Catherine Marie Willis Collins University Honors Program Scholarship

This scholarship was established in 1999 by alum, Mr. John P. Collins, in memory of his wife, Catherine Marie Willis Collins. Mrs. Collins was born in 1947 at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Florida. As a young child, she cared for father when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Mrs. Collins grew up in Brunswick, Georgia and graduated from Glynn Academy in 1965. She attended Brunswick Junior College where she earned he Associate of Science degree in Education in 1967 and in 1971, she enrolled at Georgia Southern where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Special Education degree. While at Georgia Southern, she met her husband, John. Mrs. Collins began working in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System in 1974 in the area of Special Education until she transferred to the Thomaston City School System in 1978. In Thomaston, Mrs. Collins worked with Special Education and the Gifted Program until she moved to Atlanta to teach in the middle school program for the Hebrew Academy of Atlanta. Her final position was with the Rockdale County Library System where she was the Outreach Director until her passing in 1992. Mr. John P. Collins passed in 2017 while traveling in Australia. He owned Savannah Coffee Roasters and was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. This scholarship is available to members of the University Honors Program. First preference goes to students majoring in Early Childhood Education. If no student is found, the scholarship may go to any UHP student within the College of Education.

The University Honors Program provides a small college atmosphere in the context of a large comprehensive university. The program is designed to foster the development of a critical sense of inquiry, a spirit of creativity, a global perspective and an ethic of civic responsibility. A hallmark of the program is the emphasis on bringing ideas to life through undergraduate research, experiential learning and service-learning opportunities.

Students in the University Honors Program engage in a variety of experiences that facilitate the education of the whole person. While the life of the mind is at the core of the educational experience, we also offer leadership development opportunities, co-curricular events, and service-learning opportunities. In fact, our experiential learning program allows students to apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world environment on campus and in the local community. These kinds of learning opportunities help ideas come to life and make for a more rewarding and meaningful undergraduate education.