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Doctoral student Jimmy Davis has worked
to make UGA a better place for minority students.
He wrote and received a grant from the American
Psychological Association in the summer of 2003 to help develop
a mentoring program for minority undergraduate psychology
majors at UGA and has worked as an instructor/tutor for
UGA's Upward Bound Program. He is president of the minority
graduate student program at UGA and has
taught SAT prep sessions for high school students at both
Clarke Central High School and Cedar Shoals High School,
a job for which he should be well-suited since he has been
writing SAT questions since 2001.
Expected graduation: May 2006
Degree Objective: Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational
Psychology
Other degrees:
M.S., Psychology, University of Georgia, 2004
B.A., Psychology, Morehouse College, 2002
University highlights, achievements and awards:
I am currently the president of the Graduate
and Professional Scholars (GAPS) which is the minority graduate
student association here at UGA. I am very proud of this
achievement, as GAPS has grown in its activity and reach
to minority graduate and professional students across the
UGA campus. I am also the 2004-2005 recipient of the J.W.
Fanning Leadership Award, given for proven leadership among
graduate students, the first award given of this kind. I
have also won the Best Paper award in the Business Category
of the 2005 National Black Graduate Student Conference. I
have served as chairperson of the Prospective Student Committee
for my department (2002-2004) and as a representative to
the Graduate Student Advisory Board.
Current employment:
Besides
graduate school duties I have 3 jobs. I am currently consulting with The Home
Depot in Talent Management (Human Resources) where I am developing a series
of "career maps" to define career
paths in all parts of the organization.
I also work HumRRO, the Human Resources Research
Organization, where I am an O*NET Analyst. My duties with
HumRRO are to analyze jobs and determine the Knowledge, Skills
and Abilities needed for different occupations.
Finally, I am an SAT item writer. I write questions for
the verbal section of the SAT-1 and have been doing so since
2001.
High School: St. Andrew's School
Hometown: Harlem, New York
I chose to attend UGA because...
...the industrial/organizational psychology program at UGA
is one of the top in the country. I visited the campus. The
students were great, and I knew this would be a good place
for me to get my graduate education. Since I started, I
have never regretted my decision. I am active in getting
more students to consider UGA as a choice for graduate school.
When I have free time,
I like...
...to play basketball and golf, read, travel,
go to plays, museums and hang out with friends.
The craziest thing I've done is...
...gone whitewater rafting
down the 1996 Olympic course in Tennessee. It was so much
fun that a group of friends and I went back five more times.
My favorite place to study is...
...in my office
on campus. It is the only place where I can close the door
and really concentrate, especially on the weekends when no
one is on campus. Anywhere else, I end up talking to someone
else, watching television, or listening to music instead
of studying.
My favorite professor is...
...Kecia
Thomas. After I got accepted to UGA, we met at a
conference where she took the time to seriously sell UGA
to me. I trusted her, and she has not let me down since.
I really enjoy her classes and the work that we do together
since she is my major professor. She is an excellent role
model and really takes the time to develop all of her students.
I have benefited greatly from our relationship.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love
to share it with...
...Mary Frances Early.
Mrs. Early was the first African American to receive a degree
from the University of Georgia. I have had the chance to
sit and talk with her about what it was like to be a student
here during those times and her stories are amazing. It would
be great to spend more time with her.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to...
...help create the largest scholarship fund in America.
I would love to give the opportunity of college, graduate
school or even trade school to people who could not afford
it otherwise. I think that you just need one break to get
you going in life.
After graduation, I plan to...
...go into consulting
in human resources in corporate America, particularly in
the areas of career development and executive coaching for
minorities. I plan to help companies embrace their most valuable
resource, the human being. I want to make people's work lives
more successful and happier.
The one UGA experience I will
always remember will be...
...the
first time I tried to come to campus and do work during a
home football game. I did not realize how much people loved
the UGA football team, nor did I realize I would not be
able to make it to my office or parking lot on campus during
those weekends. I have never made that mistake again! Now
I just go to the games like everyone else.
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