Savannah Hughes

Savannah Hughes

Executive Director, Terrell County Chamber of Commerce

Georgia Southwestern State University MBA ‘18

Dawson, GA

As the first to graduate from college in her family, Savannah and her parents knew it was important for her to go to college.    Upon receiving HOPE, Savannah’s father agreed to pay for the remaining cost if she kept HOPE.  “After realizing college was exactly where I needed to be, I made sure I kept my grades up to stay. This was a domino effect.  Since I had to keep my grades up, I was trained in time management while juggling attending classes, homework and studying alongside a social life.  I truly believe this is what has made me so successful.  Not entirely the subject matter learned that I may have forgotten, but the skills of being a reliable, efficient employee.”

 Savannah dreamed of attending Florida State University.  However, with her parents helping her go to college if she stayed in Georgia and had the HOPE scholarship, the decision was made to stay in state.  “If I chose the FSU route, the loans would be my burden to bear and I would have to work alongside taking classes to make ends meet.  It was a clear choice.  I would not change that decision.”

 Originally, Savannah was interested in pursuing a career in hospitality management.  Upon graduation and moving back to her rural hometown, her first job was as a Front of House restaurant manager.  She was then presented with an opportunity to work as a Special Events Manager for the Albany Museum of Art.  She now serves as the Executive Director for the Terrell County Chamber of Commerce.  “I did not see myself being in Economic Development.  In fact, I knew little of what a chamber does.  However, because of my education and experience I have been able to adapt and enjoy this career.  Economic Development and the chamber of commerce industry is extremely unique, and I have found so much satisfaction in being a vital part of community development.”

Brandon Hembree

Brandon Hembree

Partner, Impact Public Affairs; Council Member, Sugar Hill City Council

Georgia State University BA ‘98

Sugar Hill, GA

The oldest son in a single-parent household, Brandon is the first to say that his plans for the future did not include higher education when he was in high school. “I had no plans to go to college. I was in high school working a full-time job in my senior year. I just assumed that I would be doing that for the rest of my life.  I was really the first person on either side of my family who went to college for four years.”

 It was his English teacher who saw his potential and encouraged him to consider the possibilities. “There was a poetry contest. I wrote a poem and I actually won third place. My English teacher just took me aside one day and just asked me what plans were. I was just very honest with her and I just told her I did not have any plans after high school. I remember just thinking and saying to her that college would probably not be possible. At the time I just considered the finances related to going to college just to be too overwhelming. She just further encouraged me to look at colleges and to consider the HOPE scholarship. 

 “Once I started exploring college and exploring the HOPE scholarship it just became apparent to me that it was a real opportunity. And it was great. I had really no costs at all. I went all four years on the HOPE Scholarship. I was able to work a full-time job and save money. Not having to pay for college was just a game changer for me.”

 He attended Georgia State University and achieved a bachelor’s in Political Science just minutes from the hub of state politics. “I remember in college, on a lunch breaks between classes, I would go sit on the steps at the capitol. I remember going in and it was almost like static electricity.  It was kind of like it was the center of everything that was happening in Georgia.”

 Brandon had first developed this interest in politics through his family. “My grandparents were from Blue Ridge and I spent my summers and my Christmases there with them, and my grandfather was a big fan of Zell Miller. Any time we would go through Young Harris, he would talk about Zell Miller, that was really something that motivated me. And I later had an aunt who was county commissioner for Fannin County when I was in my late teens and what she did just created a fascination for me.”

 He has now been with the government affairs firm Impact Public Affairs, formerly Massey, Watson, & Hembree, since 2003. He is also on the City Council for Sugar Hill, Georgia. “About six years ago I decided to run for city council in Sugar Hill. I won and I’m still serving at Sugar Hill.”

 “For me, politics is really interesting. I classify it as kind of a jack of all trades, you have to have knowledge of about politics and history and little bit about psychology. It’s just a fascinating field to be in.”

Brandon lives in Sugar Hill and hopes to continue his work in public service in the future. 

Juliana Duvall

Juliana Duvall

Client Manager, Beecher Carlson; Founder, Upbeat Boutique

University of Georgia BBA ‘16

Marietta, GA

While Juliana had the opportunity to attend several out-of-state colleges, her ultimate decision to attend the University of Georgia was made in consideration of the HOPE Scholarship. “I looked at a few schools and actually got accepted to a few schools. I looked at Auburn, Clemson, other schools, and got accepted to all of them. But UGA being in-state, and obviously the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship was a pull and lead me to choose to go there.”

 “It was a huge impact. It just took off a financial burden so that I was really able to fully focus on my studies while I was at UGA and really strive to be the best well-rounded student I could be. Anything from academic, to volunteering, to getting involved in groups, and social aspects, it just really allowed me to become my best self.”

 Juliana was not only able to understand what career would be best for her at the University of Georgia, deciding against veterinary school and finding that risk management was a better fit, she also learned the importance of professional relationships. “I really learned that networking is invaluable and it’s just priceless. Anything from your current classmates, just being able to meet different people and get different perspectives, different backgrounds, cultures, different majors. I even joined a mentorship program through the Terry College of Business. The mentor I got through Terry while I was in college ended working at the company that I work at now. So, it’s just full circle. I kept in contact with him over the years and it ended up being that they were hiring this time around.” 

 Juliana is now a Client Manager with the insurance brokerage firm, Beecher Carlson. “I enjoy working with different service groups. I’m in the casualty department and what I’ve noticed is that the casualty department can work with the property department, the executive liability department, and you can work with different states all across the country, and so I just really enjoy that.”

