Graduate Group (L to R)
Row 1: Bryanna Honeycutt (Marshall), Lisa Garza, Bryanna Vaughan, Daytona Caldwell, Katie Sligh, Dimia Thompson, Dawn Schreiber, Celeste Cathcart, Abby McCarley (Marshall). Row 2: Caroline England, Kelsey Granger, Caylee Austin, Claire Pridemore, Madelynn Wood, Sha’Quilla Walker, Makenzie Stanford. Row 3: Tomi Lachance, Lindsey Jarvis, Theodore Walker, Jack Snelgrove, Hunter Plemmons, Donna Truelove. Row 4: Clint Groves, Asia Tucker, Makenzie Wall, Payton Townsend, Dillon Sumner. Row 5: Temeka Briggs, Ashley Hall, Faith Lemons, Paul Means, Cameron Mitchell. Row 6: Devin Gilkison, Allison Hart, Kathryn Smith, Elliot Trammell, Kiara Lee, Elizabeth Medlin. Row 7: Corey Easterling, Tomeshiona Jackson, Brad Jolly. (Not pictured but participated in the ceremony: Martin Arias, Mayko Mendoza Garcia, Hannah Johnson)
The University of South Carolina Union held Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 4th in the First Baptist Church sanctuary. The commencement speaker was Dr. Harris Pastides, USC President for the past 11 years.
During President Pastides’ tenure, the university has seen its South Carolina Honors College named the best honors college in the nation and celebrated continual top national academic program rankings, including 47 current programs in undergraduate and graduate international business, public health, engineering, nursing and others. The university also has garnered record levels of research funding and surpassed a $1 billion capital campaign goal under his leadership. Today, President Pastides serves on many local, state, national and international boards, including the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, the U.S. Fulbright Program (chair), the University Research Associates (chair), the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium (chair), and the South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health (chair). He is a past chair of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and currently serves as president of the Southeastern Conference.
The Speaker’s Scholarship Award was presented to Travis Wendel by USC President Harris Pastides. The USC Union Scholarship Committee selects the student based on outstanding academic achievement. Travis is currently renewing his studies at USC Union. He reports that he considers himself to be honest, trustworthy, hardworking, and supportive of others. These qualities have certainly been confirmed in his time at USC Union as he has distinguished himself by receiving both Marine Science and Spanish academic awards as well as making the President’s Honor Roll. Travis is also very active on campus, serving on Student Government, working part-time on campus at the library and for security at campus events. Travis’s college goals are to earn his associate’s degree here at USC Union, then major in biology in preparation for a career in research.
Bret Clint Groves was presented the Kennedy Academic Award by USC Union Academic Dean, Dr. Randy Lowell. The Kennedy Award was established by Mr. B.F Kennedy and his late wife, Myrna, to publicly recognize and reward the USC Union graduate with the highest GPA each year. The recipient exemplifies love of learning and commitment to excellence. Clint started at USC Union Laurens location, in Fall of 2016, bringing to the table a wealth of life experience as a non-traditional student. In addition to his full load of coursework each semester, Clint has managed to balance his responsibilities as a supervisor at the Walmart Distribution Center, his role as a family man with five children, and even finding time to keep up with his hobby as a banjo player. He is routinely acknowledged by many faculty as one of the strongest students they have had in their classes, and he has received a number of scholarships and accolades to reinforce that sentiment. As he prepares to graduate with an Associates in Science and an Associates in Arts, he has also set himself up to have a head start on many of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership in which he will officially enroll this Fall 2019 semester through Palmetto College. This will allow him to remain in the area as he completes that Bachelor’s degree.
