Joy Peltier ’17 knew what she wanted out of her
college experience long before she arrived in Athens, Georgia.
Her scholarship
Helped her find her passion
Joy Peltier ’17 knew what she wanted out of her college experience long before she arrived at the University of Georgia. She knew she wanted to conduct research, study abroad, hone her foreign language skills, learn about philosophy and have meaningful mentorship opportunities along the way. She also knew that in order to achieve all of this, she would need financial assistance.
As a recipient of the university’s foremost undergraduate scholarship, the Foundation Fellowship, all of Joy’s ambitions have been realized. Now, as she pursues a joint bachelor’s and master’s degrees in romance language linguistics with the ultimate goal of earning her Ph.D., she is confident her curriculum vitae will stand apart from the competition.
Joy began her Foundation Fellowship, a highly competitive, privately funded scholarship at UGA, during her sophomore year. The requirements were even more stringent as a mid-term applicant, but with the encouragement of program director Jessica Hunt, Joy reached her goal.
“Every step of the way this university has been behind me,” said Joy, “I am very, very thankful to the donors that make the fellowship possible.”
Joy started conducting research during her freshman year, long before many students even have the opportunity to develop their research skills. After assisting with a project to help adult learners of English as a second language, Joy became determined to try her hand at her own research. With the support of the fellowship, she led her own project focused on the French and Spanish languages, an undertaking that has expanded into her master’s thesis.
Joy Peltier
In her own words
“As a fellow, you are pushed to find the thing you are passionate about, and once you identify that thing, there are resources there to help you do it. I’ve been able to do research, assist in classes, tutor, teach abroad, and have unique internship opportunities. The skills I’ve developed are going to be very important to my future career.”
-Joy Peltier
having the resources
to reach her goals
Joy’s academic career has been marked by flexibility; through hard work and a genuine love for learning, she has forged her own path and gained the experiences she will need to one day be a professor. Joy studied abroad in France during her junior year, but sought out a more non-traditional and immersive program, in which she served as a live-in tutor for a host family in a small town near Paris. This program allowed her to practice her teaching skills and vastly improve her French.
Joy also received funding for a summer service internship, through which she traveled to her hometown of Douglasville, Georgia, and put her language skills into practice. She interned at The CarePlace, a free health care clinic, where her role was to recruit local medical providers to serve as volunteers. She quickly identified a need at the clinic for a translator, and so she spent her Saturday mornings assisting in the patient advocacy office. She used her foreign language skills to help patients navigate the health care system. This experience had a profound impact on Joy and she hopes to get certified as a volunteer medical interpreter after graduation.
Joy was originally motivated to apply for the Foundation Fellowship after interacting with fellows in her residence hall. She was impressed by the diversity of personalities, interests and backgrounds but also by the deep passion that bound the students together. Undoubtedly, Joy’s academic career has been marked by this same passion and drive.
“As a fellow, you are pushed to find the thing you are passionate about, and once you identify that thing, there are resources there to help you do it,” said Joy. “I’ve been able to do research, assist in classes, tutor, teach abroad, and have unique internship opportunities. The skills I’ve developed are going to be very important to my future career.”
