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Georgia College & State University (GCSU) hosted four commencement ceremonies May 5-6 at the Centennial Center.
On Friday, May 5, 291 undergraduates and graduates of the College of Health Sciences, were awarded their diplomas alongside the John H. Lounsbury College of Education that awarded 327 degrees that evening.
On Saturday, May 6, the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business & Technology awarded 376 degrees and the College of Arts & Sciences awarded 425 undergraduates and graduates their degrees.
In total, nearly 1,400 undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded. The top five majors for 2022-23 were nursing, management, marketing, psychology and special education. Popular minors were Spanish language and culture, marketing and criminal justice.
There were 22 valedictorians from across Georgia; six BSN nursing majors, five education majors, two psychology majors, two mass communication majors and two political science majors, as well as majors in biology, exercise science, political science, marketing and criminal justice.
The keynote speakers for the weekend included Alumni Dr. Rodriques A.
Lambert, a health equity officer in the Division of State and Local Readiness at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) who addressed the College of Health Sciences; Amy Jacobs, commissioner for Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), who addressed the College of Education; the Honorable Brad Raffensperger, Georgia secretary of state, who addressed the College of Business & Technology; and Alumna Brandice Bailey, vice president and news director for WITI-TV Milwaukee/ FOX6, who addressed the College of Arts & Sciences. Students speakers included: nursing major Priya Polanco of Stone Mountain for the College of Health Sciences; elementary education major Madison Pelton of Canton for the College of Education; finance and economics double major Lauren Moskowitz of Marietta for the College of Business & Technology; and alumnus Wesley DeMontigny of Marietta, ’22 in biology, for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Other graduating seniors included:
• Specialeducationmajor Caroline Pedersen of Marietta, who started the local non-profit chapter of Miss Amazing Pageant and will work as an inclusion special educator at Dames Ferry Elementary School in Gray.
• Publichealthmajor and basketball athlete Brandon Thomas of McDonough who plans to get his master’s at the University of Georgia and become an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta.
• StudioArtmajor Maggie Morgan of Alpharetta, who painted murals for Bright House in Milledgeville and Habitat Re-Store in Eatonton. She wants to pursue a career in design and branding in the food and hospitality industry.
• Musicmajorand violinist Nicolas Koebert of Suwanee, who will work in cross-cultural missions through the global organization Youth With A Mission.
• Businessadministration major and tennis athlete Jesus Villamizar Abia of Valencia, Venezuela, who’d like to own and operate a tennis/fitness center.
• PsychologymajorAnna Boughton of Dallas, Georgia, plans to get a master’s in counseling and run her own practice.
Georgia College & State University congrats all of the students honored over the weekend and wishes them a bright future as they each move on to achieve their goals.
– Contributed by University Communications