Palavi Ahuja is a junior majoring in English with a concentration in literature. She plans to become an English Professor or a high school English teacher.

She chose to join the University Honors Program (UHP) because of the content and approaches of the interdisciplinary courses offered by the program. UHP exposed her to different disciplines, allowing her to feel like a well-rounded student. She views UHP as one of the greatest experiences of her college journey not only for the education but the opportunity to meet friends with whom she will continue to keep in touch after graduation.

To enhance her artistic experience, she joined the Sanctuary Review Board, which is an editorial board that is comprised of UHP students. Sanctuary is the student-led literary and arts journal of the Southern Regional Honors Council. As the Art Editor/Web Designer for Sanctuary, she helps curate submissions, review pieces, and publish the journal annually.

Palavi’s biggest accomplishments include the scholarships she has received, such as the Walt P. Mayfield Scholarship and The Grave Lindsley Waits Scholarship.

During her spare time, Palavi loves to paint. She also created an outlet for descriptive art to display her paintings and artwork.

Olivia Blanton is a junior majoring in public health with aspirations to support marginalized communities to achieve health equity. She is also pursuing a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health and Occupational Safety in the Accelerated-Bachelor’s-to Master’s (ABM) program.

As a student in the Global and Community Leadership Honors Program (GCL), Olivia believes that GCL allows students to find and connect their passions to issues affecting various communities. She credits GCL for allowing her to improve as a person, not just as a scholar.

Olivia serves as the President-Elect for GCL’s student executive board, which has provided invaluable experiences with leadership, communication, and cultural awareness. She also serves as the Program Coordinator for the Green Initiative at UAB. She previously worked as a chemical safety intern in the UAB Environmental Health and Safety division.

While participating in STEM-related opportunities, Olivia found another creative outlet that allowed her to develop new passions. She joined UAB’s Literary Arts Review Magazine, Aura as the Managing Editor.

Aside from her coursework and extracurricular activities, Olivia enjoys exploring the local Birmingham cuisine and trying to replicate it at home. She loves the food that the city has to offer.

Garrison Dabbs is a senior majoring in genetic and genomic sciences with a focus on becoming a physician with a clinical interest in aging.

The Personalized Path provided Garrison additional flexibility for his class selection so he could select classes that aligned with his passions. For example, he took BY 436: Biological Processes of Aging as an opportunity to enhance his knowledge in support of his goal of becoming a physician.

Garrison is an Honors Ambassador for the UAB Honors College as well as a Student Mentor and Retreat Team (SMART) Leader. Additionally, he serves the community through different organizations including Habitat for Humanity and the Community of Hope Health Clinic. He volunteers at the clinic as a Spanish interpreter for Hispanic residents of Shelby County without medical insurance. Based on his exemplary service, he was selected as the recipient of the Howard Mullis Non-Medical Volunteer of The Year Award.

Since his first year at UAB, Garrison has amassed numerous academic achievements. He has maintained a position on the Presidential Honors List since his freshman year, earning at least a 4.0 GPA each term. He recently received an experiential learning stipend to travel abroad to Barcelona, Spain for his minor in Spanish.

In his free time, Garrison enjoys training in martial arts, specifically the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Yancey Williams II is a senior majoring in biomedical engineering with plans to pursue a career in medicine as a cardiologist. As a physician with a Ph.D., he wants to research cardiogenic cells in a cell biology lab while working at an academic hospital.

Enrolling in the Science & Technology Honors Program (STH) enabled Yancey to gain additional information and knowledge for a strong foundation in math, science, and lab research skills. As an exemplary student, he was awarded the Jo Anne J. Trow Undergraduate Scholarship, and the prestigious Amgen Scholarship. He also participated in the UAB Honors College’s Presidential Honors Fellowship in 2020 and UAB PARAdiGM in 2021.

Not only is Yancey active in the Honors College, but his leadership extends throughout UAB. He serves on the Honors College Leadership Council (HCLC) and has held multiple roles including Communications Chair for STH and most recently, Vice President. He participated in weekly community service opportunities and provided various activities for the Honors College student body. He also serves as a peer mentor in the Blazer Male Excellence Network (BMEN). Yancey uses his influence as Vice President of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) to spread the word about BMES activities throughout the semester and to assist the elected Executive Board.

When Yancey is not serving the community or studying coursework, his favorite hobby is listening to J. Cole while doing math for fun.

Faiza Mawani is a junior double majoring in political science and history with hopes of practicing law and writing public policies in the future. She is also pursuing a Master's in Public Administration in the Accelerated-Bachelor’s-to Master’s (ABM) program.

To increase her exposure to courses outside of her major, Faiza selected the Personalized Path because she wanted the flexibility to take courses, such as art and coding classes. Through the Honors College experience, Faiza found her time at UAB to be rewarding. For the past two years, she served as a Student Mentor and Retreat Team (SMART) Leader and most recently, a SMART Leader Coordinator. She is also an active member of the Blazer Spirit Council, Off-Campus Student Council, and Tobacco-Free at UAB.

As a first-year honors student, she began working as a blog intern for the UAB Institute for Human Rights where she spreads awareness of human rights issues to a global audience in an accessible format. She also assisted Peter Jones, Ph.D. in researching educational funding for the state of Alabama, as well as conducting data analysis on Birmingham City Schools in collaboration with Lauren Rast, Ph.D. and ProjectEd Birmingham.

In her free time, she loves to travel with her sisters and take pictures.

Davis Fabre is a sophomore majoring in biomedical sciences on a pre-med track with a career goal of becoming a pediatric emergency physician.

Davis chose the Personalized Path because it allowed him to build his honors courses based on his interests. To further enhance his collegiate experience, he added the honors course EC210 - Principles of Microeconomics, taught by Ben Meadows, Ph.D.

During the Honors College New Student Experience retreat, Davis developed a passion to volunteer with The Exceptional Foundation after falling in love with their mission. He currently volunteers at The Exceptional Foundation in Homewood and has plans to volunteer throughout his undergraduate career. His service also extends to Children’s of Alabama in the Emergency Department as well as M-Power Ministries Health Clinic. In addition to his community involvement, he conducts research with Sara Gould, M.D. that looks at the head impact of different equestrian helmets in relation to concussions.

In his free time, Davis enjoys traveling and exploring new places. He recently participated in scuba diving lessons and worked on his certifications to prepare for a study-abroad trip to the British Virgin Islands.