Two University of Georgia students received scholarships as part of the Office of Sustainability’s Study Abroad in Sustainability. The awards—to Katherine Russell of Moultrie, Georgia and to Jessica Parks of Jackson, Georgia—were made possible by the Brittney Fox Watts Memorial Endowment.
The endowment was established by the family of UGA alumna Brittney Fox Watts to honor her creative spirit, adventurous soul and loving heart and to empower individuals to address the health and well-being of people and communities around the globe. To date, ten scholarships have been awarded to UGA students engaging in sustainability studies and service-learning in Asia, Australia, Central America, and Europe.
Katherine Russell, an ecology major in the Odum School of Ecology, who will study abroad in Freiburg, Germany, plans to focus on the connection between culture and sustainability in order to study how cultures come to embrace sustainable practices and incorporate them into daily life.
A first-generation college student, Russell is driven by a love of her region and its people and strives to determine how “…we should live in order to conserve our land, our natural heritage, our culture, and our livelihoods.”
Jessica Parks, a Ph.D. student in the Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics program within the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, will attend the Housing and Household Economics program at UGA Costa Rica.
Parks seeks to better understand limitations that consumers (especially South Americans) face and to begin an understanding of the complex nature of Costa Rica’s financial system. Additionally, Parks believes that studying how others navigate through a universal health care system will allow her to share these tips with American families.
The Brittney Fox Watts Endowment for Study Abroad in Sustainability provides support to students who share passions for traveling, experiencing different cultures and embracing sustainable practices to address the health and well-being of individuals and communities around the globe. A $500 enhancement is provided to select UGA undergraduate and graduate students attending UGA-sponsored education abroad or exchange program focused on sustainability. The funds are provided through the generous support of family and friends of Watts to the Brittney Fox Watts Memorial Fund.
UGA Study Abroad Resources:
For more information on UGA Costa Rica visit UGA Costa Rica. For more information on UGA’s Study Abroad in Freiburg, visit UGA Freiburg.
UGA Office of Sustainability
The Office of Sustainability coordinates, communicates and advances sustainability initiatives at the University of Georgia. For more information, see http://sustainability.uga.edu/.
Brittney Fox Watts Memorial Endowment
As a University of Georgia alumnus, Brittney Fox Watts was a dabbler and explorer of the world around her and was wholeheartedly dedicated to doing her best work, no matter the cause, newest hobby or challenge at hand. Watts’s family joined with the Small Dreams Foundation, Inc. to create a memorial fund to honor her creative spirit, adventurous soul and loving heart. It is their hope that this fund will provide financial support to students who share the same passions as Watts—who loved traveling the world, experiencing different cultures and supporting sustainable practices. To learn more, see http://smalldreamsfoundation.org/.