurial venture into a prosperous chain of 10 storefronts in New York and Connecticut.

Berkman wanted more in life, though, than a retail chain. On the side, he studied at St. John’s University and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in business. He then entered academia at C.W. Post College, a Long Island university where he taught business and sociology.

He became a rising-star academic – Berkman would eventually write or co-write 18 textbooks and publish many articles, mostly on marketing. The University of Miami picked him up by creating the new position of Vice Dean of its MBA program. Berkman spent 30 years at Miami, where he finished his career. He continued to be academically entrepreneurial, founding and leading the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

He and Muriel started a family. A son was born in 1951 and a daughter, Karen, blessed their lives in 1954.

“Dad was very organized and tidy, a personality trait rather than one related to his military career” Karen recalls. “In fact, he never spoke of the military when I was growing up. It was not until he retired at 81 that we started hearing about the war experiences. It became his new identity until he died.”

Karen carved out a distinguished academic career too. She became Dr. Karen Berkman, serving as USF’s Executive Director of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. She also launched USF’s LGBT Student Scholarship – the first at any state university in Florida.

This kind of goodness characterizes the Berkman family, which oversees the Harold and Muriel Berkman Charitable Foundation, Inc. That organization awards some 60 student scholarships a year, at $1,000 each, to various institutions of higher learning. It also funds marketing research. Many military veterans benefit from its scholarships.

Memories preserved

In his 80s, as Berkman began to talk more about the war years, he reached out to other veterans. He considered his most notable achievements for veterans to be leading efforts to create a custom CIB (Combat Infantryman Badge) Florida license plate and creating the Battle of the Bulge Association to honor those who fought in that historic WWII episode.

At a memorable oral history recording with The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Berkman talked about Buchenwald.

“This was the first time Americans had seen a concentration camp,” Berkman said. “I was one of the first GIs in Buchenwald. When I walked in, the ovens were still warm. The inmates weighed 75 pounds, and bones were stacked high where the furnaces were. [It’s] a thing I’ll never forget.”

Berkman told how General Patton drove in to see the camp. Patton notified the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Dwight Eisenhower, and the two generals walked through the grim concentration camp together.

Happier times lay ahead for Berkman.

“My father liked to play tennis and golf,” Karen remembers. “He was very good with his hands. He could fix or build things. He enjoyed family and friends. He spent most hours working – he didn’t have a lot of down time – but we took vacations to Florida or upstate New York when we were young.”

Muriel, the girl he met in upstate New York, still adores the handsome young man she met in the Catskills.

“Harold was determined, diligent, hard-working, and loyal,” Muriel says. “He was generous to others and expected respect. Whenever he set a goal, no matter how difficult to achieve, he would pursue it until he accomplished it.”

That’s the formula Berkman used to woo Muriel. That’s the formula that quickly earned his UGA degree and made multiple businesses succeed. That’s the formula that brought him a long and successful tenure in academe.

Harold Berkman was a man in full with a life in full – a life spangled in medals and honors, worthy of its proud place of remembrance at UGA.

Dugan Bridges’ (ABJ ’06) “distillery” helps entrepreneurs find the spirit of their idea

October 26, 2021/by Clarke Schwabe

Dugan Bridges’ walk to work has, over the years, put him on bustling New York City sidewalks and Hollywood studio lots. Those walks through the global financial capital and the center of the entertainment universe taught him a lot and helped him grow. But it’s his walk to work today—past the Chapel, by the Arch and under the oak trees of North Campus—that he calls “heaven on earth.”

The Oconee County native came to UGA in 2002 with a strong interest in media production, so he set his sights on an ABJ in Telecommunication Arts. In his first three years at UGA, he took on a fairly high-profile extracurricular activity: the position of UGA Mic Man.

The Mic Man is a student who works to fire up Bulldog fans at football games. If you’ve watched or attended a game in Sanford Stadium and seen someone cheering, dancing, and screaming in front of the student section next to Hairy Dawg, you were looking at the Mic Man.

“I was baptized into college football and became a huge Georgia fan because of that,” said Dugan. “I traveled to all the games with the cheerleading team and the mascot. I ate with the athletes, I worked out with the athletes. It was an amazing experience.”

Dugan served as the Mic Man for three years, after which he focused on his major coursework and new extracurricular pursuits.

“I built relationships with people who are some of my best friends now, and we were making films on the side with whatever cameras I could get a hold of through the journalism school,” said Dugan. “I loved it, and I fell in love with UGA.”

