GRABBING THE RING
Students and alumni defy obstacles in pursuit of excellence
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS
The golden hour
Seven EduDawgs compete on the world stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
This year, 31 members of the UGA athletic community competed for 13 nations in five sports at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, making it the second-largest team from UGA in Olympic history, trailing only the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games at 36.
Seven athletes with ties to the Mary Frances Early College of Education competed in Tokyo this summer, including hammer thrower Denzel Comenentia (B.S.Ed. ’20) for the Netherlands; goalball player Amanda Dennis (B.S.Ed. ’19) for the U.S.; swimmer Chase Kalisz (B.S.Ed. ’19) for the U.S.; triple jumper Keturah Orji (M.S. ’19) for the U.S.; tennis player Ellen Perez (matriculated B.S.Ed. ’19) for Australia; long jumper Chanice Porter (M.S. ’18) for Jamaica; and golfer Sepp Straka (matriculated M.S. ’17) for Austria.
Meet these incredible athletes below!
Photo courtesy of Erik van Leeuwen
Photo courtesy of Erik van Leeuwen
SETTING RECORDS
Denzel Comenentia's list of national achievements in both shot put and hammer throw is extensive. In 2018, the Bowerman Award semifinalist—awarded to the year's best student-athlete in American collegiate track and field—became the third collegiate athlete ever to sweep both the shot put and hammer throw at the same NCAA Championships.
His title in the hammer was UGA’s first NCAA outdoor title since 2015 and the second-best winning throw in the past 16 years. Additionally, he won silver medals for the shot put at the 2014 World Junior Championships and 2017 European U23 Championships. His personal best—and the current national record—in the hammer is 76.81 meters, which he achieved in 2019.
Photo courtesy of USABA
Photo courtesy of USABA
GOAL ORIENTED
As a young soccer player, Amanda Dennis noticed a dramatic lapse in her performance on the field. Born with aniridia—a condition that limits a person’s ability to see in both light and dark conditions—she had a hard time seeing outside and decided to give up sports altogether.
However, after spending time at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, she discovered goalball and immediately fell in love with the sport. Today, the sport management graduate is a three-time Paralympian and two-time Paralympic medalist who recently won a silver medal in Tokyo. In 2016, she took home bronze at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and placed first at the 2014 Goalball World Championship.
Photo courtesy of JD Lasica
Photo courtesy of JD Lasica
STRIKING GOLD
Chase Kalisz not only struck gold in Tokyo for the men's 400-meter individual medley, but he also won the first gold medal of the Games for the U.S.
During the event, the two-time World Aquatics Champion pulled away from the pack just after the halfway mark, cruising to victory in 4 minutes and 9.42 seconds. In 2016, Kalisz won silver for the same event in Rio de Janeiro. He specializes in the individual medley and also competes in breaststroke and butterfly events. At UGA, Kalisz competed for the swimming and diving team where he was a three-time NCAA Champion and American record-holder in the 400-yard individual medley.
Photo courtesy of jenaragon94
Photo courtesy of jenaragon94
JUMPING BACK IN
Keturah Orji is the American indoor triple jump record holder, the outdoor triple-jump collegiate record holder, and the only woman in history to be a three-time Bowerman finalist.
In 2019, she was named the NCAA Woman of the Year in recognition of her excellence in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership. That same year, she also received the Bowerman. In 2016, she triple jumped 14.71 meters at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, placing fourth. This summer, she triple jumped 14.59 meters placing seventh in Tokyo.
Photo courtesy of Si.Robi
Photo courtesy of Si.Robi
DOUBLE THREAT
As a kid, Ellen Perez idolized Olympians and dreamt of one day competing against the world’s best athletes. The former All-American did just that this summer in Tokyo with teammate Samantha Stosur. Together, they competed for Australia in the women’s doubles competition. Perez recently played in both the singles and doubles draw at Wimbledon, making her career debut in singles.
Perez made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2016 Australian Open in doubles with Belinda Woolcock and her first singles Grand Slam appearance at the 2016 US Open after winning the Australian Wildcard Playoff.