 She also is the founder of the online clothing boutique, Upbeat Boutique. “I come from a very entrepreneurial family. I decided I wanted to really just kind of take the plunge and start my own business, so I did and really enjoyed it. It’s been a great experience.” 

 In the future, Juliana hopes to pay it forward and become a mentor. “I really want to be to the point where I can mentor somebody else. That mentorship experience was invaluable to me, and I just want to give that to somebody else.” 

 She lives in Marietta with her husband Chase, and their two dogs Lady and Molly. 

Grant Thomas

Grant Thomas

Director of State Relations, University of Georgia

University of Georgia BA ’15

Atlanta, GA

In deciding where to attend college, Grant understood how beneficial the HOPE Scholarship would be for him. Instead of looking outside the state for options, he kept his focus to Georgia schools. “It is just such an incentive to keep people in state and I definitely wanted to take advantage of that opportunity. I knew that it would be huge for alleviating some of that worry of paying for college that I had and that my family had. It got me to University of Georgia in the first place by helping me decide to go to there. Once I got to college and had the HOPE Scholarship paying for most of my tuition, it really took a lot of those financial worries away and allowed me to really focus on diving into my studies my first semester, which helped me get into the honors program at UGA.”

Although the sheer size of the student body was intimidating, Grant quickly found a community in the student organizations he joined. “I was a little skeptical of the size of UGA. It was so different from the small high school I was used to. But immediately I was able to start getting involved in student organizations. I joined a fraternity. I was in the College Republicans. I was in the Student Government Association. Those experiences, getting involved in those groups really made the university smaller. I started to build my network, build different friendships with different student across campus with different backgrounds from across the state. I really enjoyed that. Getting involved in those student groups sparked my interest in politics.”

He counts the opportunity to get involved in these student organizations and study abroad programs as one of the most beneficial aspects of his college experience. “I benefitted from the Honors in Washington program, I got to study abroad in China one summer through the honors program. The basis of what really allowed those opportunities to happen was being on the HOPE scholarship. The different internships and experiences I had really allowed me to get a head start.”

Grant now works as the Director of State Relations for the University of Georgia. He is also set to graduate from UGA in December of 2020 with his MBA. 

“I’m an alum, I am a current student, and I’m an employee. I don’t think I would be any of those three without the HOPE Scholarship incentivizing me to go to UGA in the first place as an undergrad.”

“It combines two things I love: University of Georgia and politics. It combines them into one role and I get to advocate and represent my alma mater at the state capitol and advocate for different funding priorities, different legislative priorities for the university, with ultimately the hope that this is going to benefit the students on our campus and make their college experience better. It’s just a form of giving back for me. I had such a good experience at UGA that really prepared me for my career now and got me to where I am, and I benefitted from that tremendously. Being able to help advocate for the university and improve the student experience to provide more teaching, research, and service opportunities is very fulfilling and rewarding.”

Christie Moore

Christie Moore

President and CEO, Dawson County Chamber of Commerce

University of Georgia BA ’10, American University MA ‘15

Dawsonville, GA

Christie, after graduating from Lassiter High School, weighed her college options very logically. The HOPE Scholarship was the biggest factor in her final decision to attend the University of Georgia. “It’s the reason that I chose to go to Georgia. I definitely looked at quite a few other schools. If the HOPE Scholarship didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have gotten to Georgia. It opened so many opportunities up that I honestly never thought I would have. Having HOPE also meant that I got to pick jobs that aligned with what I wanted to do, instead of having to pick jobs where I just had to make as much money as possible.”

 During her time in undergrad, Christie had the chance to pursue her interest in politics through internships and student organizations. “While at Georgia, there were just so many opportunities that were open to me. I was very involved in politics on campus. I was involved in Student Government. I was able to have a lot of internships that actually aligned with what I wanted to do in the future. None of this would have happened if I didn’t go to Georgia.”

 “I would say UGA played such a role that I was able to meet all these people and have all these awesome classes that inspired me and really made me want to stay in Georgia.” 

 One of the most significant impacts that Christie’s college experience had on her was the development of her affection for small towns and communities. “I grew up in a pretty big place, but I really gravitated towards people that were from small places in Georgia. Some of my very best friends in life were from very small places. I think that was the foundation for me falling in love with small towns. When I first moved to Athens, I thought I was moving to the boonies.. Clearly it was very foundational to go to Georgia and realize ‘oh wait I love smaller communities. I love the complexities of smaller communities.’”

 Her love of small towns led her to Dawson County, where she serves as the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. “Our organization handles small business support, economic development, and tourism marketing for our community.”

“I love that in this role I get to serve a community that I love in a way where no two days of my life are ever the same. I still get to be involved in politics. I also get to be involved in history, with things like the Historical Society. I get to be involved in education, because education is so important in the community. I get to be involved in healthcare, because I serve on a hospital board. I get to do all these things that I’m very interested in. It’s truly my favorite thing.”

 Christie lives in Dawsonville with her husband. She aspires to continue to find new ways to serve others. 

Chase Duvall

Chase Duvall

Mergers and Acquisitions Experienced Tax Associate, PwC

Kennesaw State University BS ’13, Mercer University School of Law JD ‘16, Boston University School of Law LLM ‘17

Marietta, GA

When Chase was growing up in Dallas, Georgia, he had a budding interest in politics and law. “I had always been somewhat interested in being a lawyer, even though I probably didn’t understand what a lawyer actually did. I did mock trial in high school. I had a really good exposure through that and through meeting some attorneys in the community and that really prompted my interest to go to law school.

