A Bright Future

Through various mission trips in high school, Savanah Perdue laid the groundwork for her ultimate goal of becoming a U.S. Diplomat. Selflessly, Savanah assisted with a construction project at a church camp in Cuba, distributed food to the homeless in New York City, served as a volunteer laborer in a large homeless shelter in Wisconsin and helped to rebuild houses after a tornado swept through south Alabama. However, it wasn’t until a school project in 10th grade finally inspired Savanah to combine her love of service, travel and politics for a career in diplomacy. 

With the aid of the Poarch Creek Community Scholarship from the Community Foundation, Savanah is following in her father’s footsteps and attending Auburn University. There, she is pursuing a degree in Political Science and aspires to obtain a Masters and a Doctorate in International Studies, focusing on Middle Eastern Studies so she “will have a greater chance of being chosen to carry out diplomatic ventures for the United States.”

Despite her difficult course work, Savanah still finds time to give back to the community and continue her passion for helping others. As a freshman, she had the opportunity to help plan “The BIG Event,” a one-day, student led service project that attracts about “a thousand Auburn students each year.” Alongside her fellow students, she dedicated her time to perform selfless tasks for households, businesses, churches and organizations throughout the Auburn and Opelika communities.  

Savanah also served as a member of Spring Up, a leadership development program for second semester students who are looking to grow as a leader at Auburn and become more involved on campus. Through this organization, she accomplished even more volunteer work all while making worthwhile, personal connections.   

With the aid from this scholarship, Savanah is able to focus more time and effort on becoming a better candidate for a career in U.S. Diplomacy. Grateful that the scholarship “filled the gap” without having to take out any loans, Savanah said, “This scholarship has been such an immense help in my first year alone. It’s given me the ability to not worry about funding and focus more on school.”