We're so proud of our community. These friends shared their stories with the form below. Enjoy!
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Melody Harris
Melody Harris
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Graduated: 2010 - BSFCS Child and Family Development - Child Life Emphasis
Name of Business / Place of Employment: Studer Family Children's Hospital | Ascension Sacred Heart
Current Job Title / Occupation: Certified Child Life Specialist
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I was recently elected President-Elect of the Florida Association of Child Life Professions. Through this organization, I will serve 3 years on the executive board as President-Elect, President, and Past-President, working to provide and expand educational resources and opportunities for Child Life Specialists and students in the state of Florida and beyond.
My Story:
When I arrived at UGA, I knew I wanted to work specifically with children in the healthcare setting. I assumed that meant nursing, but through some academic challenges and advice from good friends, I discovered FACS, and more specifically, Child and Family Development - Child Life emphasis. Child Life was exactly what I had been looking for, and I didn't know that it existed until I started researching the CFD major within FACS! The joint program with what is now knows as Augusta University and the Children's Hospital of Georgia prepared me for an incredible career in a field that I am more passionate about than ever. As a Certified Child Life Specialist, I have had the opportunity to help children learn coping skills and overcome some of the scariest experiences of their lives in the hospital setting. I have directed camps, helped to create an app to teach children about radiologic procedures and co-authored a research article on the benefit of healthcare camps for pediatric patients. I not only get to walk through difficult moments with children and their families on a daily basis, but I also get to play and watch just how smart and resilient kids can be!
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Ashton Quattlebaum
Ashton Quattlebaum
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Graduated: 2019 - BSFCS Human Development and Family Science
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I currently work in County Administration as the Deputy County Clerk. I get to record and research history from the beginning of our county in 1790 to current documents from 2019. I also have the pleasure of working with and being mentored by my county officials and getting to know them on a personal level.
My Story:
From a young age I began keeping and collecting journals. I wrote about my day, my best friends, and of course my crush. As I got older I started writing about my hardships, my questions, and my passion for our nation! I began writing speeches and kept them in a binder that I eventually carried on my 8th grade trip to Washington, D. C. I was bound and determined to proclaim them on Capitol Hill. Because of this love for writing and speaking, I decided to major in Communications upon entering college. However, I soon realized that not only did I want to communicate but I wanted to have something to communicate about and my love for helping and serving people made the College of Family and Consumer Sciences the way to go! This wasn't the easiest decision in the world. I feared I would never have the opportunity to write because I didn't major in journalism, but I went anyway and the opportunity in FACS kept my fear only a thought. Unbeknownst of my passion for writing, one of my professors, Dr. Bermudez, told me about a research opportunity with her in which I would assist her and her graduate student in the creation of an undergraduate textbook. I took the opportunity! This was the greatest writing challenge I've been presented with but certainly the most rewarding! This FACS opportunity allowed my love for the study of people and my passion for writing to join and this became the Hallmark of my UGA experience!
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Kiersten Fryer
Kiersten Fryer
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Graduated: 2018 - BSFCS Consumer Journalism
Name of Business / Place of Employment: Spark Foundry
Current Job Title / Occupation: Associate Buyer in Local Investment
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I now work at Spark Foundry, one of the top Marketing and Advertising agencies in the world. My job entails buying media spots for our clients on all your favorite local and national, broadcast and radio stations!
My Story:
I found my way to FACS in the most wonderful of ways. Through talking with a friend, about my troubles in wanting to find a major that encompassed all the things I wanted to accomplish, I found Consumer Journalism. Little did I know, that FACS would play such a substantial role in my life. I had been involved with my favorite organization, Little Red Book, starting as a freshman until my senior year(s) of college. Being Editor-in-Chief of Little Red Book for 3 years, making the connections with my peers and also my professors, made it possible for me to get hired by my job today. My company was so impressed with how I could delegate tasks, manage a team, and also having the ability to navigate unknown territory with grace and perseverance. So I owe all my successes to being a part of this great program, and even greater college! My biggest advice to future students would be to get involved and find what you're passionate about! You never know where your greatest growths and best interview stories will come from. Also, remember you're a FACS student. Our college and degree programs are so important to the daily lives and futures of so many people. Be assured that what you're working so hard for, MATTERS.
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Donna Blalock
Donna Blalock
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Graduated: 1986 - BSHE Home Economics Ed.
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Graduated: 1987 - M.Ed. Home Economics Ed.
