
HONORS DAY
Dear Andrew Young School Honors Students, Families and Friends,
We are all thrilled to recognize you for your excellence during our annual Honors Day celebration — the highlight of our academic year. Each and every one of you will have an impact on our larger world, we are certain, and we couldn’t be more proud of you.
We congratulate you for your accomplishments and particularly for your perseverance as you excelled academically through an exceptionally challenging period for everyone. We also thank you for your hard work and excellence.
You are our college’s promise, our world’s future. We appreciate your ongoing dedication to knowledge and your service to community, policy and governance. And we anticipate the many benefits your gifts will bring to the communities and people you will serve. You are role models for all of us at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
With pride and joy,
Interim Dean Ann-Margaret Esnard

Keynote Speaker: Grace Hayden MacNaught
2015 Suma Cum Laude alumna of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and 2015 graduate of University of Venice – Ca’foscari through Georgia State’s Atlantis Programme.
Grace is the March 2016 recipient of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Economics Award for outstanding economic achievement. She is a 2021 and 2022 recipient of the prestigious Circle of Excellence designation within her broker dealer’s channel. In addition to her academic achievements, she is a local business owner, financial advisor and one of the few women in her field.
Grace is passionate about giving back and encouraging others to pursue opportunities in the field of economics and business. In 2021 Grace started the Grace Hayden Impact Scholarship, making her the youngest donor to ever establish a scholarship fund at Georgia State University.

Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Awards
The Carolyn McClain Young Leadership Fellowship Award
Established to provide training opportunities for government officials, junior executives in national finance ministries and young people who may be the leaders of tomorrow in countries with emerging economies, especially in Africa and the Caribbean.
Byron Owusu Ansah
Durronjae Boothe
Joma Mones Prebisterio
The Jean Childs Young Fellowship
Established in honor of Jean Childs Young through the generosity of R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr., chairman emeritus and founder of Aaron Rents, Inc., who attended Georgia State University in 1948 and was inducted into the Robinson College of Business Hall of Fame in 2005. This endowment, which honors the life and legacy of Jean Childs Young, provides fellowships for graduate students in the AndrewYoung School and supports the Jean Childs Young lecture series.
Ahmad Ahnaf Amin
Olasubomi Olaolu Ayeni
The Andrew Young Fellowship
Established in honor of Ambassador Andrew Young through the generosity of many supporters, this three-year fellowship is awarded annually to outstanding students pursuing Ph.D.s in economics, public policy, criminal justice or urban studies.
Oluwaseun Odibo
Jung Won Choi
Rory Renzy
Raka Datta
Aislinn Wallace
Sommer Delgado
Sydney Flonnoy
Salma Mohammad Ali
Jasmine Jordan
Christian Saenz
Samuel Sturm
The Dean's Fellowship
Established through the generosity of The Coca-Cola Foundation in honor of Ambassador Andrew Young, the three-year Dean’s Fellowship is awarded annually to outstanding students pursuing doctoral degrees in the Andrew Young School.
Donovan Giardina
Siru Liu
Wen Lu
Logan Ledford
Caitlin Dorsch
Virginia Carr
AYS Undergraduate Scholarship
Established to provide financial assistance to outstanding undergraduate leaders and scholars in the Andrew Young School, this scholarship is awarded for academic merit, leadership and need.
Rashel Serrano
Karina Trevino
University Fellows
Established by Georgia State University to support doctoral students engaged in the research of faculty recruited to join the Andrew Young School under the Second Century Initiative (2CI).This program is building internationally recognized scholarly strength and critical mass around common research themes to enhance the university’s overall quality, interdisciplinary richness and competitiveness.The fellowship is awarded for up to four years to outstanding students pursuing a Ph.D. in economics, public policy, criminal justice or urban studies.
