Georgia Southern University to Award First Brittany Harbuck Scholarship

August 25, 2009

Georgia Southern University will present the first Brittany “Ally” Harbuck Scholarship Award at a ceremony Thursday, Aug. 27.

Georgia Southern University junior Patrick Shuler is the first recipient of the scholarship. Shuler is a native of Gainesville, Ga., who is majoring in writing and linguistics, with a minor in English.

The scholarship was endowed by David and Debi Harbuck of Savannah to honor their daughter, nicknamed Ally, who died in a traffic accident in April 2005. At the time, Ally was finishing her freshman year at Georgia Southern University. She was a creative writing major who wrote for the University student newspaper and was active in several campus organizations. The Brittany “Ally” Harbuck Scholarship will help support other Georgia Southern University students as they pursue their creative writing education.

The ceremony to award the first scholarship will be a special evening that focuses on Ally’s love of creative writing. The nominees for the scholarship, along with winner Patrick Shuler, will read the creative writing they submitted during the scholarship application process. Faculty from the Writing and Linguistics department will present Shuler with the scholarship along with gifts for him, the two finalists and six other nominees. Ally’s mother will also present Shuler with a special gift. Other family members will be on hand to hear the students present their work and meet with them personally at a reception following the reading. The ceremony will take place Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. in room 1124 in the College of Business Administration building on the Georgia Southern campus.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers 115 degree programs serving nearly 18,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.