Local area residents graduate from Georgia Southwestern State University

AMERICUS, GA (12/18/2020)– The following area residents were among 444 students who earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from Georgia Southwestern State University during the Fall 2020 Commencement Ceremony held on Saturday, December 12 in the Convocation Hall of the Student Success Center. GSW recognized Spring, Summer and Fall graduates in the Class of 2020 across four smaller, socially-distanced ceremonies.

Elyse Johnson of Monroe earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting 

Victoria Kuhlman of Loganville earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in human resource management magna cum laude

Eric Evans of Monroe earned a specialist degree in early childhood education 

Jennifer Gerard of Social Circle earned a specialist degree in middle grades education 

“It was a great day,” said GSW President Neal Weaver, Ph.D. “This is one of the most important days of our graduates’ lives, and certainly the most anticipated day on our campus, so we had to figure out a way to make an in-person graduation happen. The day may have been long, but it was absolutely worth every bit of it to honor all of our 2020 graduates with as much of a traditional ceremony as possible. I want to thank GSW’s Graduation Committee who worked extremely hard over the last few months to plan and safely execute four ceremonies in one day. I think the day went smoothly, and it was apparent the graduates and their families were happy to be here.”

Georgia Southwestern took many safety precautions throughout the day to hold in-person ceremonies and help ensure the safety of the graduates and their families. Face masks were required inside the building and were worn at all times, graduates were allowed up to four guests, and seating on the floor and in the stands was spaced out and marked off to meet proper social distancing protocol. The arena was also thoroughly cleaned in between ceremonies.

Graduates received a package in early May with a special gift available only to Spring 2020 graduates. They were encouraged to share photos posing with the package contents, wearing their cap and gown, or watching the ceremony and post on social media.

The Macebearers for each ceremony were as follows: Dr. Chadwick Gugg, associate professor of mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Paula Bryant, professor and associate dean in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Dr. Queen Brown, professor of education in the College of Education; Dr. Chu-Chu Wu, professor of education in the College of Education; Dr. Robert Bennett, professor of business in the College of Business and Computing.

Georgia Southwestern State University, located in Americus, Ga., is a public, four-year unit of the University System of Georgia with approximately 3,000 students. Georgia Southwestern offers outstanding professional programs of study as well as degrees in the arts, humanities, sciences and graduate programs in business, computer science, education, English, and nursing. Founded in 1906, Georgia Southwestern is recognized as one of the best value colleges in the nation. Visit www.gsw.edu for more information.