Dugan, as Mic Man, leads the student section in Calling The Dawgs.

After graduating in 2006, Dugan headed for New York, where he found a job with a large marketing firm producing corporate videos for brands like Ford, Gillette and American Airlines. The work—though different from what he’d done in college—provided experience and connections.

It was also during this time that he met Jennifer, a New York-born woman who shared a surprising connection with Dugan.

“She loved that I was from Athens,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘How do you know about Athens?’ And I found out she was a big music fan, particularly REM. She said, ‘I read a book about them and the town they’re from, and I’ve always wanted to go there.’”

The future Mrs. Dugan Bridges would eventually get her wish. But for now, they were just dating, while Dugan and the college friends who accompanied him to New York continued to produce short films that were getting accepted to more and more film festivals.

In 2012, Dugan began eyeing a move to California. The prospect of leaving his college friends spurred the group to act on an idea they’d been kicking around since their Athens days. Financing was the big question, until someone suggested what was then a relatively unknown avenue for funding: Kickstarter.

“Time was running out, and it was the only shot we had,” said Dugan. “We thought we knew enough people, but movies are expensive, so this was the kind of favor you can only ask for once. We hoped that our network would show up, and thankfully, they did.”

“The Little Tin Man” became one of the first feature films to be funded by Kickstarter. The film premiered in 2013, was accepted to numerous film festivals around the country and eventually garnered interest from Gravitas Ventures and Amazon, who became its distributors.

Dugan and friends at an event for “The Little Tin Man”

By this time, Dugan and Jennifer had moved to Los Angeles, where the film’s success opened doors for Dugan as he began to pivot his career.

“In New York, I was doing more producing, some writing,” said Dugan. “But in LA, I was much more focused on pursuing writing and directing. The success of the film helped me meet working Hollywood screenwriters and producers and have them treat with me respect and not as some outsider.”

Those opened doors turned into a variety of opportunities for Dugan: mentors gained through writers groups, the chance to direct a fully funded short film, a position working for Robert Zemeckis, the award-winning director of “Forrest Gump” and the “Back to the Future” trilogy.

In 2016, Dugan and Jennifer welcomed their first child, Ronen. Dugan’s career continued to develop as Ronen did, but when his son took his first steps, Dugan’s perspective began to shift.

“As soon as he was able to start walking around, it was like I started having visions,” said Dugan. “For the first time in my adult life, a yard with green grass, a house, all that stuff really started to appeal to me.”

As Dugan’s interest in keeping his family in a one-bedroom apartment waned, his interest in returning to Georgia grew. But because of his work, leaving LA was a big decision.

“Ultimately, I realized that Hollywood is not a place—it’s a direction that you’re going,” said Dugan. “I realized I could go to Georgia, create, stay in contact with my networks in Los Angeles and New York, and help the community that’s growing here and has a desire to make something permanent.”

The Bridges family moved to Athens in 2018. Over the next year, Jennifer got a job with St. Mary’s Health Care System, Dugan got the pieces in place for a business, and Ronen got a brother. When Clark was born, the demands of home began to compete with the demands of work, and the family took a leap: Dugan would launch his business, and Jennifer would stay home with the kids.

Dugan with Jennifer and Clark

Dugan created F7 Film Distillery, a company that helps organizations and individuals refine the stories they share to their audiences. Dugan started F7 in his home, but reached out to UGA early on.

“I wanted to be in a creative environment, and I couldn’t think of a better one than on campus at UGA,” he said. “So, I put out some feelers, and the message I got was ‘This is a great idea, and we have something in the works, so we’ll get back to you.'”

That something was the Delta Innovation Hub. Located on Spring Street near downtown Athens, the Delta Innovation Hub is part of UGA’s Innovation District and hosts startup venture efforts, helps faculty become entrepreneurs, provides students the chance to work alongside UGA corporate partners and serves as the university’s front door for industry engagement.

In late 2020, Dugan was offered a space in the Hub, which opened earlier this year. In September, F7 Film Distillery officially moved in.

Dugan on the set of “Rubber Room,” a TV pilot he directed and co-wrote

Now, alongside his F7 work, Dugan is working with UGA student interns, sharing ideas with other start-ups in the building and preparing to take part in pitch competitions to help aspiring entrepreneurs sharpen and curate their ideas. And when he leaves work, he’s able to walk back under those North Campus oaks, by the Arch and past the Chapel on his way home, to a family that’s grown by two—Micah, 2, and Scarlett, 6 months—since they moved to Athens.

