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Sitting in her eighth grade Georgia Studies
class, Athena Smith was fascinated as her teacher made
history come to life. She began watching
The History Channel
and reading books about the past. While in her freshman
World History class at
Georgia
State, Athena realized
that she had a passion for Ancient History. A spark of
interest in research ignited and grew into a flame.
As a Presidential Scholar at Georgia State, Athena receives full tuition for
four years, housing in University Lofts, a stipend to
participate in study abroad, personal use of a laptop
computer, and eligibility for the University Scholar
Assistantship. “The best part of being a Presidential
Scholar is the University Scholar assistantship,” she says.
“Georgia
State paired me with Dr. Lauren Ristvet
in the Department of History to research pottery from Syria. It has
given me excellent experience and helped me confirm my
passion.” Athena mirrors the images of pottery shards, and
then prints them out to see what they would look like whole
before being damaged. With this image, she can use the type
of style to determine the pottery’s approximate creation
date and trading patterns of that era.
Athena is also the recipient of the Robert
W. Sellen Scholarship in History. “I am grateful for the
Sellen Scholarship as it has opened many doors to further my
research in Ancient History,” she says. This year Athena
will be studying abroad in
Greece, and looks forward to classes
such as History and Archeology in Classical Greece held at
an archeological dig site in Deon, Byzantine Art History in
Rhodes, and Greek Art and Architecture in
Athens.
Athena aspires to be a
museum curator. In the meantime, she plans to apply for a
Fulbright Fellowship and conduct more research in ancient
history or archeology.
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