Each year the Iris Chapter of ABWA (American Business Women’s Association) presents a scholarship to a student who is pursuing a degree in business or a business-related field on the University of Georgia Griffin Campus. This year the scholarship was open to students in the Terry College of Business, those pursing a degree in Agribusiness, or those in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Dusty Burnham, who is currently a senior pursuing a degree in General Business from the Terry College of Business, was recently named the 2021 recipient of the $750 scholarship.
“The ABWA Iris Chapter has a proud history of supporting women as they expand their education and pursue their dreams. We are all honored to support Dusty in her education,” stated Kathleen Smith, President of the ABWA Iris Chapter. “We are proud of all her accomplishments and look forward to seeing her develop her talents further as she builds her life ahead.”
Burnham noted she was incredibly grateful and excited to find out she was selected for the scholarship and for the support of the ABWA.
“I was thrilled to learn of my selection for this honor and I am deeply appreciative of their support,” said Burnham. “This scholarship will allow me to finish my degree on a good financial note and will strengthen my community of peers.”
Chrystal McDowell, Assistant Director of Student Affairs at UGA Griffin, described Burnham as a very involved student, who not only participated in student activities and events, but also as a UGA Griffin Ambassador. She added how glad she was to have had someone of her caliber on campus.
“Dusty is a bright and shining light to the Griffin Campus community and she is well respected by her peers,” said McDowell. “Dusty is a natural leader and her commitment to her family and the UGA community makes us proud to call her a member of the Bulldawg Nation.”
Burnham stated she chose to pursue a degree in general business because she felt it gave her the opportunity to learn every aspect of the trade. Burnham describes herself as someone who does not like to do the same thing each day, loves to be challenged and never wants to stop learning. By studying general business, she was able to learn about accounting, marketing, management, and psychology all wrapped into one degree.
“I love to be challenged to learn more to climb the ladder and I wanted to have the knowledge to complete other things outside of my job description,” she stated. “It was the best decision I could have made for my future.”
Burnham is in the process of finishing the summer semester at UGA Griffin and hopes to become an HR manager at a large company in the fall of this year. She currently is the office manager of a local embroidery business and has a personal goal of running an embroidery shop of her own with her husband within the next 10 years. Eventually, Burnham would like to obtain her master’s degree in Industrial Operational Psychology from UGA, then after retiring from the corporate world she dreams become a professor at the University of Georgia as it would give her the chance to give back and enrich young minds like herself. When she is not working towards her degree, Burnham enjoys reading, traveling, riding horses and spending time with her husband.