“When I moved back into town from LA and New York, I asked myself, ‘If I’m going to plant here for the next decade, how do I want to live it?’ And all I could think was, ‘I’d love to be back on campus,'” Dugan said. “There’s just so much energy. Surrounding yourself with these aspirational people takes you back to an aspirational time in your own life.

“That’s the environment I wanted to be in, and I found it.”

Celebrating Global Diversity Awareness Month by highlighting a special mentoring relationship

October 14, 2021/by Emily Munnell

Graduate student Kehinde “Kenny” Lawal came to the University of Georgia from Nigeria. She credits her mentor, Alex Gomez (BSBCHE ’13), with helping her make the most of her time on campus.

The Mentee

Kenny decided to attend UGA because she wanted to earn a Master of Science in engineering at a reputable university. Her husband, also a graduate student at UGA, influenced her decision.

Moving to Athens also was Kenny’s first time in the United States. She found the university system here different from back home, and it took her a couple of semesters to feel comfortable.

Kenny eventually joined the UGA Mentor Program to gain a better understanding of the American energy industry. Her search to find a mentor with experience in that field led her to Alex.

“My mentor has been great at showing me where I was at the time and where I needed to be,” Kenny said. “He guided me in setting short- and long-term goals. He also made me aware of opportunities available at UGA to help me build a brand for myself.”

Kenny says her positive experience with Alex has inspired her to become a UGA Mentor when she graduates.

The Mentor

Here, in his own words, Alex describes his experience mentoring Kenny.

It has been a pleasure to get to know Kenny. As an international student, she has overcome unique challenges that I never experienced as a student. Talking through stories together, I got to see how those challenges have her well-prepared for times of transition. Her resilience will not only benefit her career, but it also serves as an example for me to learn from. I use the insights I gain from talking with Kenny to illustrate to others who are considering becoming mentors that mentorship is a two-way learning experience.

I am always impressed by students who are taking advantage of the opportunities UGA provides, and that goes for Kenny, too. Mentorship is an investment. It requires that both mentors and mentees put in energy and effort in order to come out with a valuable experience. Kenny always took any “homework” I gave her and acted on her own to get it done. Her initiative has continuously encouraged me, especially how seamlessly she manages classes, research and family—all while still prioritizing personal development.

Kenny is goal-oriented, proactive, curious about educational and career opportunities, and extremely qualified to excel in whatever she does. Itt has been rewarding for me to watch her confidence grow to match her abilities and qualifications. Kenny is certain to go on to be a great reflection of UGA.

It may amaze you how much you get out of being a UGA Mentor

BECOME A MENTOR

A holistic Dawg

October 14, 2021/by Emily Munnell

Nancy Juneau’s commitment to the University of Georgia is a way of life.

She’s a UGA grad (BSED ’82), a Georgia Bulldogs sports fan and the mother of a UGA alumna. Her company, Juneau Construction, helped grow UGA’s campus and build new residence halls on East Campus. And when she became a UGA Foundation Trustee, she visited every UGA school and college to meet their development directors to learn about what mattered to their area of campus. She followed those discussions by making separate donations in support of each and every school/college. And then, she and her husband, Les, funded four Georgia Commitment Scholarships, and she mentors those scholarship recipients. “There are so many ways you can make a difference!” she always says.

Underscoring her commitment, Nancy also is a member of the Heritage Society. She included language in her will that specifies a gift to the University of Georgia Foundation as part of her estate plan. “Paying it forward and giving others opportunity. This is what is important to me,” Nancy explains. “UGA made it easy and personal.”

What it means to give holistically

A ‘blended gift’ combines annual giving with a planned gift, allowing you to see the impact of your philanthropy today while continuing to support the university’s mission well into the future. The planned giving team in UGA’s Office of Gift and Estate Planning are happy to show you how to give in the way that is most advantageous to you. Just a few minutes of your time can ensure your generosity has the greatest impact now and long after you’re gone.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PLANNED GIVING

Grady College of Journalism celebrates its 40 Under 40 honorees

October 12, 2021/by Shannon Moran

Sarah Freeman and Dayne Young, along with other talented members of Grady’s team of writers, put these features together!

Seven Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication graduates are represented in this year’s 40 Under 40 class. This annual program celebrates young alumni leading the pack in their industries and communities, and Grady was proud to highlight each of them on their blog this summer/fall.