Godwin Aipoh
Reginald Hebert
Yu-Ting Huang
B-gyung Kim
Travis Chalfin
MariTere Molinet
Victoria Helmly
Thomas Kouwe
Yiwei Duan
Erica Mtenga
Sukriti Beniwal
Ruslan Galyamov
Henry Woodyard
Sarah Barry
Lishan Shen
Laiyang Ke
Tingzhong Huang
Amis Stephan Endowment for Undergraduate Retention
Established by Drs. William Amis and Paula Stephan, the Amis Stephan Endowment provides financial assistance to undergraduate students at Georgia State University. This university-wide scholarship is awarded for students with financial need in good standing. Half of the scholarship recipients are Andrew Young School students.
Lawrence Hodges
Destiny Lewis
Aubria Paiz
Janee Farmer
Norgoi Jallow
Windmill Colin
Horne Ceasor
Onwumere Ndubuisi
Summer Accelerator Scholarship
The Summer Accelerator Scholarship provides financial assistance to seniors who take one or two summer courses to complete their Andrew Young School undergraduate degree.
Jayla Williams
Destiny Oluwa
Brianna Taylor
RISE Award
Established through the generosity of Sam and Angie Allen, this award provides financial assistance to outstanding undergraduates in the Andrew Young School. This scholarship is awarded for academic merit, commitment to community service, and financial need.
Jordan Bulger
Brianna Taylor
Social Action Alliance Scholarship Fund
Provides scholarships to undergraduate students who are in good academic standing and participating in the Social Action Alliance certificate program at GSU.
Jordan Madden
Naomi Garcia-Hector
Mary DeLacy
Megan Shore
Nicholas Palmiotto
Ashley Banks
Rhea Wunsch
The Allison Powell Scholarship for Graduate Students
Provides scholarship support to students who have been accepted and admitted into a graduate program within Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and are in good academic standing with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Muthoni Mugambi
Elise Holloway
Byars Family Undergraduate Scholarship
Established by alumna Linda Byars (B.B.A. ’68, M.A. ’73), this award provides financial assistance to first generation college students in good academic standing with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Nicole Rigoroso
Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology Awards
The James L. Maddex Jr. Scholarship
Established in honor of James L. Maddex, Jr., professor emeritus of criminal justice, this merit-based scholarship is awarded annually to undergraduate or graduate criminal justice majors.
Caitlin Dorsch
Lawrence Hodges
Elise Holloway
Nespoley Jean-Mary
Cassidey Nichols
Destiny Oluwa
Suah Sepha
Jayla Williams
Tatiana Ocasio
The Chris Perrin Memorial Scholarship
Shared by the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology and the School of Social Work, this merit-based scholarship is presented annually to a rising junior or senior majoring in each area. It was established by the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges in memory of Chris Perrin, executive director of the council and an alumnus of Georgia State University.
Destiny Oluwa
Suah Sepha
Jayla Williams
The Phil Peters Scholarship
Presented in memory of E.P. “Phil” Peters, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (1980-1985), this merit-based scholarship is given annually to a junior majoring in criminal justice.
Corrie Felker
Destiny Oluwa
Jayla Williams
The Larry E. Quinn Memorial Scholarship
Provides scholarships to employees of law enforcement agencies in the metropolitan Atlanta area who are part-time or full-time students in the criminal justice program of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
Rhonda Frost
The Undergraduate Academic Achievement Award
Presented to the student who has maintained the highest grade point average in the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice program during their junior or senior year.
Lorenzo Argueta
The Graduate Academic Achievement Award
Kelsey Wisniewski
The AYSPS Excellence in Teaching Criminal Justice Award
The Andrew Young School values excellence in teaching along with excellence in research.This award recognizes the student who, in the judgment of the faculty, has performed exceptionally well in teaching.
Katelyn Hancock
The Bobby Joe Chancey Sr. Memorial Scholarship
Provides scholarships to full-time criminal justice students planning a career in law enforcement who are entering their sophomore or junior year, considered “at-risk” and have financial need. Recipients may continue to receive the scholarship each year until graduation as long as they remain in good academic standing.
Tatiana Ocasio
Jayla Williams
The AYSPS Criminal Justice & Criminology Student Leadership Award
The Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology recognizes students who exhibit exemplary leadership and service.
Caitlin Dorsch
The AYSPS Excellence in Criminal Justice & Criminology Doctoral Research Award
The Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology recognizes outstanding research produced by doctoral students.
