ATLANTA — Evan Malbrough joined the Honors College as a way to maximize his time at Georgia State. He participated in the University Assistantship Program, which allows students to get paid for working with a program or department on campus that aligns with their interests. As a public policy major, he worked with the Global Studies Institute to research the ways extremist groups use media.
Malbrough also took advantage of the Emeriti Association’s Just In Time fund, which helps students cover the cost of professional opportunities like attending and presenting research at conferences, and he continues to work with the university’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships as he applies for national awards.
“I definitely tried to use all the resources that I had at my fingertips,” he said.
Malbrough shared his talents with the Honors College community as a student. He has fond memories of playing cello at two Founders Lecture events and was proud to be asked to give the induction speech his senior year to the incoming class of honors students.
“It was the first time a student had been asked to speak at the event, and it felt great to be chosen and be the person to usher in the next generation of students,” he said.
Malbrough was also an active member of the greater Georgia State community. Before he graduated, he started the Georgia State chapter of Vote Everywhere and helped organize the first student-run polling location in the state. He was one of many students to graduate in 2020 during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I graduated, everything was locked down, so my first job out of Honors was being an election worker,” he said. “I realized a lot more young people were needed to work polls.”
Malbrough started an Instagram account that he later turned into a nonpartisan nonprofit called the Georgia Youth Poll Worker Project. The organization helped to recruit 1,000 student poll and census workers between July 2020 and January 2021. In 2022, he was named one of the Georgia State Alumni Association’s 40 Under 40, and he has received national recognition as the Andrew Goodman Foundation’s Ambassador of the Year.
He currently works for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia focusing on youth outreach, and he writes frequently about voting rights issues. His work has appeared in Forbes, Teen Vogue and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
As a member of the Honors College’s Decennial Committee, he offered this advice to incoming students: “Network. Don’t be afraid to ask people for meetings. Don’t be afraid to go to information sessions or just talk to people.”
Before Malbrough started his own nonprofit, he met with Bill Bolling, who delivered the Honors College’s Founders Lecture titled “Overwhelmed with Opportunities: So Many Ways to Serve” in fall 2019.
“The research opportunities and travel opportunities through the Honors College that allowed me to present research and build my network helped me grow as a leader and a professional,” Malbrough said.
Over the next 10 years, he hopes there will be even more resources and opportunities for students in the Honors College. He also hopes to continue engaging with both alumni and students as we head into the next decade of honors education at Georgia State.
Learn more about how you can support the Honors College by donating to the 10x the Love campaign.