Donor recognition
Prashanthi and Rohini Jella were thrilled when their son earned UGA’s most prestigious merit scholarship. Now, the couple is paying forward their financial commitment to his education to help other students pursue their dreams.
“Because we arrived in the early 1990s with international student status, Prashanthi and I know what it means to be a college student in the U.S. with very limited financial resources. We also know what an education from a great institution can do for someone’s life.”
Higher education brought Prashanthi and Rohini Jella to the U.S. from India. The couple met while Rohini was earning master’s degrees in transportation and computer science and Prashanthi was completing her Ph.D. in food science.
“We had phenomenal student experiences despite the cultural and learning adjustments,” Rohini says. “We are who we are today due to the mentors we had throughout our college years.”
Today, the couple resides in Lawrenceville. Rohini is an Oracle software development manager, and Prashanthi is a vice president of research and development at The Coca-Cola Company. Their son Satya is a first-year Honors student at Georgia whose decision to attend the university was influenced by the Foundation Fellowship, UGA’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarship which is housed in the UGA Honors Program.
“Satya was offered presidential scholarships at other universities, but we are extremely happy that he chose to join the Dawg Nation,”Rohini says. “He visited UGA on multiple occasions and was impressed by the research opportunities, academic rigor, outside-the-classroom activities, and the fun he’d have living on campus.”
Satya is studying biochemistry, molecular biology, and economics, and he’s conducting research in the glycoimmunology and vaccinology lab of Fikri Avci, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Satya knows that his experiences at UGA will help him pursue his dream of working in hospital administration. That experiential learning is what his parents value most.
“Prashanthi and I are huge believers in an education that shapes an individual into a compassionate human being while achieving their career goals,” Rohini says. “We discussed with our children that we would make the investment in their education as a foundational gift that will reap them lifelong benefits.”
Since Satya’s education is being supported by the Foundation Fellowship, Rohini and Prashanthi decided to pass along their financial commitment to assist other UGA students.
“Because we arrived in the early 1990s with international student status, Prashanthi and I know what it means to be a college student in the U.S. with very limited financial resources,” Rohini says. “We also know what an education from a great institution can do for someone’s life.”
The Jellas worked with UGA to determine the most impactful way to support students. Their initial gift was more than quintupled thanks to Coca-Cola’s matching gift program, which tripled their contribution, and UGA’s Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program, which doubled that amount.
Their scholarships will assist students with financial need who are pursuing a degree in food science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and will provide Honors Program students with enhanced experiential learning opportunities, such as travel and research.
The couple hopes that students who receive a Jella family scholarship will become successful and compassionate individuals— and will consider giving back to UGA in the future to help the next generation of Bulldogs achieve their dreams, too.
The Steilens