Angela Alfano

Angela Alfano (ABJ ’10, AB ’10) is the senior director of corporate communications for Major League Soccer. She used her public relations education and experience with UGA Athletics to embark on a trailblazing career in professional sports. Alfano also has worked in corporate communications for the National Football League, Washington Football Team and Tough Mudder. She regularly shares her time and expertise with UGA students. Alfano was recognized as a 2019 John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award winner.

Learn more about Angela.

Jennifer Bellamy

Jennifer Bellamy (ABJ ’08) is an anchor and reporter for 11 Alive News in Atlanta. Bellamy has been a journalist for multiple television stations around the south. Bellamy’s fellow Grady grads, mentors and past professors supported her on her journey through broadcast news. She has earned various awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 2015 for Outstanding Local Television Investigative Reporting for report on “DSS: When the System Fails,” the Bronze Medallion from the Society of Professional Journalists and several Southeast Emmy awards.

Learn more about Jennifer.

Greg Bluestein

Greg Bluestein (ABJ ’04, AB ’04) is a political reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covers the governor’s office and state politics. He joined the newspaper in June 2012 after spending seven years with the Atlanta bureau of The Associated Press, where he covered a range of beats including politics and legal affairs. He contributes to the AJC’s Political Insider blog and is writing a book, “How the Peach State Turned Purple,” about the 2020 Georgia elections. He discussed the publication process and identifying local angles in national stories in this episode of Grady College’s The Lead podcast.

Learn more about Greg.

Marie Green Broder

Marie Greene Broder (ABJ ’06, AB ’06, JD ’10) is the first female district attorney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit, including Fayette, Pike, Spalding and Upson counties. Broder graduated from UGA as a dual public relations and speech communications major and continued with a law degree. She has developed a specialty in trying crimes against women and children, and is involved with Promise Place and the Southern Crescent Sexual Assault Child Advocacy Center.

Learn more about Marie.

Bowen Reichert Shoemaker

Elizabeth “Bowen” Reichert Shoemaker (ABJ ’06) is an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a position she has held since 2018. Previously, she was a senior associate at Alston & Bird, LLP and a law clerk to Judge Hugh Lawson. While at UGA, she majored in public relations and was in the Honors Program and Arch Society. Shoemaker earned her law degree from Mercer Law School where she served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review. In her hometown of Macon, Shoemaker serves on the executive board of the Macon Rotary Club, as an adjunct professor at Mercer Law School, and on the executive committee of the Macon Arts Alliance.

Learn more about Bowen.

Britanny Thoms

Brittany Thoms (ABJ ’04) is the co-founder and president of See.Spark.Go, an Athens-based public relations agency. She and her husband, Andy Thoms (BSFCS ’02), founded See.Spark.Go in 2007 with the goal of telling the best stories in the world. They specialize in publicity, social media and digital marketing. Their team has worked with some of the nation’s largest brands on many successful campaigns and events.

Learn more about Brittany.

View the full list of honorees

Alumni Podcast Spotlight: Waitin’ Since Last Saturday

October 8, 2021/by Shannon Moran

Born in Five Points in Athens, Waitin’ Since Last Saturday is a podcast focused on UGA athletics helmed by two Dawgs—Scott Duvall (AB ’00) and Tony Waller (BSA ’90, JD ’93)—and an Illinois grad who quickly developed his own Bulldog fandom, Will Leitch. We asked the three of them about how the podcast came to be, their personal UGA-fan “origin stories,” favorite moments from the pod, and more.

How did you all meet?

Scott: Will and his wife moved to Athens and we hung out for a couple years. He got to experience his first-ever Georgia game-watching party with me and my friends in 2013. The Dawgs lost against Clemson, but he was sold on the fun and passion of being a Georgia fan.

I met Tony through Will. He introduced me to Tony at a Georgia basketball game and I remember asking Will, ‘Hey, is he that famous Georgia blogger?’ He was indeed that. The next couple of times I ran into him, it was like we had hung out for years.

What was your UGA experience like?

Scott: My UGA experience was fantastic. As far as football goes, there were many ups and downs and a lot of losses to Florida. But the years I spent as an undergrad in Athens caused me to fall in love with the city—and fall in love with my girlfriend, whom I married a year after graduation. I graduated with a BA in Speech Communication and have used those skills to help develop my talent as a filmmaker, photographer and podcaster.

Tony: It was an interesting time in the University’s life. We were transitioning from the Davidson to the Knapp years, downtown was transitioning from mom-and-pop stores to more student focused businesses, parking was still out on the other side of the railroad tracks near the loop. I was fortunate to live in my fraternity house for three years after a year in Russell, so I was always close to campus—a great thing because I was very involved in campus activities.