Photo courtesy of UGA Track & Field
Photo courtesy of UGA Track & Field
LONG JUMP TO VICTORY
For Chanice Porter, qualifying for the 2020 Olympics is still a surreal accomplishment. The track and field athlete currently serves as a compliance coordinator for UGA’s Athletic Association and competed for Jamaica at the games this past summer.
Porter represented Jamaica at the 2019 World Athletics Championship, competing in the women’s long jump. She reached the 6-foot mark for the first time in her career for the indoor high jump at UGA, and in 2016, was named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Athlete of the Week.
Photo courtesy Johns Weast/UGA Sports Comm
Photo courtesy Johns Weast/UGA Sports Comm
A FAMILY SPORT
Sepp Straka’s passion for golf developed thanks to some friendly competition with twin brother Sam. Both went to Tokyo with Sepp representing Austria and Sam—a fellow UGA alumnus—assisting him as his caddy.
After graduating from UGA, Sepp turned professional and played several tournaments on the 2016 PGA Tour Canada. Sepp is the first Austrian golfer to earn a PGA Tour card. In his first season, his best finish was third place at the 2019 Barbasol Championship. In 2018, he secured his first professional victory after winning the Web.com Tour's KC Golf Classic by one stroke.
ALUMNI AT A GLANCE
FY21
Stay in touch!
With more than 63,000 alumni around the world, the Mary Frances Early College of Education is home to a vibrant, diverse group of graduates. The College hosts several events for alumni throughout the year, including a homecoming tailgate, an alumni awards celebration, donor recognition events, and more. If you are interested in hosting an event or getting involved with alumni in your area, please email us for more information.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Beacon of hope
Zerian Hood is the first in his family to go to college. A love of sports led him to pursue an exercise and sport science major at the University of Georgia, and he intends to go to physical therapy school after graduation. Often juggling two or three jobs, he aims to be a beacon of hope for his family and other first-generation students.
Hometown: Atlanta
Degree objective: Exercise and sport science (pre-physical therapy track)
Expected graduation: May 2023
What surprised you about UGA or defied your expectations?
UGA gave me people who I can count on to be there for me. Everyone I've met has welcomed me with open arms and has been nothing short of spectacular.
How did you choose your major?
I thought I was going to be an architect. I soon realized that I don’t like geometry and my drawing skills are lousy. I considered sports broadcasting and finally, I landed on exercise and sport science and want to be a physical therapist for a professional, collegiate, or even high school sports team. The dream of becoming a professional football player (I played running back in high school) soon ended when I chose an academic scholarship over a sports scholarship. However, being a physical therapist allows me to be on the team, but not on the field. That is my sort of “shoot for the stars” type of dream, and my “land on the moon” type of dream is to end up in a great clinic or any other physical therapy facility.
What have you had to overcome to get where you are today?
In middle school, I took my schooling lightly, barely making a “B” to keep my mom off my back. My mother, father, older brother, and sister all received either a high school diploma or a GED. Then my older cousin told me that “I was supposed to be the one to change the path for my family.” He said, “If you don’t, no one will.” And that’s when it all changed. After a couple of semesters in middle school and acquiring many titles, awards, and honors, I missed the principal’s list by two points in the last semester of eighth grade. I was very upset, but I knew that I never wanted to be in that position again. I declared to my family that day that I was going to be the valedictorian of my graduating class. A declaration to my mother that I was going to be the first of her children to graduate high school, the first to be the top of the class, and the first to go to college.
But my world was flipped upside down in high school. My family and I were kicked out of our apartment from November 2018 to January 2019. I was living out of a hotel with minimal clothing, a brain full of knowledge, and a heart full of hate. After senior night for the last game of the season, I had to get dropped off at my old apartments and get picked up by my stepdad because I didn’t want my friends to know that I lived in a hotel. But I made it to the other side.
I ended high school with a 4.0 GPA, and was named valedictorian at Benjamin Banneker High School, the highest honor of all my classmates. I got into the college of my dreams, and I have people who love me.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it?
My passion is to become a physical therapist and to help people as much as I can. I hold the title of role model in my family, and I give them all of me. From the experiences I have had to the daily advice I give to each of them, I want them to know that they can do it too—graduate high school, go to college, and follow their dreams. And I am definitely happy to spread the love to anyone else who would love to hear it. That is why the Visitors Center is so special.
