By Brad Haire
University of Georgia
Seven University of Georgia students in Tifton, Ga., were
honored
for their community work during a national conference in
Gainesville, Fla., Jan. 12-14.
The UGA Tifton ambassadors received the National Award of
Excellence in Service at the 11th annual National Agriculture
Ambassador Conference. The students received a plaque and
$500.
The money will be used to further the ambassador program in
Tifton, said Donna Webb, UGA Tifton academic program coordinator
and ambassador advisor.
“I’m very proud of our ambassadors,” Webb said. “It proves that
no matter how small an organization may be, great things can
happen if everyone works together for the common goal.”
The ambassadors are Victoria Wells-Barrett, Chris Tyson,
Stephanie Summerlin, Gerome Morgan, Derrick Davis, Blake Branch
and Stuart McKinney.
They are the official hosts of the UGA Tifton campus, about 180
miles south of Atlanta. They were singled out for their overall
service to charitable works in and around Tifton.
The group helps with recruitment and coordinates special
charitable events. Among these were a Relay for Life team and a
United Way Toys for Tots collection.
They also created the “Comforts from Home Campaign.” In this
program, they collected items for soldiers serving in Iraq.
These
included letters and pictures from elementary school kids.
At the conference, the students conducted a workshop, “Have you
paid your rent?” It’s based on the quote, “Service to others is
the rent you pay for your room here on earth,” attributed to
boxer Muhammad Ali.
More than 400 participants from 45 universities nationwide
attended the conference.
“The students were able to learn more about the future of
agriculture, strengthen their leadership skills and network with
college students from across the country,” Webb said.
“Being an ambassador has allowed me the opportunity to be
involved in all facets of the Tifton campus and strengthen my
leadership skills,” said Morgan, a junior and president of the
Tifton ambassador program.
David Bridges, UGA assistant dean for the UGA Tifton campus,
commended the group.
“These students and their advisors quickly adopted the
whatever-it-takes philosophy that has made the UGA Tifton
program
such a success,” he said. “Commitment and hard work have paid
off for these students.”
Students in Tifton can get a four-year UGA degree without going
to the university’s Athens campus. The Tifton program began in
the fall 2003. With 57 students now, it has majors in
agriscience
and environmental systems and agricultural education.
(Brad Haire is a news editor with the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