Will: My wife is an alum, and we met in New York City in 2007. I knew she loved football—how could you go to UGA and not?—but I didn’t quite realize how much until the 2012 SEC Championship Game. We were living on the 22nd floor of a high-rise apartment building in downtown Brooklyn, watching the game with our new infant sleeping in the next room. When Chris Conley came up just short at the goal line, I was legitimately afraid my wife was going to throw an office chair out the window and onto unsuspecting New Yorkers hundreds of feet below. I wanted to be a part of anything that would make someone so passionate. When we moved here in 2013, with our kids going to school just across the street from Butts-Mehre, it was impossible not to get sucked in.

When did you know you were a Bulldog?

Scott: I was playing in a high school baseball game my senior year, and my mom held up my acceptance letter to UGA while I was in the on deck circle. I have no idea what I did during my plate appearance that day, but I was as excited as I could be. A few months later, I moved into Creswell Hall.

Tony: In 1978, when I was listening to Munson call the Rex Robinson FG to win at Kentucky while riding back from a rec. sports playoff football game in Port Wentworth.

What was the inspiration behind Waitin’ Since Last Saturday?

Scott: We were at Grindhouse Burgers on Lumpkin Street talking Georgia football, of course. I remember Will casually saying, “I’d do a podcast with you two.” Tony and I looked at each other and basically in unison, said, “Oh, we’re so doing this.”

Tony and I thought it was cool to have Will as a co-host. He wasn’t from here, didn’t grow up a Georgia fan and didn’t even attend Georgia. It would be a journey for him to learn in real time, during shows, the little nuances of why we do things a certain way in Athens.

Tony: I’ve had two different UGA Athletics-focused blogs over the years. I’ve always liked talking more than writing, so I’ve been doing podcasts in my head for years. Given the chance to work with a talented producer like Scott and a smart writer like Will just gave me an excuse to do so out loud.

How did you get started?

Scott: Our first show and the majority of our shows for the 2015 and 2016 seasons were recorded at my house in east Athens. Why my house? Well, I had one condenser microphone. I remember we had a hard time getting the sound just right. You could imagine three guys talking into one mic. But that’s what we did for the first few episodes. Then Tony bought two more. We still use those same three mics today.

How has the podcast grown over the past 6 years?

Scott: We just hit over half a million downloads. But, in all honesty, we gauge our growth on interactions. When someone stops us at a football game, or at a restaurant and lets us know how much they enjoy the show, that means so much to me. I especially love it when it happens when my family is around— my kids usually just roll their eyes.

We have sponsors during the football season and that helps validate the hours we put into the show. Growth is good, but the three of us would probably still do it only if 50 people listened.

Was there a moment where you felt like the podcast really took off?

Tony: We had fortuitous timing, in that we started a podcast in August of Coach Richt’s last season. Having a coaching transition and the excitement of Coach Smart’s first season helped us grow, but 2017 really gave us legs.

Scott: Some of the best shows we did coincided with the Dawgs’ 2017 season. It was the “revenge tour”—that’s how we kept referring to it—and the response on social media and download numbers shot up dramatically as Georgia kept winning games.

How do you balance the podcast with other commitments? When do you find the time to record?

Scott: I’m always editing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a corporate video for the University of Georgia or a local non-profit, or if I’m going through a photoshoot for a client. I’m always editing, and I love it. Having said that, there are times where I have a huge deadline and Will and Tony are great to understand that I either can’t join them or won’t be able to edit the show.

Tony: We just have to be intentional about carving out time. My wife gets that talking with these two is my personal counseling time. The fact Scott hits record is just a bonus.

What has been your favorite moment in creating the podcast?

Scott: My favorite moment is anytime Tony goes off on one of his crazy stories about his trip to Columbia, South Carolina or smoking meats, or throwing shade at opposing fans and coaches. I’m convinced Tony could be a stand-up comic.

Which guests have stuck out to you?

Scott: Georgia beat writer Seth Emerson is always a good one because he has the pulse of the team and it’s great to provide that kind of insight to our listeners.

Tony: The two Australians I spot interviewed in the stands during the break at the start of overtime at the Rose Bowl. These guys picked a heck of a game to get their first American college football game under their belts.

Any new, exciting content that listeners can anticipate this season?

Scott: Yep, I gazed into the future and Georgia’s going to win the national championship this year.