An alumnus of Kennesaw State University, Chase knew that the best choice for his collegiate experience was to take advantage of the HOPE Scholarship. “I considered transferring or going to some schools in Alabama or Virginia, but really the HOPE Scholarship helped me stay here. If I would have not stayed here, I probably would not be where I am today, and I would probably not have the friends and the colleagues that I have. My life would be totally different without the HOPE scholarship.”

“I had the original HOPE Scholarship because I started back in 2009-10. So really, having it cover my tuition and fees was a huge indicator of me staying in the state of Georgia. Taking that burden of the tuition and fees off of you and being able to focus on your studies and get involved with your school and extra curricular's, that was a really big deal for me.”

After attending Mercer School of Law and getting his Master of Law at Boston University, Chase works as an Experienced Tax Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers. “If you would have told me seven years ago that I would be a consultant for a big four accounting firm, I probably would have laughed. I originally went to law school to be a trial attorney, but I wound up taking a tax law class my 2L year. No one was taking those classes; it was only 5 people. I was interested, took it, really liked it.”

“My favorite part about my role is getting to work on so many cool projects and clients. It’s very intellectually challenging because, when you’re buying or selling a business or when you’re restructuring a company, the facts aren’t the same. My favorite projects are when I have the opportunity to work with some of our PWC offices around the world, whether its PWC Germany or France or Brazil. You’re learning more about different offices and different people while you’re working towards the same goals and projects. That’s what I really enjoy. They’re a fantastic firm, you work with so many very intelligent people that I feel like I’m constantly learning every day.”

Chase lives in Marietta with his wife Julianna and their two dogs, Lady and Molly.

Jamie Jordan

Jamie Jordan

Director of Programs and Business Services, Technical College System of Georgia

University of Georgia BS ’13, MBA ‘17

Atlanta, GA

Jamie has always known he wanted to serve his community. 

“I had known for a long time, middle school through high school, that I wanted to go into public service in some regard. I don’t know where the initial spark came from and I sometimes say it’s in my DNA. There’s days when I get frustrated and I want to walk away but I know it’s so much engrained into my interests and my passions that it would eat at me if I tried to walk away and say forget it.”

Growing up in Griffin and attending a very small high school, Jamie had goals of leaving Georgia to attend an Ivy League. The opportunity of the HOPE Scholarship changed his mind.

“It was the HOPE scholarship that inevitably convinced me to stay in the state. HOPE funds allowed me to be a first-generation college completer. Both my parents attended college, but did not complete, same with my older brother. The HOPE Scholarship and the funds provided through that, allowed me to not only complete college, but do so successfully without having to be burdened with the cost of living as a college student.” 

“It was impossible to pass up the opportunity to utilize the HOPE Scholarship: to stay in state, to go to some of our fine institutions here, and to be able to have that added benefit of not having the cost of tuition be an additional burden. So, no doubt the HOPE scholarship was singlehandedly the reason I stayed instate to pursue higher education.” 

Jamie now serves his community as the Director of Programs and Business Services for the Technical College System of Georgia, specifically working to educate members of the community about the opportunities that exist at TCSG institutions and the financial aid that is available to pursue them. 

“I get to work every day to help people connect with the HOPE Grant side of things. The funds that come from the HOPE Grant help them get training they never had before. It is helping individuals who likely would not have had the opportunity to pursue college of some sort and get life skills and experiences that will translate into a career that will change their life forever. For me, getting to work to expand those programs, and being a part of Governor Deal’s initiative to expand that program, has been biggest accomplishment of the last seven years of my professional career, of seeing that program expand and seeing more and more Georgians take advantage of it. Without it, I don’t think we’d be where we are as a state right now.”

Jamie lives in Atlanta and hopes to do all he can as a public servant to benefit his community in the future.

Lori McClure

Lori McClure

Director of Operations, Zell Miller Foundation

North Georgia College and State University (University of North Georgia), B.B.A ‘98

Hayesville, NC

Lori McClure grew up in Young Harris, Georgia.  A small mountain community of Towns County located in northeast Georgia.  “My parents were the typical middle-class family. My mom was a teacher in the local school system and my dad a carpenter.”  

“Growing up with a parent as an educator, I knew after high school that I would continue my education in some way.  My mom would always tell me that it didn’t matter if it was a technical college or university, but I would get a degree somewhere.”  Upon graduating from Towns County Comprehensive School in 1994 with only 45 people in the class, she decided to start with a college that was small.  “Since several of my close friends were going Truett-McConnell College, I decided to apply as well.  Truett-McConnell is a private college, and I knew it was a long shot that we could afford for me to attend.  Much to my surprise, I received several scholarships, one of those being HOPE. 

 After graduating from Truett-McConnell College, Lori transferred to North Georgia College and State University (University of North Georgia) where she was accepted into the business program.  

 “I always knew I wanted to come back to my community.  With a business degree, I thought that would give me the flexibility to go into just about any industry.”

 “Several months before I graduated, the president of the local bank saw my mom and asked her about me. Upon her learning I was about to graduate with a marketing degree, she told my mom that she wanted to talk to me as they were needing someone in their marketing department.  Within a couple of weeks of that conversation, they offered me my first ‘grown up’ job as Marketing Coordinator.  I was fortunate to have a job and start working before I even graduated.”

