Union County High School has officially revealed its STAR Student of 2026, and the honor goes to senior Savannah Love, who chose Dixie Conger as her STAR Teacher. The entire school learned the news with a celebratory announcement on Friday, Jan. 23.
To officially recognize Love’s achievement, the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce attended as the local sponsor organization that coordinates with the awarding Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation.
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The Page Foundation’s Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program awards students for earning the highest single-sitting SAT score in their school while being in the top 10% of their class in academic standings.
“I am proud of myself,” Love said, readily admitting the accomplishment was no easy task. “I took the SAT I think seven times to get the score that I did, so I worked hard for it. I didn’t just happen upon it or anything, so it feels really, really nice to see something come of that effort.”
Seven SAT sittings call for a lot of study time. Between Khan Academy and studying at the library, she managed to persist, and Love views those long hours as an investment in her future.
As for her choice of STAR Teacher, Love selected Conger for being the most impactful educator over her academic career, and the science teacher found out just how much she meant to Love on Friday.
“It’s an honor,” said Conger, noting her excitement to see what being Love’s choice for STAR Teacher entailed; this year marked the third time Conger has been chosen by a STAR Student. More than that, she’s eager to see what Love does with her life.
“She has a lot of questions, which is a good thing and I like that. It shows that she is interested and thinking beyond what I was trying to teach,” Conger stated, adding that Love’s out-of-the-box brainstorming has helped her expand her own mind.
Further, Conger views Love not just as a great student, but a terrific person overall. Characterized as a “phenomenal young lady” by Conger, Love’s favorite teacher perceives her as someone who wants to help others above all.
And that tracks, considering Love’s decisions regarding her own future. For a time, her goals kept changing; she has considered becoming an actress, a baker and a pharmacist in turns, but in attending Conger’s science classes, the senior found an interest that stuck.
For Love, the cardiovascular system “really clicked.” She found the heart fascinating, and after hands-on experience with animal heart dissections, she decided to become a cardiothoracic surgeon.
To prepare, Love applied for a position at Union General Hospital and was even recommended by Conger. While having only been on the job for a few weeks, Love has been shadowing physicians and shows promising results.
According to Conger, “When I was describing her to the hospital, I said, ‘If I were to be cared for by Savannah Love or any of my family would be cared for by Savannah Love, I would have the utmost confidence.’”
And after graduating high school in May, Love will have the task of achieving her medical dream, which will take plenty of additional schooling. Although ambitious in her college applications, she is still weighing her options.
So far, Love has been accepted into Augusta University, the University of North Georgia, the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is waiting to hear back from Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University and Emory University.
To help her choose, Love has set dates to tour the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, and she hopes to schedule other visits soon. Until then, she’s enjoying spending more time with her STAR Teacher.
“I love her. She is so kind, she’s so sweet, she’s so encouraging to everyone. I’ve never heard her say anything bad about anyone ever,” Love said, especially grateful for the grace Conger showed during her sophomore year when she lost her grandmother and struggled academically. “If you have a problem, she has a solution.”
Along with Conger, Love credits her parents with getting her where she is today by imparting a strong work ethic and sense of determination, and also paying for her SAT testing. Additionally, she thanks her sister for helping her unwind after study sessions with fun trips to Taco Bell.
The “Evening With the STARs” annual awards banquet will be hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at the Community Center on Feb. 12 to celebrate Love’s stellar achievement and Conger’s role in shaping her bright pupil’s mind.
