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. Our 2025-26 Ambassadors Annie Burdell, History Annie Burdell is a third-year undergraduate Honors student from St. Simons Island, Georgia pursuing a degree in History with minors in Religion and Law, Jurisprudence, and the State. She will study abroad for a semester at Oxford University in the Spring of 2026. Annie is involved in various student organizations, including the American Founders Group, in addition to her experience as a legal intern in her hometown. She plans to attend law school, as she aspires to pursue a career in estate planning law. Georgia 1776 Ambassador Mel Flaherty, History Mel Flaherty is a third-year undergraduate history major and geography minor from Acworth, Georgia. She is involved in multiple student organizations and is currently researching climate change resistance within the American South as a member of the Luminous Room Documentary Film VIPR group alongside serving as the Social Media Coordinator within the Geography Undergraduate Student Organization. In summer '25, Mel studied in the Great Smoky Mountains ' field study program to learn more about Appalachian culture and the relationship between humans and the environment. She looks forward to spreading her passion for history through being an Ambassador! Recruitment Ambassador Eliza Gainty, History Eliza Gainty is a third-year undergraduate student from Decatur, Georgia, majoring in history with a minor in anthropology. Eliza is both an ambassador for the department, she serves as Social Media Manager for the History Club and Phi Alpha Theta National History Honors Society, Epsilon Pi. Her academic interests center on minority populations’ experiences of and reactions to oppressive conditions, and next semester she will conduct her senior research thesis under Dr. Joey Kellner. Following graduation, Eliza plans to pursue paralegal certification and hopes to work with a legal advocacy group. Social Media Ambassador Cheryl Knowles, History and Religion Cheryl Knowles is a second-year undergraduate student from Duluth, Georgia, majoring in History and Religion. She currently serves as Campus Coordinator for UGA’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action Chapter, where she leads programming and advocacy efforts. Cheryl is also an active member of the Geography Undergraduate Student Organization (GUSTO), First-Gen Dawgs, and a VIPR research group focused on multilingualism in the humanities. Her historical interests center on televangelism and its political and cultural impacts in the American South, the Caribbean, and East Africa. Cheryl is excited for the opportunity to work with the History Department as an ambassador this year! Georgia 1776 Ambassador