 Lori graduated from North Georgia College and State University in 1998 with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing.  “I was one of the few in my class to graduate with no debt.  I was truly blessed to have scholarships and the support of my family to achieve this.”

 Most of Lori’s career has been spent in the financial industry.  “My time with Bank of Hiawassee laid the groundwork for my career path.  I spent time learning the functions of each department and how each of them relates to each other.  I had wonderful supervisors who were great mentors.  It was an invaluable experience.  We were and still are a close group, even with the financial crisis of 2008, when many of us took different career paths.”

 Lori is currently the Director of Operations for the Zell Miller Foundation.    As with many things in her life, being in a small community allows people to have a wonderful networking group.  “A mutual friend of Bryan Miller (Executive Director of the Zell Miller Foundation) and myself, knew that Bryan was looking for someone in the area to help grow the foundation.  I got the call from my friend describing the job, and she said this would be perfect for you!”  When I spoke with Bryan about the opportunity, I knew this was where God was leading me.”  

 Being in the nonprofit field is definitely different than the corporate world, but with the financial background, it’s been a perfect fit.  “Through the Zell Miller Foundation, I have been able to meet so many people across Georgia and the nation who want to make the state and their local communities a better place for everyone.  I never would have imagined my career would’ve taken this path, but I’m so glad it did.”

 After she married, Lori moved to Hayesville, North Carolina, where she and her husband, Mike, live on their family farm.  She may have changed states, but only lives 2 miles from the Georgia state line.  They have two children, Jacob, age 15 and Addison, age 11.  They are active in their local school, community and church.

Herb Cranford

Herb Cranford

District Attorney, Coweta County Circuit

University of Georgia ’08, Mercer Law ‘12

Newnan, GA

Growing up attending football games with his father, Herb knew he wanted to go to attend the University of Georgia. “It was the school I grew up a fan of, but also knowing that I could get the HOPE Scholarship if I went there, that kind of sealed the deal.” 

 He attended Mercer Law after undergrad and would take on the internships that would shape his professional philosophies. He “learned a lot in terms of how to conduct oneself as a lawyer professionally, and how to treat people.” 

 After serving briefly in the Newnan Circuit right after law school, he moved to the Coweta Circuit to be an Assistant District Attorney. It is in the Coweta County Circuit that Herb now serves as the youngest District Attorney in the state at 35. 

 “The job is to get a just result on each case, and each case is different, you’re individually reviewing each case. There’s a spectrum of what is a reasonable way to justly resolve a case. As long as an Assistant DA in this office, or me when I was an Assistant DA, as long as they resolve a case on the spectrum of reasonableness, even if I would do it differently, I’m going to support them. You lose justice if you try to micromanage every outcome.” 

 In his role, he has a policy of being available to the public and reaching out to victims. “I’m a big believer in having an open-door policy. So, anybody who wants to talk to me, can talk to me…if someone really wants to speak to the DA, I take all those meetings. I think that’s really important to let people know that I’m accessible.” He also puts significant effort into speaking to the public about how the processes in the criminal justice system work. “It’s really hard for a DA’s office to work for the public, if the public does not have trust. And that’s a big part of being available and also being transparent.” 

 As District Attorney, Herb feels as though he’s in a position that he was made for. “I feel like I’m doing what I’m best suited to do. And there’s nothing that I can think of to do that would be more significant, especially in the community that I’ve grown up in.” 

 His goals for the future are entirely centered on doing all that he can do to manage his role respectably. “I want to run an office that the ultimate end is doing justice on each case, doing it honorably. Being honest, being fair. Having that open-door policy and being transparent, is part of doing it honorably. I’m aware of the power and authority that comes with this kind of job, specifically in being DA. I endeavor to wield that with some humility… Given that I think I’m in the role that’s best for me, my goal is just to do it well.” 

Daniela Perry

Daniela Perry

Vice President of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Foundation

University of Georgia (BS or BA) ’12, MPA ‘19

Smyrna, GA

Daniela attributes her introduction into the world of public policy and government to her parents. “We just had a lot of conversations at our dinner table about serving your community and helping those around you and about government’s role in that. I think growing up in a military family helped us understand all that our nation’s government does to help. It was just something that we did. We were really involved in our local politics as well, and so I just grew up in it. I always knew I wanted to go into that field.”

 When her family moved from Charleston to Madison, Georgia, the appeal of the HOPE Scholarship was a major draw to the state. “Part of the reason that they really wanted to move to Georgia was the HOPE Scholarship. They saw this huge opportunity and knew that Georgia had great schools.”

 The scholarship proved to be worth the move when both Daniela and her younger sister decided to attend the University of Georgia. “It was huge. It really allowed me to go to the University of Georgia, and it was part of the reason I stayed in state. I looked at other opportunities, but knowing that I could go to the University of Georgia and really have a full college experience with on campus activities and not burden myself with any kind of student debt, was a huge, huge relief. And it is something that I’m just so fortunate that we have in our state.”

 “I learned so much about different kinds of people that we have in our state, how everyone’s personal experience really impacts their perspective and how to look at everyone’s personal perspective and how to find common ground. Being able to respect different perspectives and being able to find opportunities to work together. I was really able to start serving in leadership roles with campus organizations that helped me to look at situations critically and find those opportunities to be empathetic but be firm and make strong decisions.”

 Daniela now serves as the Vice President of the Georgia Chamber Foundation, working to promote and create policies that encourage economic growth in the state. “I feel very passionate that there’s a lot of work in the state to be done to continue to increase opportunity, to continue to grow our state’s workforce, to continue to create a more prosperous state. We’ve had such strong leadership. There’s so many opportunities to make sure that we continue to foster prosperity and growth in the state, to make Georgia the best place to live and work for years to come.”