Name of Business / Place of Employment: Sunbelt Ag. Expo
Current Job Title / Occupation: Farmer of the Year, consultant
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I have been retired for 2 years. I currently work for the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo with the Farmer of the Year Program. I’m married to Chip Blalock, UGA -1987. We have 2 children, Bo and Buck. We love coming to UGA football, baseball, and basketball games.
My Story:
Home Economics classes were my favorite from the 8th grade through my senior year. I knew I wanted to teach Home Economics and I was fortunate to teach 30 years in my hometown Moultrie, Ga. Teaching is not easy if you don’t have a passion for the subject matter or for children. UGA gave me the foundation I need to be successful in the classroom.
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Matt Tovrog
Matt Tovrog
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Graduated: 2002 - Bachelors Consumer Economics
Name of Business / Place of Employment: Bell Oaks Executive Search
Current Job Title / Occupation: Partner
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I was nominated for the 2019 Man & Woman of the Year campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Atlanta (https://www.mwoy.org/). I have put together a team, The Pirates of the Cure-abbean, that is working to raise $150,000 for LLS! Participation in this campaign is an honor and a personal mission for me and so many who have seen the horrors of cancer first hand. The link to my fundraising page is here: https://pages.mwoy.org/ga/atlanta19/mtovrog
My Story:
The overall UGA experience! I met life long friends at UGA, met my wife at UGA, and love being a Bulldog. My family and I return to Athens regularly since we're season ticket holders for UGA football and we love seeing what's new in Athens. I'm forever grateful for the experiences at UGA and will always be proud to be a Bulldog. Go Dawgs!
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Victoria Dorsey
Victoria Dorsey
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Graduated: 1985 - BSHE Fashion Merchandising
Name of Business / Place of Employment: Georgia State University
Current Job Title / Occupation: Director of Development - Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I currently enjoy being a Major Gift Officer for Georgia State University at the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions. In my first year in the role, our college exceeded both our campaign and yearly fundraising goal by double-digit percentages!
My Story:
The College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia is a wonderful community of great people. I am extremely proud and blessed to be FACS graduate. I have so many great memories as a student, a staff member, and now as a member of the FACS Alumni Association Board of Directors. Sewing and historic costume classes, Dean’s Aide and Phi Upsilon Omicron, Homecoming Tailgate and FACS Week…so many wonderful events in my life center around our wonderful college. Away from Athens, my career has been one success after another, due in a large part to the excellent foundation I received from the caring faculty and staff at FACS. My two-decade-long career in retail took me from Softlines Manager in a discount store to working at the Home Office as an Executive Trainer for a great company called Hills Stores out of Canton, MA. Since leaving the retail arena, my FACS education has influenced my careers in adult education and training, entrepreneurship, and now as a professional in higher education. I encourage every student at FACS to take advantage of every opportunity while at UGA. Lean in now, dream big now and test yourself now, while in the loving, caring community that is UGA FACS. I guarantee you, success will follow! Go Dawgs!
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Meghan Dove
Meghan Dove
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Graduated: 2007 - BSFCS CHFD
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Graduated: 2011 - MS CHFD
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Graduated: 2013 - Phd HDFS
Name of Business / Place of Employment: Georgia Southern University
Current Job Title / Occupation: Assistant Professor
My Story:
My grandmother, Mary Sheffer Kicklighter (BSHE ’42), and I (BSFCS ‘07, MS in CHFD 2011, and PhD in HDFS in ‘13) are both FACS alumni! Here is a Photo of her and I, each just before graduation, at the back of House A where she lived and where I took classes. She in 1942 and I in 2013. Although she is no longer with us, I love our shared history at UGA and in FACS!
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Judith C. Clark
Judith C. Clark
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Graduated: 1963 - B.S. Foods and Nutrition
Name of Business / Place of Employment: School Board of Polk County, FL,
Current Job Title / Occupation: Member of PEA - Retired
Recent Professional Accomplishments:
I am a mother and grandmother. I am currently studying to renew my teaching certification. I enjoy evaluating students projects at the County Youth Fair. I support the children at the Florida Sheriff Youth Ranches and I am also involved in projects with the United Methodist Women and I'm a member of the League of Women Voters.
My Story:
I transferred to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the end of my sophomore year at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. FACS contributed to my knowledge and skills that helped me to succeed after graduation as a wife, mother of two children and two step-children. FACS also contributed to my success in teaching for 10 years in our county school system in various classes ranging from preschool, middle and high school. My FACS training also contributed to my skills in care giving and rehabilitation responsibilities of our son. Ah, the many good memories obtained while studying with friends at Dawson Hall. I also have fond memories of teachers and advisers and of fun and valuable experience obtained in student organizations.
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You can read even more stories here!