VSU Honors Georgia Wynn with Bartram Award for Intellectual Exploration

Georgia J. Wynn of Valdosta, Georgia, is the recipient of the 2022 Bartram Award for Intellectual Exploration at Valdosta State University. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Minor in Spanish, and an Honors College Certificate and anticipates graduating in May 2023. She is pictured with Dr. Mike Savoie, dean of the Honors College; Dr. Robert Smith, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs; and Dr. Richard Carvajal, president of VSU.

VALDOSTA — Georgia J. Wynn of Valdosta, Georgia, is the recipient of the 2022 Bartram Award for Intellectual Exploration at Valdosta State University.

The Bartram Award for Intellectual Exploration is presented to an Honors College student who has demonstrated the skills of intellectual exploration, adventure, and competence. It was Wynn’s project, “The Art of Our Afflictions,” that helped her earn the recognition. Her project is a poetry collection with work from undergraduate students at universities nationally and abroad.

“I am in the process of advertising and receiving work for ‘The Art of Our Afflictions,’” she shared. “I understand how crucial it is to make connections with others because cultivating a poetry collection requires collaboration.”

“Working with other students, writing and reading poetry, and conducting research are true joys of mine, so receiving the Bartram Award as a result of my passion fueled project makes me feel extremely blessed and fulfilled,” she added.

Wynn is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Minor in Spanish, and an Honors College Certificate and anticipates graduating in May 2023. Her future career plans include earning a doctoral degree and working as an English professor.

As a student at VSU, Wynn has served as an orientation leader; a commuter success coach; a student assistant for the Department of Physics, Astronomy, Geosciences, and Engineering Technology; a member of the VSU Forensics (Speech and Debate) Team; event coordinator and recruitment chair for the Honors Student Association; and a tutor and mentor with the Academic Support Center.

In Spring 2020, Wynn performed as the sandman fairy in VSU Opera’s production of “Hansel and Gretel.” She has presented research at the VSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, the Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference, and the Georgia Collegiate Honors Council. Her research focuses on various topics, including the cycle of mental health, LGBTQ conversion therapy, and postpartum psychosis. She attended the 2022 Southern Regional Honors Council to network for her poetry project. Her essay, ““Be Something More Than Man or Woman. Be Tandy: Resisting and Redefining Gender in Winesburg, Ohio,” was accepted for publication in VSU’s Omnino in Fall 2022. She also submitted poetry and prose for publication in Sanctuary Magazine.

Wynn will study abroad in Cádiz, Spain, this summer. She earned a study abroad scholarship from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and an Honors College study abroad stipend. She hopes to connect with Spanish poets and include their work in “The Art of Our Afflictions.

Wynn’s commitment to academic, leadership, and research excellence resulted in her being named a Zell Miller Scholar and earning repeated Dean’s List honors, the Colquitt EMC Scholarship, the Hugh C. Bailey Family Scholarship, the Odum Scholarship, the English Undergraduate Scholarship Award, and the Harold Gulliver Memorial Scholarship Award.

“Being in the VSU Honors College is one of my most fulfilling experiences,” she said. “The support and encouragement I have received and continue to receive from Dean (Mike) Savoie and the VSU’s Honors College is immense.”

Her supportive family includes mother Brandi Gartman, stepfather James Gartman, and father Steven Wynn.

On the Web:

https://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/honors/

https://www.valdosta.edu/english/