Alumnus receives staff award from Office of the Vice President for Instruction

Gregory Spillers (PhD '17), an alumnus of the College of Education and director of the Pre-Health Advising Office at the University of Georgia, was recently honored with the Lightbulb Award from the Office of the Vice President for Instruction (OVPI).

Awarded during OVPI's annual staff appreciation ice cream social, the Lightbulb Award recognizes OVPI staff who provide innovative ideas and creative solutions to improve student services.

"Winning the award validates my beliefs about how the university should serve its students," said Spillers, who recently received his doctoral degree in applied cognition and development from the department of educational psychology. "It also motivates me to continue working to improve the resources available to UGA students and their experience on campus."

Spillers is transitioning the Pre-Health Advising Office to include not only students interested in medicine and dentistry, but also those interested in allied-health and nursing careers. He also oversees a team of pre-health advisors who support the needs of undergraduate students by helping them choose programs, complete prerequisite requirements and submit applications.

"Both the state of Georgia and the University have given me so much," said Spillers. "I cherish the opportunity to give back by helping its sons and daughters achieve their goals."

Since pre-health students often struggle with misinformation during the medical and dental school application process, Spillers' office strives to provide them with detailed, accurate information to help plan their next steps.

"My mission has been to make my office the nucleus for pre-health activity at the University," he said. "It's a resource that students can rely on and use to fact-check information before making decisions."