UGA Celebrates Student Veterans
On November 8, 2022, the Student Veterans Resource Center (SVRC) hosted its annual Veterans Week Scholarship Ceremony sponsored in part by the Reynolds Veterans Association. Over 100 scholarships were awarded to UGA student veterans with a combined value of $88,000— the most scholarships on record to be awarded at SVRC’s annual ceremony thanks to the generosity of both individual and corporate donors.
“We’re proud of these amazing student veterans and honored to offer these awards to help offset the cost of their education,” said SVRC Director Jon Segars. “Once again, these awards represent the largest number of recipients in a single semester, and we are grateful to our generous donors who make these scholarships and grants possible.”
Student veterans who received scholarships at the November 8th ceremony are as follows:
- Reynolds Veterans Association Scholarship – Caitlyn Davis
- Military Order of the Purple Heart – Paul Mitchell
- Corporal Evan Andrew Marshall Memorial Scholarship – Katie Cunningham, Aaron Hightower, Tyler Putt, Caleb Ray
- Horton-DeVore Leadership Award – Nick Sesing
- Fiserv Student Veteran Scholarship – Thomas Carroll
- Whitley Family Scholarship – Eric Martin, Abe Owen
- BlackRock Student Veterans Award – Tindall Smith
- William C. and Maudie M. Huff Student Veteran Scholarship – Brian Ulbricht
- Harold & Muriel Berkman Charitable Foundation Scholarship – Matthew Riegle
- Colonel & Mrs. James A. Franklin Student Veterans Scholarship – Judah Robinson
- Richard and Sherry Barrett Scholarship – Ricardo Bean
- Quentin Daniel Coutcher, Retired, United States Air Force Scholarship – Matteo Garza
- Kropp Student Veterans Scholarship – James Greco, Matthew Walshe
- John & Sharon Pleggenkuhle Veterans Support Scholarship – Gabriel Shaber
- Gregory & Barbara Rizzo Veterans Scholarship – Thai Le, Grant McDonald
- George W. Brown, WWII Veteran Memorial Award – Cala Connell
- Grit Award presented by Richard Warner – Nicholas Dobie, Jonathan Florencio, Jamel Hobson, Lamar Johnson, Andrew Perez, Mario Salazar
- Parents Leadership Council Awards – Gabriela Castillo
- Student Veterans Resource Center Excellence Awards – Jamie Coppola, Patricia Fors, Mike Hines, Brennen Sanders
- UGA Foundation Awards – Krystin Abt, Gerald Adams, Matthew Aluisio, Jordan Botte, Sarah Bouchard, Jackson Bradford, William Bradford, Benito Canales, Rajat Chaudhury, Roger Cole, Jalynn Colvin, Jessica Cruz, Elizabeth DeCesare, Nicholas Dobie, Leisli Duran-Rosales, Chantel Eaton, Anayya Everett, Jonathan Florencio, Cameron Gaukler, Jonathan Grim, Jeff Hannon, Jamel Hobson, Chad Hoffman, Michael James, Lamar Johnson, Joseph Jung, Anthony Kochensparger, Renalie Labarda, William Lord, Chris Lyells, Will McKinney, Reese Mitchell, Michael Muth, Andrew Perez, Erin Powell, Mario Salazar, Julian Saviano, Keith Schneider, Keyonce Shepherd, Alexandria Spencer, Zachary Sperandeo, Aissatou Sysavane, Michael Tacto, Stassa Thomas, Gilbert Villagrana, Angel Wade, Tamera Wallace, Elliot Williams, Andrew Wilson
In addition to these scholarship recipients, Dean of Students, Dr. Bill McDonald was named as this year’s SVRC Distinguished Fellow.
The week was filled with many festivities to honor UGA veterans including a breakfast hosted by Waffle House and the Student Veterans Association’s annual flag memorial- placed in honor of the 700,000 military veterans currently residing in Georgia, students stake 700 American flags at the UGA Memorial Garden adjacent to the Miller Learning Center.
More than 260 student veterans are currently pursuing undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and are an integral part of UGA community.
The Student Veterans Resource Center is a department within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs and is administered by the Office of the Dean of Students. The Student Veterans Association is a registered student organization within Engagement, Leadership, and Service.
For more information, contact Jon Segars at 706-542-7872 or email jon.segars@uga.edu.
