Students from the UGA Institute of Government took top honors at the UGA Student Employees of the Year luncheon in April.

Dharma Janga, a graduate student focusing on cybersecurity, received first place in the Graduate Student Employee category for her work in the UGA CyberArch program, housed at the Institute of Government.

At CyberArch, Janga assists in reviewing security controls for client organizations, identifying vulnerabilities and providing recommendations to mitigate risks. She also helped design the curriculum for the Cybersecurity Summer Camp, where she guided middle and high school students through Capture the Flag challenges, Wireshark packet sniffing, and incident response exercises. Janga’s exceptional attention to detail in analyzing policies, procedures and technical safeguards, and her desire to go the extra mile added measurable value to the organizations served by CyberArch.

“Her ability to mentor others, whether youth participants or client organizations, reflects her dedication to building a stronger, more inclusive cybersecurity community,” said Jeremy Daniel, CyberArch program manager.

In addition to Janga, Callie Salter, a graduate student at the Terry College of Business, received third-place honors for her support of the institute’s Government Services and Research division. She has been instrumental in collaborating with university stakeholders, such as the Office of Institutional Research, the Finance and Administration Division and the School of Medicine. Her primary responsibilities include assisting faculty and staff with stakeholder interviews, documenting organizational workflows and data pipelines, and developing sound data governance strategies.

“Callie has proven to be both a proactive contributor and an active listener. Her ability to concisely and thoroughly document our work provides a sense of security for our team, as we can implicitly trust the quality of her output,” said David Tanner, associate director.

Interns from the institute’s Data Analysis and Visualization Unit were honored as the Student Employee Team of the Year. The team includes Faith Fowler, Ashley Kim, Rebecca Kenirey, and Avanish Thota.

The team supports full-time staff in providing technical consulting, analytical infrastructure, and reporting tools to campus and external partners. James Byars, faculty lead for Data Analytics and Visualization, praised them for their role in the unit’s overall success.

“Our student employees serve as an active part of our team development, helping to educate and support our full-time staff on core and emerging technical and statistical trends,” he said. “I am routinely impressed not only by their ability to learn and apply technical skills quickly but also by their active curiosity to find innovative ways to provide value.”

Other institute student employees recognized for their outstanding work include:

  • Diana Calderon, a third-year public relations student at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Joyce Kamdoum, a third-year economics student at the Terry College of Business. Both were nominated by Brian Simmons, faculty in the Survey Research and Evaluation Support division.
  • Afsaneh Shams, a doctoral student in computer science, works with the institute’s Certified Public Manager program. Shams was nominated by Marci Campbell, faculty in Governmental Training, Education and Development division.
  • Micah Shannon, a fourth-year political science and geography major with certificates in Geographic Information Systems and Data Analytics in Public Policy. Shannon supports the institute’s Demography and Economic Analysis Unit and was nominated by faculty member and unit manager Taylor Hafley.

About the awards

Each spring, the University of Georgia Career Center coordinates the Student Employee of the Year Awards to recognize outstanding contributions and achievements of students. Students working on campus and their respective employers are honored during the second full week in April, as established by the National Student Employment Association.