 Daniela lives in Smyrna with her husband, Cole, and their dog. 

Lacey Wheeler

Lacey Wheeler

Assistant District Attorney, Alcovy Judicial Circuit, Walton County

University of Georgia ’14, Georgia State University College of Law ‘17

Social Circle, GA

Lacey grew up in Covington, GA and was heavily involved in performance art and theater. “I started acting when I was in middle school.”

Upon high school graduation, she considered attending the University of Alabama, but instead decided to go to the University of Georgia. Because of the financial support the HOPE Scholarship gave her, she was able to live on campus and participate in several different organizations. “With the help of the HOPE scholarship, I was able to do all of the things that made my college experience so fruitful and so important. And it really let me enjoy all four years. I had a lot more opportunities. I had the ability to do a lot of things that would not have been an option for me otherwise.”

The support of the HOPE Scholarship also kept her from acquiring severe student debt in undergraduate school and was therefore better prepared to attend law school and pursue her career. “I can’t imagine what I would be going through financially if I hadn’t had HOPE in undergrad. I definitely couldn’t be doing the job I’m doing now, making the low-end of the spectrum for an attorney, but I love what I’m doing.”

A Performance Arts major, she says that her background in performance and theater has prepared her for her career as a courtroom prosecutor in tangible ways. “It’s a lot of thinking on your feet and improvisation. Having such a deep performing arts background has really helped me. Because now, standing in front of a group of people does not intimidate me.”

Lacey now works as an Assistant District Attorney in Walton County. Working with victims of crime and helping them deal with trauma is the most rewarding part of her job. “I get to meet them and talk to them and learn about their life.  As I’m working with the victims, I try my best and use everything I can within the law to try and make them whole again. I get to watch them grow and heal and to be a part of that, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s emotionally tolling, but at the same time it makes you feel really good about the work you’re doing.  I feel like I’m making a difference.”

Lacey lives in Social Circle with her fiancé and their dogs and cats.

Jana Hussion

Jana Hussion

Assistant Principal, Union County Elementary School

Piedmont College EdS ’13

Blairsville, GA

Jana is the Assistant Principal at Union County Elementary School in Blairsville, Georgia. “I got to where I am today by having a supportive family that valued education, taught me morals, and most importantly instilled in me a faith in God.  They set high expectations in both academics and behavior, but offered grace and mercy when I fell short.”

She attended school at Piedmont College to get her bachelor’s degree in business. “At the time I went to college, my parents were already paying for my older sister to go to college. It was a time when my parents were paying their bills, but there was not a lot of extra money. By receiving the HOPE scholarship, it took a financial burden away from family. For that I am truly grateful. I knew that HOPE would pay for my school in Georgia and that was an opportunity I could not afford to lose.”

Her college experience taught her about the benefit of finding what you are passionate about. “I learned that once you find an area you are passionate about learning; it really doesn’t feel like work anymore. You find yourself going above and beyond what is expected, because you have a desire to learn more.”

Although Jana did not begin her career in education, going back to school lead her to her current role. “I wished they would have offered the work-based learning opportunities that are now offered in a lot of high schools. My first degree was in Business with a concentration in accounting. After working in this industry for a few months, I knew this was not something I wanted to do long-term. I decided to re-enroll in college to get my Master’s degree in Education. I absolutely love working in the education field and am so grateful that I chose to go back to school.”

She counts her family as some of her greatest mentors, as well as Sara Rogers and Angie Berrong. “Each of these people taught me to work hard, have fun doing my work, and help those around you.“

Jana lives in Blairsville, Georgia, with her husband, C.T. Hussion and two children.  C.T. is the principal at Union County High School.  Their children, Brady and Avery, are in 9th and 6th grades.

Christopher Bruce

Christopher Bruce

Political Director, ACLU of Georgia

Georgia State University BA ’07, University of Georgia JD ‘12

Atlanta, Georgia

In high school, Chris would not have considered himself an attentive student. “I used to be a class clown, not really worried about my grades or anything else.”

It was a high school sweetheart who encouraged Chris to get serious about studying and his academic goals. “I saw a love for education like I had never had before. So, I took a 2.1 GPA and turned into a 3.1 in a year and a half…The skills that she helped me to develop, as far as studying and learning, actually carried over in school. As a freshman, I made a 4.0.”

Chris went “from a kid who had absolutely no hopes or desires to go to college, who used to get kicked out of class, to a kid was the head of the class.”

With the help of the HOPE Scholarship, Chris enrolled in Georgia State University, eventually becoming a Resident Assistant, an avid community volunteer, and a tutor to his peers. “I can’t tell you enough about how great of a program it is. It has completely shaped my life. Without the HOPE Scholarship, I would actually argue that I would not have been able to go to college. And would not have able to complete my degree with honors. Because not only did it give me the opportunity to get in, it gave me the opportunity to really focus on my studies instead of focusing on how to pay the bills.”

The biggest thing that Georgia State taught Chris was how important people are. “People matter. Intelligence is definitely key for things. Hard work, ethics, but really? Knowing how to treat people...People are the key to getting things done. You may be right, but if you don’t have the right people around you? Nothing happens.”

