We Will Still Call Her Claire

Claire Underwood has just finished competing in what may be the toughest competition there is. This competition is not about who wins a race or a game of basketball or baseball or football. But it is a competition about potential leadership and it is a competition of the mind and intellect in the realm of academia.

Claire is the daughter of Rudy and Carol Underwood of Marietta. Rudy is my wife’s brother. Rudy and Carol are very proud of their youngest daughter this morning. And that pride has run about 100 miles down I-75 to Warner Robins, GA. Claire’s aunt and uncle in Warner Robins are just as proud.

This very well rounded gal with the keen sense of humor will graduate from high school in a few short months. In anticipation of that event, several universities have been competing with each other to get her to attend their institution in the fall.

The University of Georgia won that competition this past week. And they landed a jewel. Claire has signed on the dotted line and will officially become a Georgia Bulldog.

And trust me she gets a free ride. Rudy and Carol can keep the money they have saved to send this girl to college.

Don’t hold me to these facts but I don’t think I will be far off. Around 16,000 high school seniors would have applied to become students at UGA when Fall Semester begins in 2007. About 5,000 will be accepted. The average grade point average will be around 3.8 and the average SAT score will be around 1240.

For the record, I graduated from UGA in 1976 but I would have never been accepted with those qualifications. I think my degree there is worth much more today than it was 31 years ago.

But to continue my story, of the 5000 students accepted at UGA, about 800 of the brightest qualified to apply to be a Ramsey Scholar. Of the 800 who applied for that scholarship, only about 65 were chosen. As you can imagine the 65 who qualify as a Ramsey Scholar are very special folks. Further, of the 65 who qualified as a Ramsey Scholar, only 20 were chosen as a Foundation Fellow.

Claire Underwood was named a Foundation Fellow this week. It is the most prestigious scholarship offered at the University of Georgia. For the next four years she will not only be studying at UGA but she will be studying all over the world.

I have no idea what she will be studying and where her life will take her. But one thing I’m fairly positive about today.

She will do very well.

And when she does we will still call her Claire.

But I have a strong feeling alot of other folks will call her Boss.