This one’s for Will. You’re an alumnus of the University of Illinois, but having been in Athens this long and in this specific era, do you now consider yourself a bigger fan of UGA or Illinois?

Will: Fortunately, these teams have yet to play each other—other than in women’s college basketball—since I moved here, so I don’t have to face this often. But I grew up right next to Champaign and have orange and blue (the good orange and blue, not the Auburn orange and blue) in my blood. If Illinois ever plays at Stegeman, you’ll see me in my season ticket seats wearing the Illini colors, I’m afraid. But I won’t be a jerk about it.

The real question: Who would my CHILDREN cheer for? Let me know when you know the answer so I can update my will.

The Natural: UGA showed Jackie Mattison new trails to blaze

September 28, 2021/by Shannon Moran

This story was written by Charles McNair.

Jackie Mattison (BS ’76) didn’t have a gymnastics team at her school in Covington, Georgia. She simply tumbled around in the gym and in her backyard, head over heels, like any kid.

She didn’t lead cheers on the sidelines in high school either. Instead, she wore a Newton County Rams costume, boosting school spirit as the team mascot.

With this background, what were the chances that Mattison would one day graduate as University of Georgia’s first-ever Black gymnast … and first-ever Black cheerleader?

“I never thought I’d be doing something like that,” she confesses. “There I was at UGA as a student, just enjoying what students do. I didn’t try to become a gymnast and cheerleader on purpose. It just all fell together.”

Tumbled, she might have said.

Her freshman year, 1973, Mattison took Tumbling 101 as a physical education elective. In one class, she practiced forward rolls on a battered wrestling mat. A sharp-eyed coach was passing through the gym.

“You look like you’re light on your feet,” the coach told her. “Why don’t you come try out for the gymnastics team?”

Jackie Mattison performing a gymnastics routine in 1975.

That day changed everything.

“If it had not been for the kind, inspiring voice of Melinda Airhart (1973-1976 UGA women’s gymnastics coach), my success as a student at UGA would not have manifested the way it did,” Mattison says. “She saw my little bit of talent and worked with me to make it bigger.”

Every Monday through Friday during summer semesters, Airhart waited for Mattison in the gym at Stegeman Hall. They practiced for two hours every day, one-on-one.

Mattison started team practice in fall 1973, the first year UGA fielded a gymnastics team. Her initial competition came in January 1974. She placed first in the vault in several meets that season.

From its humble beginnings, Georgia’s women gymnasts went on to win 10 NCAA national championships. The team has also claimed 16 Southeastern Conference Championships and 22 NCAA regional titles.

Today, Georgia women’s gymnastics–the Gym Dawgs–are generally recognized as one of the nation’s premier program.

Mattison and her teammates blazed the trail for them.

A vault into cheerleading

As Mattison worked out with the gymnastics team, she began to notice the UGA cheerleaders practicing nearby. Intrigued, she tried out for cheerleading in the spring of 1974.

“I got cut,” she remembers. “That hurt so bad. I remember thinking, ‘I’ll never try that again’.”

But she did. Convinced that her white cheer partner had let her fall on purpose during tryouts, she teamed up with a Black partner, Ricky Bivens. They scored highest of all the competitors in initial competitions, and among the highest in a nerve-wracking second tryout at Stegeman Coliseum.

That fall, Mattison found herself shaking pom-poms on the sidelines of Sanford Stadium. Home game Saturdays, she and her cheer teammates led tens of thousands of Bulldog fans in full-throated support of notable teams fielded by then-Coach Vince Dooley. Mattison even held Uga III’s leash as they ran onto the field for home games.

Jackie Mattison with her gymnastics team in 1976.

At the 1976 Cotton Bowl, UGA vs. Arkansas, she turned after a cheer to find herself face-to-face with Georgia native singer James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. Brown had a recent hit song, “Dooley’s Junkyard Dawgs,” which has the following lyrics:

Uh, ha, Dooley’s junkyard dogs
Dooley’s junkyard dogs
They’ll hit ya, they’ll knock ya, ha
They’ll haul right off and sock ya
Dooley’s junkyard dogs
Dooley’s junkyard dogs

As rich as her gymnastics team and cheer team memories are, Mattison holds other moments equally dear. She became one of the very first UGA female student athletes to be awarded a scholarship, thanks to the enactment of a national education amendment, Title IX. And she pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., joining “a sisterhood that still exists today,” she says.

“The camaraderie of Black sororities and fraternities at UGA closely bonded the few minority students,” she says. “Among my best memories are Black student gatherings in the dorms and dining halls, social activities, and greetings as we passed on our way to classes.”