Chris is now the Policy Director for the Georgia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, with his primary focus falling on voting rights. “I’m in a position of power to make change for people who typically don’t see it. The first campaign I ever did, they were going to close polling places in south Atlanta during the mayoral election. There was a senior home right there. The seniors would have had to walk uphill for three miles to get to the next closest polling location, because they really didn’t have transportation. We launched a campaign to keep that polling place open, and we won. It was one of the biggest joys of my life, because these 8,000 people in the area will now be able to vote. No one was paying attention, there was no cameras, but we got in and made a change…I love my job. I love what I do.”

In the future, Chris hopes to continue to protect voting rights and to have the opportunity to mentor youth.

“I would really like to find that little Black boy at a no name high school who is a goofball and tell them, ‘I know you. I see you. And I can help you do better. You may not realize it or see it in yourself, but I see it in you.’ That’s why I like to do volunteer work with young African American males, because I really think that they can make a difference, as long as we give them the opportunity and resources to do it.”

Marli Collier

Marli Collier

Press Secretary, Office of Senator Shelley Moore Capito

University of Georgia ‘18

Washington, D.C.

A native of Dawson, Georgia, Marli realized she wanted to enter the world of journalism in high school. “My AP Composition teacher really encouraged me. She said, ‘you have a gift, you’re a really strong writer.’ It made me start thinking I could give journalism a shot. I think in high school, I just had really great teachers that supported me and clued me in. I don’t know if I would’ve thought about it naturally without their encouragement.”

Although she had the desire to go out-of-state for college, the HOPE Scholarship kept her in Georgia, specifically the University of Georgia. “I was looking at other places, but it’s really hard to pass up the well-roundedness of UGA and then when you consider that you can be a HOPE scholarship recipient and go to school tuition free, it’s impossible to pass that up.”

“What I loved about my time at college is that I was surrounded by a lot of different people from different life-paths. It really opened my eyes, especially since I’m from such a small town, to what’s possible in the world.”

 During her time at UGA, she was able to participate in several internships that introduced her to the world of politics. “I interned in D.C. the summer after my sophomore year in college. I did half the summer working with the National Cotton Council and half the summer interning with Senator David Perdue. I totally fell in love with the city and the politics.”

She now works as the Press Secretary for West Virginia’s Senator Shelley Moore Capito.

“I love that I can take complicated policy ideas and make them digestible for everyday people. I think that’s what I love the most, is being able to take something like natural gas production, make that understandable for someone on Facebook and why it’s so important for the people of our state. I definitely think another great part is traveling to West Virginia with Senator Capitoe. Any time I get to go back to the state and hear from everyday people and how policies that we’re working on here in Washington have affected their life is the most rewarding part.”

Her favorite project she has worked on in her role is West Virginia Girls Rise Up Program. “We travel around to schools across West Virginia and talk to girls about their goals. Senator Capitoe de-mystifies what public service is. A lot of girls in West Virginia don’t have a ton of female role models and so being able to talk to the Senator is really impactful. It’s really about girls finding their passion and go for it, encouraging them to take pride in themselves.”

Marli lives in Washington, D.C. and hopes to continue learning all that she can on Capitol Hill.

Jacinta Smith

Jacinta Smith

Public Health Service Officer, Center for Disease Control

University of Georgia BS ’00, MPH ‘04

Atlanta, GA

Jacinta, a native of Stone Mountain, knew from an early age that she had a certain passion. In fifth grade, she realized she “had a joy for science” and her eighth-grade science teacher “really saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.” Instead of regular summer camps, Jacinta spent her childhood summers at science camps like the Fernbank Scientific Tools and Techniques program and the Analytical Science Techniques program at Clark Atlanta.

She was encouraged by her parents to put education as one of her highest priorities. “I never questioned if I was going to go to college. It was a matter of where. Although my parents did not graduate from college, they always instilled upon me the importance of getting an education and going to get a four-year degree. I was the first person in my family to graduate with a four-year degree and that was only made possible because of HOPE.”

After finishing her bachelor’s and master’s at the University of Georgia, Jacinta was offered a fellowship at the Center for Disease Control in 2004, which evolved into a full-time position with the Federal government. Eventually, she was commissioned as a Public Health Officer in the United States Public Health Service. In addition to her role as a Public Health Officer, Jacinta also works in the Division of Select Agents and Toxins working to regulate laboratories that deal with “bioterrorism agents” such as anthrax, Ebola, and smallpox.

As one of 7,000 Public Health Officers reporting to the Surgeon General, Jacinta has had the opportunity to be in the field as the first response to health crises, “We have a role of being a deployable asset for the federal government for any sort of emergency response where there is a public or medical health need.”

In this role, Jacinta has been deployed six times, including two deployments to Liberia in during the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa. “We were ringing the alarm bells to the U.S. Federal government, to President Obama, saying this is serious and if we don’t get assets down here to help, it’s going to jump shore very quickly. Sure, enough it did.” Her second deployment to Liberia in 2015 was in a recovery capacity, to help rebuild the public health system. “That’s when you really see the impact of what you do: when you see communities restored, when you see public trust restored, the resiliency of the community and the people, and you know that you were a really small, but important, part of making that possible and helping the country.”

“Life’s experiences will throw you a couple of curveballs, but you will never, ever expect where those curves, those detours will take you. I had no clue. If you had told me when I was 18, attending UGA as a freshman that I would be on the frontlines of an Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Could not have imagined that in my wildest dreams. But it happened. I will be forever grateful for those experiences. I will forever be grateful for the HOPE Scholarship for providing the opportunity for me to be in a career that I really love and that I am really passionate for. That is really rare…even if I didn’t have this career in science, I know that the HOPE Scholarship, just by the fact that it created an opportunity for me to attend college and not have to incur the financial barrier in itself, is truly a blessing. I know my story is not unique. I know that there are millions who also have that story.”

