The Honors Student Council is dedicated to enhancing the Honors experience and engaging their peers in the Honors community. The student council hosts a wide variety of events—past favorites include Flipping Out Over Finals, Dinner with the Dean, the Let’s Talk About It series, and an end-of-the-year Honors Dance. The student council also serves as a liaison between the Morehead Honors College administration and the student body. It is comprised of five committees: Programming, Communications, Diversity and Inclusion, Peer Assisted Leadership (PAL), and Service.
Applications open each year to first- and second-years interested in enriching the Honors community. If you are a creative thinker, like to organize events, and work in teams to solve problems, consider joining HSC.
Peer Assisted Leadership Program (PAL)
One major component of HSC is the Peer Assisted Leadership program, or PAL. Every semester, Honors students are paired through PAL to discuss everything from professors to clubs to shared hobbies. If you are new to UGA and the Morehead Honors College, you have the opportunity to seek guidance, talk about favorite downtown restaurants, and learn about opportunities in your major or discipline. If you’re beyond your first year at UGA, you can gain the satisfaction of helping a new friend navigate now-familiar waters.
PAL began as a student-led initiative in 2015 and has helped to foster a stronger sense of community among Honors students. The PALgorithm, the problem-solving mechanism that connects mentors and mentees each semester, will match you with another student by pre-professional track, major, and minor, and is overseen by PAL program chairs. PAL leaders will guide you through the mentoring process at orientations and social events each semester to help you maximize your PAL experience.
You will be asked to meet with your PAL at least three times a semester during your time participating in the program.
Honors Student Council officers, 2024
Elizabeth Griffies
Co-President
Liz is a third-year Honors student from Raleigh, North Carolina. She is majoring in finance and marketing with a co-major in international business and a minor in French. Aside from HSC, at UGA she is involved in Terry Student Consulting, Women in Finance, the International Business society, and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. This summer, she looks forward to interning for Amazon in Seattle. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, traveling, reading, and cooking.
As co-president, Liz is looking forward to continuing to be active in the Honors community in her third year in HSC. She hopes to keep contributing to bringing social events and academic resources to Honors students in order to promote a connected and engaged Honors community.
Cate Goldman
Co-President
Cate is a third-year Honors student from Athens, Georgia. She is studying computer science with a minor in genetics. Outside of Honors Student Council, she is involved in undergraduate research, Corsair Society, Girls Dot Code, and the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. This summer she is looking forward to interning for ActiveCampaign in Chicago. In her free time, she likes reading, hanging out with friends, and trying fun coffee drinks.
As co-president, Cate is looking forward to building a stronger Honors College community by helping Honors students connect with each other and access Honors resources.
Lilly Wood
Vice President
Lilly is a third-year Honors student from Milton, Georgia. She is majoring in management information systems and is pursuing a certificate in personal and organizational leadership as an ILA Leonard Leadership Scholar. She is a member of the UGA Club Tennis team, as well as a volunteer for Campus Kitchen. She is looking forward to her summer internship at FTI Consulting in their Atlanta office. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors and staying active, trying new food, hanging out with friends, watching her favorite TV shows, and reading.
As the Vice President, Lilly is looking forward to increasing engagement in the Honors community through both social and professional events.
Jenny Chen
Treasurer
Jenny is a third-year Honors student from Atlanta, Georgia. She is studying management information systems with a music business certificate. On campus, she serves as an Ernst & Young LLP Funded Terry Diversity Fellow, Sony Music U Marketing Representative, and Terry College of Business Music Business Certificate Program Ambassador. She’s also engaged in Women in Technology and other female-empowering Terry organizations. In her free time, she enjoys trying new cuisines, playing tennis, thrifting, dancing, traveling, yoga, watching movies, and exploring new cities. After graduation, Jenny hopes to work in New York in tech sales or digital marketing technology services in the music industry.
As treasurer, Jenny is excited to plan engaging events to strengthen the Honors community. She is also very passionate about DEI and intends to encourage underrepresented communities to apply to the Honors College and engage with the community.
Ansleigh Abell
Programming Chair
Ansleigh is a third-year honors student from Columbus, Georgia. She is studying biology and biomedical physiology. At UGA, she does research with the Kinesiology Department on vascular diseases and attends UGA Wesley. In her free time, she enjoys reading a good book, running, and watching a movie with friends. After graduation, she hopes to attend medical school to become a physician.
As programming chair, Ansleigh has a lot of new ideas for events to bring Honors students together. She loves the Honors community and wants to see it grow and see more students making connections within the Honors College.
Sophie Maxwell
Service Chair
Sophie is a junior studying economics and international business with minors in German and international affairs. Outside of HSC she is involved with the economics society and holds a job at Paloma Park. She will be interning at McKinsey & Company and hopes to continue her career in consulting after graduation. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and watching silly TV shows with her roommates.
Sanjana Gattineni
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Chair
Sanjana is a third-year honors student from Cumming, Georgia. She is majoring in microbiology and applied biotechnology with a minor in human and family development sciences. Outside of HSC, she is an Ignite tutor with Teach for America and mentors international students through International Student Life. She also performs research with the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences as a CURO Honors Scholar. In her free time she does aerial silks at Canopy Studios, enjoys going on hikes, and loves to read.
As the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion chair, Sanjana looks forward to encouraging students from various ethnic backgrounds to share their experiences and help widen their perspectives as they become more involved with the Honors College.
Niles Mamun
PAL Chair
Niles is from Alpharetta, Georgia and is a biology major with a minor in religion. Outside of Honors Student Council, he performs biomedical research and volunteers in Athens. After he graduates, he is looking to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. In his free time he loves to practice piano, play basketball, and watch movies.
Amanda Wylie
Communications Chair
Amanda is a second-year Honors student from Franklin, Massachusetts. She is majoring in finance and anthropology while pursuing a certificate in personal and organizational leadership. On campus, she is a member of Sigma Delta Tau and works with the Office of Auxiliary Dining Administration. Amanda studied sustainable international business in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji last summer through Discover Abroad. She is excited to travel overseas once again this May to learn about entrepreneurship in Scandinavia. For the remainder of the summer, she will be headed to Charlotte, North Carolina to intern in corporate and investment banking for Wells Fargo. In her free time, Amanda loves reading, journaling, trying new restaurants, and annoying her friends by singing way too loudly.
As director of communications, Amanda looks forward to expanding HSC’s outreach by growing the Instagram account and implementing new marketing channels. Her goal is for as many Honors students as possible to be aware of HSC and engage with its programming.