UGA also readied Mattison for life after Athens.

“I feel that the professionalism, support and encouragement of my instructors in the health and physical education department had a major role in my success as a student at UGA,” she says.

“I was motivated by the commitment, energy and excitement in their voices as they taught and engaged students. There was a feeling of a great deal of mutual respect between students and professors. To me, that was a formula for success.”

She took that formula into the world.

Passing it forward

Earning a 1977 master’s degree in health and physical education, Mattison launched a 33-year career as an educator.

She began as a K-5 physical education teacher at Barnett Shoals Elementary School in Athens. She shaped young minds and bodies at subsequent posts in Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and Tennessee.

Along the way, she and her husband Larry had two sons, Landy and Ryan, and one grandson, Sean.

She spent the last 12 years of her career back home, at Newton High School in Covington, teaching health and physical education. In three decades-plus of education, she coached co-ed cross-country and golf, as well as girls’ softball, tennis, and gymnastics. She retired in 2016, her career distinguished by awards and the achievements of her students.

UGA has been with her along all the trails she blazed.

“I left UGA with confidence that I could make a difference in the lives of students from every walk of life,” Mattison says.

“I followed my heart. To this day, I have no doubt that the major reason I was successful in a career as a health educator, physical educator, and coach for 33 years is because I was prepared for life – and made highly qualified in my field – by the University of Georgia.”

Checking in with Alumni Board Member Truitt Eavenson

September 20, 2021/by Shannon Moran

The following Q&A originally ran in the UGA College of Engineering e-newsletter. Thanks to the college for allowing us to share Truitt’s spotlight!

Truitt Eavenson (BSAE ’83) recently retired after a long and successful career with Georgia Power Company. He also recently established the Truitt Eavenson Engineering Scholarship, is a UGA Alumni Association board member, and is a member of the Engineering Advisory Board.

What led you to UGA as an undergrad?

“Growing up 30 miles outside of Athens, I knew that UGA would be where I would go to school. Saturday afternoons listening to Larry Munson on the radio was always a fall tradition. I remember sitting down with the course catalog and reading through the programs, and that’s when I found Agricultural Engineering. I made an appointment with Dr. Robert Brown, and after that visit I knew what my major would be.”

Truitt Eavenson with Uga on the sidelines of a football game.

What are your favorite memories of your time at UGA?

“I transferred to UGA in the fall of 1980. Any Dawg fan will say that there was probably not a more exciting time to be in Athens. The football team was headed to the national championship, work was being done to close in the stadium, and Ag Engineering was selling pieces of the track to fans that had sat there and watched a game. The Ag Engineering program was small enough that we really got to know our fellow students and the professors. And I have to put in a plug for Dr. Sid Thompson. He started what would be a long, memorable career and touched many of our lives as students.”

What inspired you to give back to the College of Engineering?

“This may sound like a simple reason, but I was at work one day talking with a colleague that had also graduated from UGA. We were talking about making contributions to the school where you graduated. They made the statement that they really didn’t understand why people wouldn’t support the school where they received their degree, since the school helped you get a job, reach your career goals, and simply gave us the means to provide for our families. That statement really resonated with me, and I started making small contributions to the engineering program.”

What led to your decision to support scholarships in the College of Engineering?

“I think it just grew from making small gifts. I’ve enjoyed a successful career with Georgia Power, and I wanted to do this as a way to pay it back. An early president of Georgia Power used a line in a speech around 1928. He said that we would be a “citizen wherever we serve.” That was a big part of my career with volunteer activities and the jobs that I was asked to do in communities around that state. My fellow employees at Georgia Power have always set the bar really high when it comes to giving back. When you spend 36 years of your career where that is encouraged and supported, it just becomes second nature, and you find yourself looking for opportunities where you can serve.”

What are your hopes for the future recipients of your scholarships?

“My hope is that 40 years from now they will be asked these questions and will be able to say that the study they completed at UGA allowed them to accomplish all their life goals, and that it helped them provide for their families and make a significant contribution in whatever they attempted to do.”

What has been the most rewarding part of supporting a scholarship in Engineering?

“Just knowing that you are doing a small part in helping the next generation prepare for the future. There’s a proverb that says “society grows when men plant trees they will never sit under.” I feel certain these trees will grow and prosper in ways we haven’t even imagined yet!”