Jacinta lives in Atlanta and is currently one of the thousands of public health officials working on the front lines to fight the coronavirus epidemic

Stacey Godfrey Evans

Stacey Godfrey Evans

Partner, Wargo French LLP

University of Georgia, A.B. ’00, J.D. ’03

Atlanta, GA

Stacey Evans grew up in Ringgold in the northeast corner of Georgia. She was raised by a single mother who never finished high school. “I knew we were poor, but I did not fully understand what that meant.”

“The first memory I have of dreaming really big was in second grade. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. And the school everyone talked about was the University of Georgia.”

Stacey became the first in her family to go to college. She is a proud Double Dawg, having earned her bachelor and law degrees from UGA. “I didn’t know you were supposed to pick a safety school. I did not apply anywhere else.”

Stacey graduated at the top of her class in law school. As an attorney, she has represented numerous clients in complex litigation and has represented victims of domestic violence pro bono.

In one particular high profile case, Stacey successfully represented two whistleblowers in a Medicare fraud case against a major dialysis clinic chain that settled for $495 million dollars. This was the largest non-intervened whistleblower Medicare fraud case in history.

“The first four years of my daughter’s life involved this case. I only took a week and a half of maternity leave. I was literally burning the candle at both ends. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We were fighting a multi-billion dollar company and they were coming at us with everything they had. But it did work out. It was a lesson to go for it. If you believe in something just go for it.”

“This case has given me more flexibility to do the cases I want to do. I feel more comfortable taking on bigger challenges and bigger cases and can just pick and choose the battles I want to fight.”

Stacey is currently running to represent District 57 in the Georgia House of Representatives. She ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018 after representing District 42 in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011-2017. Her proudest legislative accomplishment is successfully passing legislation to restore cuts to the HOPE Grant program because she knew the impact it would have on students like her.

“I barely made it through even with tuition and fees covered and at the time a book allowance. I worked as a telemarketer and waitress. I had the PELL grant and loans. But there was nowhere else to go to get the money I needed to stay in school.”

In 2015, Stacey endowed a scholarship for first generation college graduates attending UGA’s law school. The scholarship pays full tuition for all three years.

Stacey was listed in the Fulton County Daily Report’s list of 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in 2015, Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40 list in 2012, the University of Georgia’s 40 Under 40 list in 2012.

Stacey met her husband, Andrew, at UGA Law School. They have two children, Ashley and Jack, and currently reside in the Morningside neighborhood of Atlanta.

Dominique Holloman

Dominique Holloman

Government Affairs Manager, MARTA

University of Georgia BS, AB ’01, M.Ed, JD ‘04

Atlanta, GA

Dominique was born and raised in South Fulton County. Her parents, a banker and a fireman, were always incredibly dedicated to her education. When Dominique was ready to head off to college, she had Tulane College in her sights. However, the opportunity of the HOPE Scholarship lead her to rethink her goals.

Dominique’s parents told her, “‘We have invested so much into your education. You have the opportunity to go to college and continue this process at almost no cost. It is better for you to be in a place where you can come out of college relatively debt-free because you have already decided that you are going to continue your education’…HOPE kept me in-State when I was dead set on going to Tulane”

“Georgia was what I needed without knowing it was what I needed. I had always been in small schools with the same people. Going to a Tulane or Emory just would have been the same experience…at Georgia I was exposed to people I never would have been exposed to.”

One of the most valuable things she gained from her experience at the University of Georgia, specifically in the UGA Athletic Department and as a student tour guide at the Visitors Center, was the ability to navigate relationships. “I learned how to listen and how to make connections with people who seemingly have nothing in common with me…It taught me about relationships and how to manage relationships in a way that has been very impactful across my life, not only professionally, but personally.”

After two legislative sessions working as State Representative William Boddie’s Chief of Staff, Dominique is now serving as the Government Affairs Manager for MARTA. She is one of the few Black women in Government Affairs at the Georgia State Capitol.

“I’m so blessed to feel peace around my career. I’m very happy with where I’m at…It feels like I’ve found where I’m supposed to be.”

Dominique lives in Atlanta with her son.

Quin Murphy

Quin Murphy

Product Marketing Manager, Varian Medical Systems

Georgia Institute of Technology ‘19

Atlanta, Georgia

Growing up in Covington and starting to look at college, Quin knew that going a school in Georgia would be the best option for his future. “The HOPE Scholarship was awesome; it just takes so much stress off of school and paying for education. It was much more feasible to get through school and just focus on studying and not necessarily about paying for things or taking out an exorbitant amount of loans to get through it. I felt very lucky to be on the HOPE Scholarship at Georgia Tech...It was a no brainer for me.”

Interested in the medical field, Quin decided to major in biomedical engineering. He was able to complete several different internships that gave him experience in the biomedical field, including one in which he received a patent for a surgical stapler used for liver transplants.

“I always thought medical anything was cool. But I realized I just liked the idea of being a doctor, I didn’t actually want to be a doctor. I realized that you can still do a lot of cool things in the medical field. I got to see an open-heart surgery on an 81-year-old. Getting the patents is with surgical staplers is cool. One of my research projects was to create a new IV-line attachment that removes air bubbles.”

