Creating Leaders of Tomorrow

In September 2023, AmCham Georgia and the McLain Association for Children Georgia (MAC Georgia) launched a new university scholarship program to offer students from low-income and disadvantaged families an opportunity to pursue higher education. With the generous support of AmCham member companies, in 2023 the program offered 30 scholars four years of tuition payments as well as a stipend to help cover the cost of living. Investor.ge spoke with some of the students about their experiences, and the difference the scholarship has made to their lives.

One year after the launch of AmCham Georgia and MAC Georgia’s scholarship program, the students are thriving and the support has doubled, with more than 60 students now supported. This represents around 1 million GEL of financial commitment from AmCham sponsors.

The scholarship, which targets socially vulnerable students, is funded by AmCham members. It covers all four years of tuition as well as an annual living allowance of 2100 lari. In 2023, 120 young people applied for the project and 70 were shortlisted for interviews based on the selection criteria. “All of our students have different social and economic backgrounds… We really tried to prioritize students who have a very compelling need for support from us,” notes the CEO of MAC Georgia Jeremy Gaskill, one of the initiators of the scholarship.

In addition to financial need, the program considers merit through a rigorous selection process. “While we were interviewing the candidates, one of the most important factors was self-determination,” Nika Zibzibadze, Regional Program Manager at MAC Georgia and one of the interviewers during the process, explains. “This is especially important in terms of their stated profession: is this really something that they want?” This level of attention to detail stems from the fact that Georgian public schools, especially in the regions, do not offer career guidance. That creates a significant risk of students enrolling into majors they are not invested in, which leads to lack of motivation and eventually an interrupted education.

Rima Sagradovi, 20, is still passionate about her plans to become a lawyer, but she recalls feeling overwhelmed the first two months of her first year as a law student at Ilia State University. Original from a small village in Tetritskaro, adjusting to life in Tbilisi and her law studies at Ilia State University was far from easy. “I had to manage reading 200-300 pages for homework and standing outside at the protests,” she recalls.

While there were moments when she questioned whether she had made the right decision in choosing law, Rima pushed through. “I am a type of person who believes in herself and will do everything to reach her goal,” she says.

To help scholars like Rima adjust to student life, the scholarship program offers more than just financial aid—it creates a supportive community. Students not only receive tuition and a living allowance but also participate in networking opportunities, meet mentors, and have access to resources like English tutoring and technical support, such as laptops if needed. Rima says that support as well as participating in various activities and projects, such as World Cleanup Day, helped her develop a community in the city.

“I feel lucky and blessed to have been given this opportunity. Not everyone gets this chance, and I don’t want to disappoint those who have faith in me,” Rima says. She is focused on taking advantage of every opportunity: she attends meetings with donors, takes English tutoring classes offered by the scholarship, and volunteers at events like the Fourth of July celebration at the American Embassy. In the future, she aspires to become a lawyer and give back to her community through volunteer work. Her time volunteering at a summer camp was particularly eye opening, solidifying her desire to help others. “It was exhausting, but no amount of money could compare to the satisfaction of seeing those kids happy,” she says.

Without the scholarship 18-year-old Nino Sharikadze from Akhaltsikhe’s Giogritsminda would not have been able to follow her dream of studying medicine at the Caucasus University. “We, kids living in the regions, don’t have a lot of opportunities. So initially I had to say no to going into the field of medicine and pick a field close to it,” Nino explains. When she was selected as a scholar, she changed her major back to medicine at Caucasus University.

Today Nino dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon and plans to go abroad for further training during her fourth and fifth years. Reflecting on her experience, Nino notes how much the financial aid has eased her burdens, especially, since tuition alone would have cost her 8,000 GEL without the scholarship.

The scholarship not only allowed Nino to follow her dream of working in the medical field but also led to other opportunities. During one of the outings with her scholarship group, Nino visited a laboratory, which reaffirmed her passion for science. “These kinds of outings are always exciting and even more so when I was offered a job there,” she recalls. Meeting people in her field has been an important part of the scholarship experience for her, as has the sense of community. “We are like friends with everyone involved, starting from the president to the coordinator. It’s a great motivator for me to see that these people are investing in me,” Nino adds.

AmCham Georgia and MAC Georgia spent the year evaluating how to better help the scholars. At one point, they realized that one of the criteria to maintain scholar status—maintaining a specific GPA during the first year—was unrealistic in light of all the challenges the young students faced during the transition to university life.

“We love to learn from our mistakes, as they’re opportunities to improve,” MAC Georgia’s Zibzibadze notes. “Now, we’ve set the threshold for the first year to be 60 percent, which then will go up to 70 percent [for the next year].” Aside from this, the team is in constant communication with the scholars and is always working on maintaining trust with them, so if they have issues with any subject, they can receive appropriate help or guidance from the team.

For Ani Gulua, a 19-year-old construction engineering and management student at Georgian Technical University from Jvari, Samegelo, the first year of university brought both challenges and growth. Adapting to a new city and the demands of university life took time, but she learned valuable lessons along the way— most importantly, how to be independent. Now, Ani is thriving both in her academic pursuits and in her personal development, feeling proud to be studying exactly what she wants.

“This scholarship isn’t just financial support—it’s a community. We share our experiences, help each other out, and build bonds,” she says.

“This scholarship is special, not only because it offers a scholarship and an allowance but, because we have meetings where we meet the donors, we have a group-chat where the kids share our experiences and bond. New friends, new environment, new people, and new challenges.”

Inspired by the help she received, Ani has already encouraged a younger friend from her hometown to apply, and she was even happier when that friend was selected than when she was “I might’ve been more excited to hear that she was picked than when I was,” she says. Looking ahead, Ani dreams of becoming a lecturer and pursuing a Ph.D., and she has plans to work both in Georgia and abroad. Her ultimate goal is to use her experience to give back to her country and inspire the next generation of students.

In the future, the scholarship program aims to expand its support through increased mentorship among the scholars themselves and professional development opportunities, helping scholars transition from university life to successful careers. With AmCham’s network of businesses, students are given the chance to connect with potential future employers and leaders in their fields, setting the stage for long-term success.

“The more the program grows the more equity it has to the educational system,” Zibzibadze says. “People in the rural areas have very little opportunities compared to people living in the urban areas; all our programs, including this scholarship, works to fill in the gap.”

MAC Georgia’s Jeremy Gaskill says empowering the scholars to complete their college degree programs is just the first step of the scholarship.

“I really hope it becomes a mechanism to truly help out kids who can study more by removing the stress of money, also to give them the opportunity to work with their potential future employers and helps with networking and gives them a better idea of what they want to do in future,” he says. “Not just to make them graduates but also to make them leaders in the future.”