Dec. 10, 2014 SPRINGFIELD - A total of 29 current and former Missouri State University student-athletes will receive their degrees Friday, Dec. 12 during fall commencement ceremonies at JQH Arena on the Springfield campus.
The athletes represent 12 different sports with softball standout Heather Duckworth earning magna cum laude (3.75-3.89 GPA) academic honors. Four students - basketball players Emmanuel Addo and Taryn Zang Belcher, golfer Amy Bowen and trackster Kara Graham - are completing post-graduate degrees.
The December 2015 class represents MSU's largest crop of fall graduates since 2011. So far, during the 2014-15 academic year, a total of 44 Bear student-athletes have earned degrees, including 15 in the summer 2014 commencement.
By sport, here are the student-athletes completing their degrees in December 2014:
· Baseball (2): Jonathan McCann (Criminology, MBA); Aaron Meade (Hospitality & Restaurant Administration, MBA)
· Men's Basketball (1): Emmanuel Addo (Sports Management, M.S.)
· Football (5): Seginald Chaney (Sociology); Cody Leamy (Administrative Management); Brett Light (Real Estate); Cameron McLain (Psychology); Garrett Wade (Elementary Education)
· Men's Soccer (1): Andrew Riggs (Actuarial Mathematics)*
· Men's Swimming & Diving (2): Colin Hill (Natural Resources); Dan Jansen (Digital Film Production)*
· Women's Basketball (1): Taryn Zang Belcher (Project Management (M.S.)
· Women's Golf (1): Amy Bowen (Business Administration (MBA)
· Softball (3): Stacia Boeckstiegel (General Business); Heather Duckworth (Psychology)***; Ciara Flau (Exercise & Movement Science)
· Women's Soccer (2): Adrianne Kalogerou (Exercise & Movement Science)*; Mary Stroud (Speech-Language Pathology)
· Women's Swimming (3): Anna Ahlin (Psychology); Marta Nogueroles (Spanish); Glory Reichard (Biology)**
· Women's Track & Field (6): Christina Bradshaw (Painting+); Kara Graham (Health Promotion & Wellness Management (M.S.); Mikiesha Hayes (Fashion Merchandising); Althia Maximilien (Hospitality & Restaurant Administration); Kathleen Norman (Child and Family Development)*; Gemma Smith (Psychology)
· Volleyball (2): Amber Doolittle (Physical Education); Christine McCartney (Financial Planning).
* Cum Laude; ** Summa Cum Laude; *** Magna Cum Laude; +Honors College
Missouri State University will confer 1,392 degrees to students at its 2014 fall commencement. The ceremonies will begin at 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. and will feature an address from Clifton M. "Clif" Smart III, president of Missouri State University. The ceremony will be streamed live.
A total of 999 bachelor's degrees, 387 master's degrees, four specialist degrees and two doctorate degrees will be conferred. Beyond the standard expectations, 61 students will be recognized for their work with a more rigorous curriculum in Missouri State's Honors College. Scholastic honors will be given to 34 total students who will graduate summa cum laude (with grade point average of 3.9-4.0 on a 4.0 scale), 47 who will graduate magna cum laude (with a GPA of 3.75-3.89) and 135 who will graduate cum laude (with a GPA of 3.5-3.74).
The Missouri State commencement hub features student social media posts, photos and other multimedia resources that will be updated prior to and during commencement.
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