“I would say the number one thing that I learned from Georgia Tech and going through school, is how to fail and be wrong really early. And learning from my mistakes. For me, it was helpful to recognize that there is no easy win at Georgia Tech, no easy classes. So you learn what it takes to be successful. And a lot of those things correlate to the job that I’m in now and internships that I’ve had. It’s okay to fail, it’s okay to be wrong; you’ll figure out the right answer. That’s what I appreciate the most about Georgia Tech and what it instilled in me: is that you don’t get beaten down by being wrong and that you’re ultimately working towards solving a problem. Most problems don’t have a one or two sentence explanation.”

Quin now works as a product marketing manager for Interventional Oncology’s Software Solutions for Varian Medical Systems, helping to circulate tumor imaging software and radiation devices to cancer treatment facilities worldwide and assisting their teams in implementing these resources in their treatments.

“It’s a cool thing for me, as someone who wanted to be a doctor growing up, because I get to spend a lot of time with clinical professionals. We go on and visit these people who have dedicated their whole life to treating and caring for cancer patients. We get to bring them tools that make those treatments easier. I know the product, they know the clinical problems, and we work together.”

Quin lives in Atlanta and hopes to continue to work in the biomedical engineering field.

Riley Muse

Riley Muse

Assistant Account Executive, Edelman

University of Georgia ’18

Los Angeles, CA

Riley was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. When it was time to make a decision on where to attend college, the HOPE Scholarship played a major role. “The HOPE scholarship was a huge factor in my decision on where to go to school.”

“I had a longing to go somewhere else. But after I found out I was a HOPE Scholarship recipient, that changed everything.  Since my dad was a University of Georgia graduate, I already had a huge love for the school and decided that was where I wanted to go.”

Her experience at the University of Georgia helped her to develop professionally, through organizations such as the Grady College of Journalism, the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the Arch Society. She felt comfortable trying out different groups because of the freedom that the “transitional years” of college provided.

“For me, college is a place where you’re still protected and can take risks and make the mistakes you need in order to figure out where you want to go and who you are.”

“Being able to graduate in 2018 with zero student debt was absolutely huge and life-changing. It’s definitely part of the reason why I was able to move across the country and take that leap, because I didn’t have to worry about paying off student loans.”

Riley now lives in Los Angeles, California, and works as an Assistant Account Executive at the global public relations firm, Edelman. The LA office has many major clients, but the majority of Riley’s responsibilities are in supporting Taco Bell. One of their biggest projects she’s worked on, was launching the “Taco Bell Hotel and Resort” in Palm Springs in August 2019.

“Taco Bell really wanted to find a way to connect with fans and bring something to life for them. We pitched them this experience, which was the Taco Bell Hotel.  The biggest Taco Bell fans were allowed to stay at the hotel, spend time with us and to live and eat and play with the brand all weekend. Our first hotel experience was in Palm Springs where we completely rethemed the resort to be ‘The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort.’”

She has also participated in similar projects for clients like Netflix.

Riley enjoys working with consumer brands and the consumer lifestyle space: “brands which really impact your life and that you interact with daily.”

In the future, she hopes to continue to grow and develop in the public relations industry and to explore the opportunities that exist in her home state.

Christopher Sanders

Christopher Sanders

Executive Director, East Metro Community Improvement District

University of West Georgia BBA ’03, University of Georgia MBA ‘07

Dunwoody, GA

Chris remembers how much his Redan High School administrators emphasized the importance his and his fellow classmates’ test scores and grades. “Our administrators were very focused on us qualifying for HOPE, because that was definitely one way to go to school in the state of Georgia. My counselors had a big push for us to score a thousand or above on the SAT’s, so we had a big ‘thousand and above club.’”

“HOPE was definitely a way of reducing the need for as many loans. Coming from a middle-income family, education was important and finding scholarships was the second important step. And HOPE alleviated that distress of finding as much as humanly possible, that I could focus on other things like developing my career and building my network and finding an internship.”

Chris achieved those goals and eventually graduated from the University of West Georgia in 2003 with his Bachelor’s in Business Administration and from the University of Georgia with a Master’s in Business in 2007. Since then, he has shifted his career focus towards community engagement. “I always wanted to go into business, at the time I thought that’s where I was called to go, but as life happens, you’re called in different directions.”

He credits this shift in purpose to the events of 9/11, which occurred in his second year in undergrad. “I had one burning desire. I’m from a military family; my father was in the Army for over 20 years, a major in the Army. My uncle was an Air Force airman and my aunt was an Army soldier. So serving in the military was in my family, and that was the first thing that called me. I wanted to enlist and go fight and do what I needed to do, but after a couple of days emotions kind of settled in. I am a man of faith and I truly believe that prayer and God was telling me that my direction was somewhere else. So that’s when I started getting heavily involved in politics.”

Chris began to get more involved with the Atlanta Young Republicans and volunteering for political campaigns such as David Perdue’s run for Senate and Nathan Deal’s campaign for Governor. “That community engagement started to bubble up more and more and more, because I could see how political activity from a campaign would mirror in a lot of community activism trying to make substantive changes in an area.”

Now serving as the Executive Director of the East Metro Community Improvement District, Chris tries “to figure out what mechanisms need to be put in place to help the business community thrive and economic development take off…Focusing on beautification of commercial areas so that they’re attractive, focusing on public safety, so that business owners and customers feel safe patronizing the area, and then also working on infrastructure improvements so that traffic flow and roads and everything else look decent to encourage more economic development in the area.”

Chris currently lives in Dunwoody and hopes to one day run for elected office and create a style brand focused on the public image of others who are considering runs for office.