Honors Day Convocation Highlights Student Achievement and Professor of the Year

April 3, 2014

Honors Day Convocation Highlights Student Achievement and Professor of the Year

 

Georgia Southern University’s Annual Honors Day Convocation recognized and celebrated the academic achievements of more than 100 students. Those honored included outstanding scholars among the graduating seniors with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.9 or above, new inductees of academic honor societies and recipients of special awards from departments and colleges.

Zachary Akins, a chemistry major from Register, Ga., earned the University System Academic Recognition Award for outstanding academic achievement and success. Each of Georgia’s 31 University System Institutions chooses an outstanding student to be honored on Academic Recognition Day by the House of Representatives and the State Senate. Akins also earned the American Chemical Society Senior Award for being the most academically successful chemistry major, and was one of the many outstanding scholars recognized for obtaining a 3.9 GPA.

Other top honors included the Georgia Southern University Alumni Association Award which was presented to Juan Diego Guevara Pinto, a psychology major from Honduras. Presented annually to the graduating senior who has completed all work in residence, has the greatest number of hours and has attained the highest cumulative GPA, Pinto will graduate in the top of his Class of 2014 with a GPA of 4.0.  

Senior psychology major Shanna Felix, a native of Brantley County, delivered the Honors Day address.  

In addition to a celebration of student achievement, Nathan Palmer, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences professor of Sociology and Anthropology was named the 2014 Professor of the Year.

“It's a profound honor to be chosen as Professor of the Year. I'll remember April 2, 2014 for the rest of my life,” said Palmer. “However while I am eternally grateful for the honor, I think my students are the ones who should have received this award. A teacher can only be a catalyst for learning. My students have always been open to learning about the complex, controversial and emotionally charged aspects of the social world. They were the ones eager to use the scientific method to learn about the social forces that guide their lives. They were willing to meet me half way and learn with me,” he said.

A faculty member since 2010, Palmer says the award means the world to him.

“The fact that I was chosen by the students is as humbling as it is affirming. I also take it as a sign of all the great resources for teachers at Georgia Southern. I specifically have to thank the Center for Teaching and Learning and Judith Longfield for helping me build my pedagogical skills,” he said.

Honors Day is held each spring on the first Wednesday in April and the Convocation highlights outstanding students from all disciplines and areas of college life.