Missouri State University conferred 29 degrees to current and former student-athletes during commencement ceremonies Friday at JQH Arena in Springfield. Eight of the graduates received scholastic honors, including one summa cum laude graduate, two magna cum laude honorees, and five cum laude graduates.
By sport, the Fall 2008 Missouri State student-athlete graduates are as follows:
Baseball
Jacob Bunten
Chris Mackey
Josh Mazzola (cum laude)
Kyle Paul
Men’s Basketball
Drew Richards
Women’s Basketball
Tahnee Balerio (magna cum laude)
Tiffany (Terwelp) Smith (cum laude)
Field Hockey
Whitney Barrett
Heather Koszela
Melissa Millin
Football
Marcus Colbert
Gerald Davis
Chris Geisz (cum laude)
Ryan Kelly
Brady Schwartz
Chris Wash
Women’s Golf
Jillian Anthony
Men’s Soccer
Andy Cooper
Henry Lawrence
Casey Lines
Lance Parker (cum laude)
Omar Shoucair
Women’s Soccer
Megan Beebe
Kate Blair (magna cum laude)
Softball
Ashley Baechle (summa cum laude)
Women’s Swimming/Diving
Amy Crowder (cum laude)
Men’s Track/Cross Country
Casey Collins
Kareem Samuel
Volleyball
Sara Thomas
A total of 1,207 baccalaureate degrees, 354 master’s degrees, four specialist degrees and one doctorate degree were conferred overall by the University. Scholastic honors were given to 38 students who graduated summa cum laude (with a grade point average of 3.9-4.0 on a 4.0 scale), 45 who graduated magna cum laude (with a GPA of 3.75-3.89) and 116 who graduated cum laude (with a GPA of 3.4-3.74).