Also recognized was Dr. Randy Lowell as USC Union Teacher of the Year. Dr. Lowell received his B.A. in Experimental Psychology in 2004, his M.A. in Experimental Psychology in 2010, and his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology in 2012, all from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. His focus was within Cognitive Psychology, investigating the way that adult readers use context to infer meanings of new words while reading, largely based on eye movement recording and subsequent memory tests. Immediately after completing his doctoral studies in 2012, he joined the faculty at USC Union, and began his role as Academic Dean in January of 2016. During his time in Union, he has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, presented his research at local, regional, and national conferences, received a variety of internal research grant funding, and collaborated with many undergraduate student researchers and faculty. This year he was also the Union campus nominee for the Palmetto College research award that is named after the late Dr. Shaw. While maintaining a high level of research productivity and a substantial amount of service to the campus, community, and University system, including his administrative duties as Academic Dean, Dr. Lowell has also maintained a high standard of teaching and has been recognized for that, including being nominated for the Palmetto College Duffy teaching award in 2015. His teaching in the classroom is greatly informed by his scholarly activity outside of the classroom, and his close working relationships with students through his PALM Psychology Lab on various research studies provides an ideal format for integrating classroom concepts with new and creative ways to investigate the questions that those students demonstrate a natural curiosity about. In the process, he also greatly appreciates all of the new things that he is able to learn from his students.
List of Graduates
Associate In Arts
Tytiana Shonterria Beacham
Aaron Neal Blackmon
Frank Carroll Bleasdale III
Temeka Twan Briggs
Lisa Marina Garza, With High Honors
Devin Adam Gilkison
Hanna Carmella Goodfellow, With Honors
Bret Clinton Groves II, With Highest Honors
Ashley Marie Hall
Mary Elizabeth Grier Hanvey
William Eugene Holcombe Jr.
Courtland Darelle Howard
Lindsey Ann Jarvis, With Highest Honors
Hannah Alexa Johnson
Emily Catherine Kingsmore
Tomi Leitzsey Lachance*, With High Honors
Kiara Lee
Faith Ann Lemons
Austin Chase McCarleyElizabeth
Brianna Medlin, With High Honors
Mayko Abelino Mendoza Garcia
Austin James Tyler Parker
Hunter Patrick Plemmons
Claire Elizabeth Pridemore, With High Honors
Lindsey Rhea Ratliff, With High Honors
William Dalton Sinclair, With High Honors
Katie Elizabeth Sligh, With High Honors
Kannon Scott Small, With Honors
Kathryn Elizabeth Smith, With Honors
Makenzie Reagan Stanford
Dimia Dajiona Thompson
Asia Shonice Tucker, With Honors
Sha’Quilla Teneshia Walker
Graham Tucker Whitesides, With Honors
Bailey Marie Willard
Kiara Renee Williamson
Madelynn Wood
Associate In Science
Martin Alejandro Arias, With Honors
Caylee Michelle Austin
Tytiana Shonterria Beacham
Bentley Jay Burr
Daytona LeAnn Caldwell
Gaven Michael Causey, With Honors
William Christopher Dawes
Caroline Jamison Rae England
Preston John Farmer, With High Honors
Lisa Marina Garza, With High Honors
Devin Adam Gilkison
Wa’Dezmond Bishari Good
Bret Clinton Groves II, With Highest Honors
Gabriel Reid Hall
Mary Elizabeth Grier Hanvey
Allison Marie Hart
Charles Berkley Herrington
William Eugene Holcombe Jr.
Dallas Christian Honeycutt, With Honors
Courtland Darelle Howard
Tomeshiona Ishay Jackson
Steve Dy’Sean Joyner Jr.
Emily Catherine Kingsmore
Joseph Patrick Kurtz, With High Honors
Tomi Leitzsey Lachance*, With High Honors
Faith Ann Lemons
Anthony Alexander Miller, With Honors
Cameron William Mitchell
Ashley Phillips
Claire Elizabeth Pridemore, With High Honors
Auston Eugene Shouse
Katie Elizabeth Sligh, With High Honors
Kannon Scott Small, With Honors
Kathryn Elizabeth Smith, With Honors
Jack William Snelgrove
Dillon Chase Sumner
Payton Alyssa Townsend
John Steven Trammell, With Honors
Sha’Quilla Teneshia Walker
Theodore Walker
MaKenzie Jordan Wall, With High Honors
Keondra Patrice Watts
Bailey Marie Willard
Sarah Grace Ellen Wrennall
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