Jasmine Bouges

That changed after her father's sudden death in 2018.

"I was listening to a podcast and it said, 'When you are sad, you should do something nice for other people,'" Bouges said. "I thought that made sense."

Since then, Bouges, who earned a computer science degree in May 2020, didn't stop.

Her community activism at UNG began when she became a Cottrell Scholar, who are students dedicated to serving the community, the university and the Mike Cottrell College of Business. Cottrell Scholars must maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA and are required to complete 24 hours of service divided equally among service to the university, service to the community and professional development. Students also receive a stipend for two semesters to support their education.

Bouges easily accomplished her service requirements through her participation with the Atlanta International Night Market. She served as a writer and blogger for the nonprofit that is dedicated to bringing people together to celebrate culture, community and international cuisine through outdoor events in Atlanta.

Bouges also was an active member of the Honors Program, which cultivates a community of academically motivated students who seek opportunities to enhance their learning experience. Honors students may participate in research projects, volunteer with community organizations, study abroad and develop leadership skills.

As an honors student, Bouges delved into a research project that examines how facial recognition is less accurate on black people, young people and women.

"The problem is lack of representation in training data sets," Bouges said, explaining databases available to the public either are not racially diverse or only feature mugshots of black people.

For her thesis honors project, Bouges created a publicly available photographic database containing black people with varied facial characteristics.

Bouges' involvement did not end with the Honors Program or Cottrell Scholars. She was a member of the Black Student Union on UNG's Dahlonega Campus and last year served as President of the Women in STEM Club.

Her involvement led Bouges to earn scholarships to help pay for her education. Bouges received the Hyams Award in April 2020 and the Paul M. Hutcherson Outstanding Student Award in April 2019. She also earned the inaugural Honors Civic Award in 2019 in a surprising announcement at the final spring semester Honors Program meeting.

"They were talking about a few things when they started sounding familiar," she said. "Then I thought, 'Are you discussing me?'"

The success she encountered at UNG versus her first college experience is not lost on her, especially since she had to withdraw from a college in Kentucky for medical reasons years ago. Afterward, she took two years off and supported herself.

"I found out that being an adult without a college education is expensive," said the Cumming, Georgia, resident.

Bouges enrolled at Lanier Technical College to ease herself back into the college lifestyle before she transferred to UNG. Then she became a campus leader.

"It's been especially encouraging to go from having left college the first time to having a 4.0 GPA now and really seeing myself as the person who has achieved so much," she said. " I want to thank everyone who has supported me on this journey and encouraged me. It's helped me realize that I am capable of more than I may initially believe myself to be and has impressed on me the importance of supporting those who come after you."