Athens, Ga. – Twenty-four University of Georgia students, faculty and staff members who died since last April will be honored at the university’s annual candlelight memorial service April 27 at 7 p.m. on the steps of the Chapel.
UGA President Jere W. Morehead will lead the service, called “Georgia Remembers … a Candlelight Memorial.” Names of each of the 12 students and 12 faculty and staff members will be read aloud, followed by a toll of the Chapel bell and the lighting of a candle.
Names will be read by Janet Frick, chair of the executive committee of University Council; Michael Lewis, chair of the executive committee of the Staff Council; and Cameron Keen, president of the Student Government Association.
Members of the university’s Arch Society will light candles as each name is read aloud. Franklin Scott, senior campus minister with Baptist Collegiate Ministries at UGA, will deliver an opening prayer and Renee Dubose, pastor of Our Hope Metropolitan Community Church, will deliver a closing prayer. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the flames from the Arch Society members’ candles will be passed to attendees so they can light their own candles of remembrance.
The Southern Wind Quintet from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music will provide music, and the university’s Army ROTC will present the colors and ring the bell.
Students whose names will be read, along with their hometowns and the areas of study they were pursuing, are:
- Ashley Elizabeth Block, a doctoral student from Athens studying integrative conservation and anthropology;
- Kayla Leigh Canedo, a second-year student from Alpharetta majoring in psychology;
- Logan Elane Davis, an incoming first-year student from Newborn majoring in public relations;
- Brittany Katherine Feldman, a second-year student from Alpharetta majoring in human development and family science;
- Réjer Ayanna Finklin, a doctoral student from Decatur studying educational administration and policy;
- Ashton Hope Keegan, a graduate student from Watkinsville majoring in communication studies;
- Ange Daniel Konan, a third-year student from Lawrenceville majoring in biology;
- Claire Cameron Rogers, a third-year student from Suwanee majoring in psychology;
- Halle Grace Scott, a second-year student from Dunwoody majoring in marketing;
- Christina Devon Semeria, a second-year student from Canton majoring in exercise and sport science;
- Joshua Lawrence Tucker, a third-year student from Moultrie majoring in electrical and electronics engineering; and
- Jack Usry, a second-year student from Rye, New York, majoring in art.
Faculty and staff whose names will be read, along with the positions they held, are:
- David Lee Andrews, research professional II, plant pathology research;
- Douglas Sherwood Atkinson, public service assistant, Marine Extension Service;
- Anna Durham Boling, public service associate, Carl Vinson Institute of Government;
- Willie Kenneth Christopher, building services worker I, Facilities Management Division;
- Danny Paul Hill, building materials coordinator, Facilities Management Division;
- Walter Michael Lattimore, building services worker II, Facilities Management Division;
- Shannon Marella Bridges Lay, manager, Student Accounts;
- M. Howard Lee, Regents Professor, physics and astronomy;
- María Pozo-Hurtado, instructor, Romance languages;
- Bettye Prelow Smith, professor, career and information studies;
- Charles Howard Tatum, lead building services worker, Facilities Management Division; and
- Jeffery Stephen Whitfield, police lieutenant, UGA Police Department.
In the event of rain, the service will be held inside the Chapel.
The candlelight memorial service is coordinated by the Office of the Dean of Students within UGA Student Affairs.
UGA Student Affairs
The Division of Student Affairs comprises 18 campus departments that enhance the learning environment for students at the University of Georgia by stimulating the learning process, integrating the in-class and out-of-class experiences, promoting an environment conducive to growth and discovery and facilitating intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational, physical, cultural and emotional development. For more information, see http://studentaffairs.uga.edu.
