University of North Georgia

Four University of North Georgia (UNG) students have been selected as student speakers for their respective commencement ceremonies this May.

Students, faculty and staff from the University of North Georgia (UNG) invested in the next generation of national leaders at the Youth in Government (YIG) Expo hosted Feb. 23-25 by the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement in St. Simons Island, Georgia. They assisted with the cybersecurity and national security academies within the expo. The academies each included hands-on learning activities such as escape rooms and dead-drop locations for exchanging secret information. It was all with an eye toward helping high school students gain an early taste of potential careers in government.

University of North Georgia (UNG) student Calvin Bowers has won awards at four film festivals for his eight-and-a-half-minute documentary "Per Amore Dei Gatti (For the Love of Cats)." Bowers directed the film and produced it with three fellow students during the Film in Italy study abroad program in Barga, Italy, in 2024. Grant Aldinger, Olivia Claudon and Jarred Taber were part of the production.

Three University of North Georgia (UNG) students and two faculty members from the Oconee Campus recently had a paper published in the International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics (ICTCM) 2024 Conference Proceedings.

UNG established the first chapter of the Professional Agricultural Student (PAS) Organization in the South, and its team finished first in the nation in the Poultry Specialist career area the National PAS conference.

Students gave 69 poster presentations and 24 oral presentations at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) 30th Annual Research Conference (ARC), held March 21 in the Cottrell Ballroom at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. That includes many projects that included multiple students. Six of those students won awards.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team earned the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tournament championship March 9. Later that night, the Nighthawks were announced as the No. 1 seed and host of the eight-team NCAA Division II Southeast Regional from March 14-17 at the Convocation Center in Dahlonega, Georgia.

Sophomore Mauricio Gonzalez became the first UNG student to be selected for the eight-week Douglas-O'Connell Internship in Ireland.

Thirteen students from the University of North Georgia (UNG) took part in the Harvard Undergraduate Latina Empowerment & Development (LEAD) Conference, which was held Feb. 7-8 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Fatima Santillan, a senior from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in political science with a minor in public administration and public service, attended the LEAD Conference for a second time and served as an ambassador this year.

Students Dawson Yang and Alec Reeb have created an app aimed at helping people find available resources in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Georgia.

Eight University of North Georgia (UNG) students in STEM degree programs were selected to attend the National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) conference in Chicago in November. They are part of UNG's STEM Scholars (STEMS) Program funded by a $1.5 million NSF grant. Students included: Rayya Abdullah, Micah Chandler, Jiselle Gonzalez, Hanzhen Guo, Shae Jolivette, Chase Manzanarez, Luke Millaway, and Albany Zavarce.

Five UNG students were selected as Gilman scholarship program recipients in December. The scholarships help students study or intern abroad. A total of 1,600 scholarships were awarded from the 7,100 applications.

For the fall 2024 semester, the University of North Georgia (UNG) awarded more than 900 degrees and certificates to graduates. More than 650 of the graduates participated in the fall 2024 commencement ceremonies held Dec. 7 at the Convocation Center at UNG's Dahlonega Campus.

University of North Georgia (UNG) President Michael P. Shannon recognized students who achieved a 4.0 GPA during the fall 2024 semester. Students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours in bachelor's degree programs who achieved a 4.0 grade point average were named to the President's Honor Roll. Students enrolled in associate degree or dual enrollment programs who met the same level of achievement were named to the President's List.

The deans of each of UNG's colleges announced the names of those students who made their respective lists for fall 2024. Dean's List recognition is achieved by having at least a 3.5 grade point average, carrying 12 or more credit hours in one semester and having no grade lower than B.

The iDEA (innovateDahlonega Entrepreneurship Accelerator) Community Pitch Challenge was held Nov. 7 at the University of North Georgia (UNG) Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI) Launch Pad on the Dahlonega campus, with seven out of the original 13 applicants vying for a prize package of $20,000.

University of North Georgia (UNG) senior Sydney Glouse received the first ever student DAISY Award given by Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS). DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.

A student and a faculty member in the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Department of Visual Arts have partnered with the City of Dahlonega to create a rendering of a pedestrian bridge that will be built soon. The pedestrian bridge will be over Yahoola Creek at the Reservoir.

University of North Georgia (UNG) senior Autumn Sniffen was awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant to study at the National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. Originally from Catonsville, Maryland, Sniffen is pursuing a degree in modern languages with a concentration in Chinese for global professionals.

Two University of North Georgia (UNG) students participated in the four-week Pathway to Med School program through the Foothills Area Health Education Center (AHEC) this summer. The program looks to help students get into medical school and get them interested in primary care so that they will consider returning and serving the north Georgia community. This summer, eight students from the region participated.

University of North Georgia (UNG) junior William Edwards is the school's presidential fellow to the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) for 2024-25. Monthly online seminars will allow Edwards, a cadet who is pursuing a degree in history, to study the public policymaking process and the president's relationship with Congress, allies, the media, and the public. A multiday leadership conference in Washington, D.C., will wrap up the program.

The Model United Nations clubs on the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Gainesville and Dahlonega Campuses jointly organized the seventh annual Model United Nations Conference at the Gainesville Campus. Held March 29, the event topic was "Addressing the Impacts that Artificial Intelligence has in the Current Digital Age."

Junior Susana Olivo Sandoval was selected as UNG's Newman Civic Fellow for 2023-24. The opportunity allows students to network and gain access to training and resources that nurture their assets and passions.

Nicole LeBlanc is UNG's 2022-23 UNG Presidential Fellow for the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

The University of North Georgia Tri-Alpha honor society spring induction ceremony highlighted the achievements of 42 students, seven faculty and staff, and one alumnus. The event was held on April 25 on UNG's Gainesville Campus.

Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, welcomed 1,971 new initiates from 78 universities during April 2022. Students initiated into the Society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year.