Our ambassador program History Ambassadors are selected by the Department Head and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Ambassadors promote the study of history and the UGA History Department by participating in and assisting with departmental events, recruitment efforts, social media campaigns, and alumni and donor outreach. History Ambassadors will build connections with one another and network with faculty, alumni, and donors. Current Ambassadors Zain Tahir Ali, History ('26) Zain Ali is a third-year honors student from Peachtree City, Georgia, majoring in History with a minor in Biology, and is on the pre-dental track. Zain is involved in multiple student organizations and is currently serving as the Vice President of the Pakistani Student Association and the Committee Head of the Fundraising Committee for the Red Cross. He also serves on the executive boards of Saving Smiles, a pre-dental club, and the Medical Business Association. Zain has a special interest in South Asian and Middle Eastern history due to his Pakistani and Muslim background. The History Department awarded Zain the Hostilo Family Scholarship in May 2023 and the Heggoy Travel Scholarship in May 2024. As a pre-health student, Zain hopes to guide students who are on a similar pathway in the History Department. Samuel Guimond, History and Classics ('26) Sam Guimond is a junior from Warner Robins, GA majoring in History and Classics. He is a founder and currently Vice President of the Ethics Club, an organization dedicated to promoting free civil discourse and making philosophy fun and accessible for everyone, as well as the president of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honors society. Sam is also a Peer Tutor with the Office for Student Success and Achievement, tutoring other students in a variety of history, Latin, and classics courses, as well as undergraduate writing. He has received the Warner Fite Award from the History Department for outstanding performance in an American History course. In summer 2024, he studied abroad in Italy in the UGA Classics in Rome program. After getting his undergraduate degrees, Sam hopes to pursue a master's degree in social studies education with the intention of teaching history (and hopefully Latin) in a high school setting. Sahra King, History and Classics ('26) Sahra King is a third-year Honors student from Leavenworth, Kansas, She is majoring in History and Classics and minoring in Law, Jurisprudence, and the State and Transnational European Studies. She is a tutor at Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela and a member of First Page and Classics Club at UGA. In 2024, she spent the summer in Italy and Greece with UGA Classics in Rome studying classical history, art, and architecture. She will spend a semester studying British history at Oxford University in the fall with UGA at Oxford. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school and pursue immigration law. She looks forward to serving with the first cohort of History Ambassadors! Mattie Pickard. History and International Affairs ('26) Mattie Pickard is a third year from Smyrna, Georgia, majoring in History and International Affairs and minoring in Spanish. Mattie has also received the Arch Readiness Certificate. She is a member of the Dean's List and is expected to graduate in Spring 2026. As a student interested in both law and government, while at UGA, Mattie has become involved in the Kappa Alpha Pi Pre-Law and Government Fraternity and is both a member of the Fall 2023 founding class as well as an active member in its Programming Committee. Mattie has also worked with UGA's Disability Resource Center as a Notetaker and plans to continue offering her services there, as well as become more involved with UGA tutoring in addition to the non-UGA Spanish tutoring she does. Mattie is also a member of UGA Kesem and has volunteered at the Bigger Visions of Athens shelter and plans to become more involved there. In the 2024 Summer Semester, Mattie studied abroad in Spain and completed credits for her Spanish minor while gaining invaluable cultural knowledge during her time there! She hopes to participate in more UGA Study Abroad Programs in the future. Most notably, Mattie was honored to be nominated and to be the recipient of the 2024 Undergraduate History Department Award from Dr. Kevin Jones. Mattie is very excited to represent the History Department this year as an Ambassador! Kristen White, History ('27) Kristen White is a second-year student from Acworth, Georgia, majoring in History and minoring in Law, Jurisprudence, and the State. She is currently the secretary of the Epsilon Pi chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society and a member of the Caribbean Student Association, as well as the Black Pre-Law Student Association. In addition to participation in on-campus organizations, Kristen has experience working as an undergraduate intern at the Cobb County Magistrate Court under Judge Brendan Murphy and is a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. After graduation, Kristen plans to attend law school.
