Marlina Avery — Sociology

Being the first in your family to go to college requires courage and fortitude. For Marlina Jamia Avery, her high school choices and the UNCG Guarantee Scholarship Program helped her to seize success. She is a sociology major with a concentration in criminology and a minor in psychology.

Marlina took advantage of early college courses in high school, facilitating her path toward higher education. After high school graduation, she was accepted by the UNCG Guarantee Program and received the Lula Martin McIver Scholarship, the program’s principal endowment.

Mrs. McIver was a respected teacher and proponent of female education who actively supported her husband, Charles Duncan McIver, in establishing the State Normal and Industrial School that later became UNCG.

Marlina deserves recognition for her hard-work ethic, intellect, and focus; her membership in UNCG’s Golden Chain Society is no small achievement. A tradition of excellence since 1948, acceptance requires a minimum 3.25 GPA, as well as a faculty/staff recommendation. The organization’s seven qualities, symbolic of seven links in the golden chain, are also part of the qualifying evaluation for membership. Applicants must show evidence of leadership, scholarship, service, tolerance, magnanimity, judgment, and character.

Marlina’s public social media entry on May 22, 2017, reveals the depth of her educational journey:

“On this day two years ago, I graduated from high school. A lot has happened since then, so I think it’s necessary to reflect.

Since then, I have received a full-ride scholarship to attend college, joined two honor societies, became a part of multiple campus organizations, made chancellor’s list and dean’s list every semester, maintained my ‘A’ average, found a career path, made countless friends, and learned about myself.”

Carpe diem, Marlina.

The UNCG Guarantee Scholarship Program, established in 2009 through an anonymous gift, not only offers qualified in-state students the opportunity to attend college with little or no debt, but also integrates support systems that ensure student success. For more information, please visit The UNCG Guarantee.