What are your plans for after graduation?
My plan is to go to graduate school: a three-year degree program to receive a doctor of physical therapy.
I #CommitTo: Facing adversity head-on
SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS
FY21
Commit to our students
Every year, dozens of hardworking students receive scholarships and need-based aid from the Mary Frances Early College of Education to help remove financial barriers that make it difficult for them to focus on achieving their academic dreams.
Please consider contributing to the College of Education General Scholarship Fund, the Abigail Reddic Student Teaching Emergency Fund, or the College of Education Fund for Excellence with a gift of any size to ensure our students achieve their goals no matter their background or financial standing.
For more information, contact Molly Thomas, director of development and alumni relations, at 706-542-2893 or molly2@uga.edu.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
Setting students up for success
Bottoms family establishes new fund to support the next generation of educational leaders
Gene Bottoms (B.S.Ed. ’60, Ed.D. ’65), an alumnus of the College’s Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, is passionate about educational leadership.
For more than 60 years, he’s dedicated his life to serving students, schools, and the community. Now, Bottoms and his wife, Helen (B.S.Ed. ’63), an alumna of the same department, are supporting the next generation of leaders in education.
The Bottoms Family Support Fund for Doctoral Students in Educational Leadership provides financial support to doctoral students who are or plan to be district or school leaders. Additionally, the fund provides dissertation support for doctoral students who seek to better understand and implement comprehensive school-wide improvement.
Through this fund, Bottoms’ legacy of positive impact on schools can reach others with the same passion for change.
“One of my biggest takeaways from my three decades of work with thousands of middle and high schools across 30 states is that district and school leadership matters,” he says. “Through this fund, we hope to support individuals who are preparing to become system and school leaders, so they can pursue a dissertation study that engages them in an active learning process related to comprehensive school reform that connects high-level career and academic studies.”
From left to right: Son Kevin Bottoms, wife Helen Milford Bottoms, Gene Bottoms, daughter Andrea Bottoms Jacobson, and daughter Gina Bottoms Maio.
From left to right: Son Kevin Bottoms, wife Helen Milford Bottoms, Gene Bottoms, daughter Andrea Bottoms Jacobson, and daughter Gina Bottoms Maio.
By the time he was 23 years old, Bottoms had served as a principal for two schools, one in Forsyth County and one in Barrow County, helping them establish their first libraries. He later became director of student services at South Georgia Technical College, where he designed and implemented the first student service program at a career and technical school in Georgia.
From 1964-1977, Bottoms developed several innovative programs in the Georgia Department of Education and led the nation’s educational movement through his involvement with the American Vocational Association.
In 1984, he helped draft the Carl Perkins vocational education legislation, a principal source of federal funding for the improvement of secondary and postsecondary career and technical education programs across the nation. In 1987, he worked with the Southern Regional Education Board and state educational leaders to design and launch a comprehensive high school reform initiative that connected academic and vocational studies.
Over the next 31 years, Bottoms worked with more than 3,000 schools and technology centers across the U.S. to improve the quality of school and classroom practices.
During his time as a student in the University of Georgia’s College of Education, Bottoms took a range of courses, including sociology and psychology, to deepen his understanding of factors that influence student learning.
“My courses in counseling raised my awareness of how to be respectful of each student, how to listen to others, and how to engage them in a deeper understanding about personal and educational issues,” he says. “Courses in the College of Education informed me about research design, statistical analysis, and how to facilitate discussions with a diverse audience to find areas of agreement and understanding.”
Bottoms is most proud of his determination to never stop learning. “Still, we have many miles left to travel and more challenges to address to ensure we are preparing all students—particularly those who historically have been disenfranchised—for middle-class earning opportunities,” he adds.
His book, “High Schools for Tomorrow,” will be released in February 2022 and present proven and practical solutions to make high schools a rich and rewarding experience for all students, regardless of college and career goals.
– Lauren Leathers
GIVING AT A GLANCE
FY21
Every year, the Mary Frances Early College of Education is supported by a range of generous donors, from alumni and friends to private organizations and foundations.
Built with Shorthand