UGA Alumna Receives Urann Fellowship

Congratulations are in order for a Franklin College alumna who received a prestigious fellowship this week.  Smitha Ganeshan, a May UGA graduate, was one of six students nationwide that received a $15,000 Marcus L. Urann Fellowship from the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.  

Ganeshan was a Franklin College of Arts and Sciences student, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in anthropology.  She was also a UGA Honors student, a recipient of UGA’s Foundation Fellowship and a 2013 Truman Scholar. She begins her studies at Harvard Medical School in the fall.

"One of Phi Kappa Phi's core ideals is the promotion of the love of learning, and Smitha Ganeshan is one of those rare individuals whose outstanding academic achievement and intellectual curiosity truly embody this high ideal," said Shannon Wilder, president of the UGA chapter of Phi Kappa Phi and director of the UGA Office of Service-Learning. "The UGA chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was very pleased to nominate Smitha because she is so accomplished and has such high aspirations for graduate work, so it is wonderful to see her potential recognized with the Marcus L. Urann Fellowship."

Ganeshan's undergraduate career at UGA focused on the intersection between health and policy. She directed the health policy center and the environmental policy center at the Roosevelt Institute, a student-run think tank. Through the Roosevelt Institute, she drafted a federal Health Professional Shortage Area designation application on behalf of Athens/Clarke County that has enhanced the ability of safety net providers to compete for grants. She conducted research under the guidance of faculty in the UGA College of Public Health and has interned at the Greater New York Hospital Association and the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Ganeshan studied at Oxford University through the UGA at Oxford program, interned at the World Health Organization's M.V. Hospital for Diabetes in Chennai, India and has assisted physicians in Peru and Nicaragua. She volunteered at the Athens Nurses Clinic and interned at the Athens Health Network, which works to reduce health care disparities by coordinating health services for the indigent population.

An example of great success at UGA, we are proud to call her a Franklin College graduate.  Congratulations on all of your success, your future endeavors and the receipt of this prestigious fellowship!

Image: Smitha Ganesha, Courtesy of UGA Photographic Services.