Meet the Rest of the Board

Mistress of Cultural Affairs: Nawanna Miller’s legacy of diversity and inclusion at UGA

September 17, 2021/by Shannon Moran

This was written by Charles McNair.

In fall 1970, Nawanna Lewis Miller (ABJ ’73) took on a daunting mission: showcasing the traditions of African American culture at UGA. The student body at that time was overwhelmingly white, and Miller remembers—painfully—how some classmates did not welcome Black faces.

Miller and her Black classmates resolved to stand up and stand out.

Bannered under the theme of Pamoja, the Swahili word for togetherness, Miller founded a pantheon of Black cultural organizations unlike anything seen before at UGA.

The Pamoja Dancers daringly expressed the Black experience through artistic motion. (Miller danced completely alone at first.) The Pamoja Singers gave beautiful a cappella concerts on the plaza outside Monument Hall. The Pamoja Drama and Arts troupe recounted Black life in stories. (Again, Miller performed solo shows at first.) Finding still more ways to share the importance of Black culture, Miller launched the landmark Journalism Association for Minorities (JAM), and that group produced Pamoja Newspaper.

The ripples of Miller’s work would spread through the next five decades into currently active UGA groups (The African American Choral Ensemble, the Black Theatrical Ensemble, etc.). Thousands of UGA students have taken part in these performing arts ensembles. A 50th Anniversary of Pamoja event in 2020 commemorated their contributions to UGA.

Miller’s leadership came with a unique title: Mistress of Cultural Affairs.

Nawanna Lewis Miller in the 1970 Pandora yearbook.

“I didn’t know what it meant. Nobody knew what it meant,” Miller laughs. “I went and typed out a job description and took it from there.”

The Pamoja movement excited Black students and left them optimistic … to a degree.

“We only had a minuscule number of Black students on campus,” Miller says, “but they made for a supportive audience.

“A few white students,” she smiles, “were curiously polite.”

New success against long odds

After earning a broadcast journalism degree in just three years–Miller took 20 hours each semester–Nawanna and husband George C. Miller (her sweetheart since junior high school), moved in 1977 to Washington, D.C. George took a high political post in the United States Department of the Treasury in President Jimmy Carter’s administration.

The Millers started a family, eventually to grow to six children and seven grandsons. Though the home front kept her busy, Miller now set her sights on another lifelong dream–the ministry.

“My first encounter with Jesus Christ came while I was still in a high chair,” she says. “Through my whole life, I have vigorously served in the church.”

It would turn out that becoming a female minister at a time when men dominated the clergy would take more determination than she ever imagined.

“I can say that the physical, mental, and emotional impact of attending UGA as a minority student in those early years of integration was very, very costly,” Miller says. “But I believe it was even harder to be accepted among Black people—men especially—as Black preacher.”

Miller approached her pastor at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington about her yearning. As a first step, she served as director of metropolitan youth ministries, offering spiritual guidance to children in 30 organizations. Then, in 1989, more than a decade after moving to D.C. and over the objections of other pastors, Miller was licensed to preach by Reverend Dr. H.B. Hicks, Jr.

Finally, in 1992, Miller was welcomed fully to the gospel ministry following a substantial public catechism by clergy who “courageously ordained her,” she says.

“The beautiful part is that this revolutionary moment happened in front of about 1,500 people. That was a powerful affirmation.”

She became one of the first female pastors in the Baptist church.

Miller went on to earn a master’s degree in divinity from Howard University. When the Millers returned to the Atlanta area, she founded the Messiah’s Temple Christian Ministries, serving as pastor there until 2016.

The Gospel of Great Health

After a stroke in 2015, Miller reduced her time in the pulpit. She now serves as a personal pastor to people “from all walks of life,” she says, sharing spiritual guidance through The Institute for Christian Fellowship, yet another organization she founded, this one in 1996.

She spends time writing books. She has five titles in all, with a new one, B.O.L.O. – Be On the Look-Out for Satan’s Top Ten Tricks, due in 2021.

Nawanna Miller in 2021.

Doctors gave Miller only a 15% chance of surviving her stroke. Yet, once again, her unbreakable spirit prevailed. Turning the setback into something positive, Miller designed The Gospel of Great Health program, teaching what she calls “supernatural energy techniques for healing and wholeness” to students and churches.

She’s seen many changes since her days at UGA, but Miller insists that one thing in her life has always stayed the same.

“Excellence was our brand for all of the Pamoja groups,” she says. “And I’m grateful to say that’s still the standard I’ve been blessed to attempt in everything I’ve done all these years.”