I love UGA because
I never intended to go here. I love UGA because I spent just about every fall weekend
away from Athens this October. I love UGA because I am leaving campus to study half
way across the world this spring semester. I love UGA because I spent my first
college summer far away from Athens in North Carolina and I’ll spend my last far
away in Washington, D.C.
Okay, now let me explain. I grew up in southern California, spending my high school years wishing to go away to college—somewhere new and fascinating and different from everything and everywhere I knew. I was bent and determined on doing my own thing and seeing more of the world outside of California. With my family’s strong track record at the University of Georgia, I stubbornly denied the possibility of going to UGA. But while I was resolute on going elsewhere, UGA offered me a scholarship that made my out-of-state dreams possible and secured my status as a Georgia Bulldog. And ever since, the adventure that became my life here at UGA has fallen into place. I got involved right from the start and took all of 30 seconds to realize that I was doing my own thing after all.
Flash forward two years into the future. Waking up at the crack of dawn to represent black and red at College Game Day in a sea of purple and orange. Sitting through a hard loss on a rainy Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. Spending one weekend about as far from southern California culture as possible: at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, enjoying peach cobbler and fried food like never before. I spent yet another beautiful October weekend picking cotton with my family down in Thomasville, Georgia. These moments make up my college experience—seeing new places and experiencing new cultures and adventures. Because the road trips filled with fun and joy every weekend made driving back to Athens on Sunday afternoons that much sweeter—because I was driving home.
This coming spring semester tugs at me because I won’t be returning to Athens, but instead will be embarking on the biggest adventure yet: studying abroad in Florence, Italy. That’s not to say springtime in Athens won’t be very missed, because there’s only one thing better than spring in the Classic City—and that’s Athens in the fall. But I blame UGA for sending me away. Because my time at school so far has proven to me my desire to see the world and experience anything that is new and different, and I know I will keep on doing just that even after I walk under the arch and leave my time in Athens as a student.
I came to college with a wide array of interests and passions and have spent the better part of my time at UGA learning how to apply them to a career some day. I knew what I loved and what I was good at: writing, designing, reading, editing, learning and communicating about the things of love. It became very clear to me that Public Relations was the perfect, open-ended study for me to pursue. This semester, I would spend the mornings learning HTML and working on coding web apps, then spend the afternoons analyzing and learning about British literature. I love being a student at the University of Georgia, and I love studying Public Relations in the Grady College even more because I love preparing for a dynamic career where learning never stops.
I spent the summer after my freshman year of college in the mountains of North Carolina, serving as a camp counselor. My job was to lead my cabin and teach classes, but my purpose was to form relationships. And little did I realize that my time at camp taught me a lot about what I want to do later in life: use my job to fulfill a purpose. And UGA has already afforded me exciting opportunities for the future. This coming summer, I will be interning through the Honors in Washington internship program in the Communications Department at National Geographic in Washington, D.C. where I can continue to learn how to use my job to fulfill my purpose.
So why do I love UGA? Because it has taught me who I am and what I want in life. More importantly, it’s taught me how to take all of that and apply it to life away from Athens and UGA. This incredible school has instilled in me the passion of learning, the joy of adventuring and the confidence to go and pursue those passions and joys everywhere—and not just in Athens, Georgia. So why should you pick me for this scholarship? Because UGA has offered me the opportunities to go across the world to study in Italy and intern at the nation’s capital, but all of these opportunities cost money. Because with the help of resources like this scholarship, I can continue to grow and learn outside of UGA, so that graduation rolls around, I am more than ready to take on the next big adventure.
Okay, now let me explain. I grew up in southern California, spending my high school years wishing to go away to college—somewhere new and fascinating and different from everything and everywhere I knew. I was bent and determined on doing my own thing and seeing more of the world outside of California. With my family’s strong track record at the University of Georgia, I stubbornly denied the possibility of going to UGA. But while I was resolute on going elsewhere, UGA offered me a scholarship that made my out-of-state dreams possible and secured my status as a Georgia Bulldog. And ever since, the adventure that became my life here at UGA has fallen into place. I got involved right from the start and took all of 30 seconds to realize that I was doing my own thing after all.
Flash forward two years into the future. Waking up at the crack of dawn to represent black and red at College Game Day in a sea of purple and orange. Sitting through a hard loss on a rainy Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. Spending one weekend about as far from southern California culture as possible: at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, enjoying peach cobbler and fried food like never before. I spent yet another beautiful October weekend picking cotton with my family down in Thomasville, Georgia. These moments make up my college experience—seeing new places and experiencing new cultures and adventures. Because the road trips filled with fun and joy every weekend made driving back to Athens on Sunday afternoons that much sweeter—because I was driving home.
This coming spring semester tugs at me because I won’t be returning to Athens, but instead will be embarking on the biggest adventure yet: studying abroad in Florence, Italy. That’s not to say springtime in Athens won’t be very missed, because there’s only one thing better than spring in the Classic City—and that’s Athens in the fall. But I blame UGA for sending me away. Because my time at school so far has proven to me my desire to see the world and experience anything that is new and different, and I know I will keep on doing just that even after I walk under the arch and leave my time in Athens as a student.
I came to college with a wide array of interests and passions and have spent the better part of my time at UGA learning how to apply them to a career some day. I knew what I loved and what I was good at: writing, designing, reading, editing, learning and communicating about the things of love. It became very clear to me that Public Relations was the perfect, open-ended study for me to pursue. This semester, I would spend the mornings learning HTML and working on coding web apps, then spend the afternoons analyzing and learning about British literature. I love being a student at the University of Georgia, and I love studying Public Relations in the Grady College even more because I love preparing for a dynamic career where learning never stops.
I spent the summer after my freshman year of college in the mountains of North Carolina, serving as a camp counselor. My job was to lead my cabin and teach classes, but my purpose was to form relationships. And little did I realize that my time at camp taught me a lot about what I want to do later in life: use my job to fulfill a purpose. And UGA has already afforded me exciting opportunities for the future. This coming summer, I will be interning through the Honors in Washington internship program in the Communications Department at National Geographic in Washington, D.C. where I can continue to learn how to use my job to fulfill my purpose.
So why do I love UGA? Because it has taught me who I am and what I want in life. More importantly, it’s taught me how to take all of that and apply it to life away from Athens and UGA. This incredible school has instilled in me the passion of learning, the joy of adventuring and the confidence to go and pursue those passions and joys everywhere—and not just in Athens, Georgia. So why should you pick me for this scholarship? Because UGA has offered me the opportunities to go across the world to study in Italy and intern at the nation’s capital, but all of these opportunities cost money. Because with the help of resources like this scholarship, I can continue to grow and learn outside of UGA, so that graduation rolls around, I am more than ready to take on the next big adventure.
Sincerely,
Catherine
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