Fangzhou Wang
Judge Andrew A. Mickle Scholarship in Criminal Justice
This merit-based scholarship recognizes an exceptional undergraduate or graduate student pursuing a degree in criminal justice.
Corrie Felker
Destiny Oluwa
Jayla Williams
Tatiana Ocasio
Department of Economics Awards
The George Malanos Scholarship
Given in memory of George Malanos, professor of economics and the first chair of the department, to Ph.D. students selected by the faculty as best exemplifying a commitment to the exchange of ideas and creation of a community of scholars.
Caroline Lamprecht
The Economics Award
Presented by the faculty to the undergraduate who achieves the highest grade point average in economics courses above the 2000 level and demonstrates a commitment to the study of economics.
Kara Parson
Graduate Achievement Scholarship
This award provides financial assistance to promising MA and/or PhD graduate students in
the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies who have demonstrated talent in economics.
Galacyale Alasow
Tejendra Pratap Singh
The Zeinah Danielle Aouani Scholarship
The Zeinah Danielle Aouani Scholarship provides scholarship support to undergraduate students majoring in economics in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies who are in good academic standing and have a minimum 3.2 GPA.
Anthony Hill
Department of Public Management & Policy Awards
The Governor Joe Frank Harris Award
Given in honor of Georgia Gov. Joe Frank Harris, whose administration was noted for improvements in education and who served as a Distinguished Executive Fellow in the Andrew Young School, to one or more Georgia resident students based on academic merit.
Daniel Glenn
Jasmine Uddin
The Excellence in Scholarship Award
This award recognizes high academic standing and professional promise.
Undergraduate Award
Marie E. Schmitz
MPP Award
Brandon James
MPA/MPA-JD Award
Surura Oshe
The Public Management & Policy Student Leadership Award
Naomi Garcia-Hector
The Best Research Paper Award
Presented annually to a graduate student in the public management and policy program, as selected by a faculty committee. Student papers nominated by faculty examine topics such as privatization, human resource issues in the public and private sector, and public finance and financial management.
Mary Catherine Artzer
Robert Graham Foster
The Outstanding Intern Award
This award recognizes undergraduate and graduate students who, in the judgment of the faculty, have performed exceptionally well as interns.
Undergraduate Award
Marie E. Schmitz
Graduate Award
Agnes Iwaye
The Outstanding Doctoral Student in Public Policy Award
Awarded by the faculty to Ph.D. in Public Policy candidates who best exemplify academic excellence and an ongoing commitment to scholarship in the field of public policy.
Laiyang Ke
The AYSPS Excellence in Teaching Policy Award
The Andrew Young School values excellence in teaching along with excellence in research.This award recognizes a student who, in the judgment of the faculty, has performed exceptionally well in teaching.
June Mi Kang
Esther Han
The Michael Mescon Public Service Leadership Scholarship
Jamie Esmond
Virginia Spinks
Brandon James
Dan E. Sweat Dissertation Fellowship
Sungmee Kim
Public Management & Policy CPUA Scholarship
Amina Abdulazeez
UPS Fellowship
Kaitlin Crumrine
SBEO Legislative Budget Fellowship
Carly Keller
Atlanta Legal Aid Society Fellowship
Jordan Gilliard
School of Social Work Awards
Field Placement Awards
Recognizes students who have, in the judgment of the faculty, gone above and beyond in their field placement while demonstrating initiative and creativity.
Kim Nunes
Lisa Longdin
Emily Ralph
Shannon Puryear
Willienetta Jallah
Immanuel Johnson
Lequita Johnson
Jase Wingate
The Social Work CPUA Scholarship
Cheyenne Campbell
Duena Taylor
Frances Burkowske
Brianna Taylor
Andreah Alston
The Social Work Department Award
Savanna Keo
Caitlin Barrow
Janee Farmer
Urban Studies Institute Awards
Andrew J. Swope Equity and Justice Scholarship
Avery Evans
Students listed above are new recipients for the 2022-2023 Academic Year.
Multi-year awards are listed during the recipient’s initial award year.