Celebrating Success: Meet Our 2012 Emory Scholar

The relationship between Emory University and The Coca-Cola Company has long been a close one. After attending the first two Scholars Banquets, George and Carol Overend—Emory alumni and friends of the Coca-Cola System—decided there should always be a Coca-Cola Scholar attending Emory.

So in 1991, they established a fund to provide an additional annual Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation scholarship of $20,000 (payable at $5,000 per year for four years) to a student committed to attending Emory University for his or her undergraduate education.

Today, the Overends continue to be strong proponents of the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. Their support has provided scholarships for Stephen Fowler (the 2012 Emory Scholar from McDonough, GA) and 21 other Coke Scholars before him.

Get to know Stephen in his own words here, and then continue reading for updates from several other previous Emory Scholars:

My passion in life is finding answers to the question, “Why?” I constantly want to know more about the world we live in and why people think and act the way they do. Why it is acceptable for one group to have rights while another cannot? I am a “people person” in the sense that I am fascinated by all the different cultures and ideas waiting for me out there in the world to discover.

As such, it is my goal in life to learn as much as I can and help as many people as I can in the process. For example, through the Union Grove High School student council, I have served every role imaginable, culminating in my position as School President this year. My legacy in this position has been one of leadership and service—from installing a handicap-accessible door and purchasing a new PA system for our school to painting bathrooms and hosting a talent show for Relay for Life. I hope that leadership and service will be my life’s legacy, too.

When I found out I was the Coke Emory Scholar, I almost dropped the phone.  Emory University has always been my dream school, and to get a scholarship specifically to go there was surreal. I distinctly remember laughing like a maniac and pinching my arm to see if I was dreaming.

The scholarship weekend was a life-changing opportunity. I mean, where else could I ask Morgan Freeman such a serious question as, “How many fingers am I holding up?”  And the dance, where I was known as the “Bow Tie Guy,” was probably one of the more memorable and fun experiences I’ve had in a while. Being in the presence of 253 of the world’s future leaders and change-makers was an extremely humbling experience, and I am honored to be part of this distinguished group. I look forward to seeing what things they accomplish, and hope that I, too, can help contribute to the betterment of society.

While attending Emory University, I plan to double-major in music and political science, get involved in activism and outreach efforts in the Atlanta area, and expand my bow tie collection.

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Here is an update on some of the former Emory Scholars:

Kim Mitchell Hagan (1992) graduated from Emory in 1996 with degrees in Political Science and Psychology. In 1999, she graduated with a law degree from American University. Kim now lives in Nashville, TN, with her husband and two children and works as Director of Eligibility for the Tennessee Medicaid program.

Will Harlan (1993) lives with his wife and four-year-old son on an off-grid organic farm in the mountains of western North Carolina. His nonprofit farm provides fresh organic produce for Appalachian families in need and assists Tarahumara runners and farmers in Mexico’s Copper Canyons. He has won dozens of ultra marathons, including the Copper Canyon 50-Mile Ultra, made famous by the book Born to Run. His proudest running accomplishment, however, is winning the Georgia Fig Leaf 5K. He is editor-in-chief of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine and author of a forthcoming book about Cumberland Island.

David Schwartz (1994) graduated Emory in 1998 with a BS in biology and chemistry. He graduated Mayo Medical School in 2002 and completed residency training in 2007. He is a board-certified radiation oncologist working in Minneapolis.

Nekia S. Hackworth (1995) graduated from Emory in 1999 with a degree in business administration.  She worked as a management consultant and went on to get her JD and MBA degrees from Harvard University in 2004.  Nekia now lives in Atlanta, where she is a federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office.

Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar (1998) graduated summa cum laude from Emory in 2002 with a degree in English and Russian.  After completing a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing on a Bobby Jones Scholarship at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and a Fulbright Scholarship in St. Petersburg, Russia, she received her J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2008.  Elizabeth then clerked for Judge Merrick Garland on the D.C. Circuit and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court.  Elizabeth now lives in Washington, D.C., where she is an associate at Hogan Lovells LLP.

Nameeta Penkar Richard (1999) graduated from Emory in 2003 with a major in neuroscience and behavioral biology and a minor in south Asian studies. She graduated from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in 2007 and completed her pediatric residency at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center/Brenner Children’s Hospital in 2010. She is currently a second-year pediatric hematology oncology fellow at Oregon Health & Science University/Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, OR.

Katina Tsagaris (2000) graduated from Emory in 2004 as a German major and went on to complete her master’s degree in public health at Emory prior to starting medical school. She is now completing her internal medicine residency at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Katina will start her year as chief resident of internal medicine at Georgetown in July and will be applying for a rheumatology fellowship.

Gabi Maris (2001) graduated from Emory in 2005 with a degree in Psychology.  She went on to complete a Pre-Medical Post-Baccalaureate at Agnes Scott College, where she was a Teaching Assistant in General and Organic Chemistry the following year.  She then obtained her Medical Degree at the Medical University of South Carolina, finishing in 2011.  She is now living in Philadelphia, where she is a Family Medicine Resident at the University of Pennsylvania with a special interest in under-served, Community Medicine.

Son McLaren (2002) graduated from Emory University in 2006 with a degree in biology. She began her medical training at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2008 and is expected to graduate this May. In June, she will begin her pediatric residency training at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

Vana Dabney (2003) graduated from Emory in 2008 with a degree in film studies. After graduation, Vana moved to Los Angeles to work in film and television development and production. Vana has worked on films such as How To Train Your Dragon and Puss in Boots and now works as a freelance television comedy writer.

Amanda Rawstern (2008) now lives in Clearwater, Florida where she is working in the merchandising department at Busch Gardens Tampa.  She has applied to graduate school in the sciences at University of Florida and hopes to hear back soon.

Lena Brottman (2010) is a rising junior at Emory, majoring in Sociology and Economics, and pitching for the Emory softball team. Lena is currently interning at Blue Pearl Financial Management in Chicago for the summer.