November 27, 2017
17-278

Jessica Pope
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator

Erin Bridgeforth Named VSU College of Arts and Sciences Top Graduate

Erin Bridgeforth

VALDOSTA — Erin Bridgeforth of Conyers, Georgia, is the recipient of the Fall 2017 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Arts and Sciences at Valdosta State University.

The President’s Award for Academic Excellence is presented to the graduating student with the highest grade point average in each of VSU’s five colleges — College of Arts and Sciences, College of the Arts, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration, and James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services.

VSU will celebrate its 224th commencement on Friday, Dec. 8, and Saturday, Dec. 9.

Bridgeforth will serve as the official banner carrier for the College of Arts and Sciences during the undergraduate commencement ceremony at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, on the VSU Front Lawn. She will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in organizational leadership, with a minor in public administration.

“I am beyond thrilled to receive the President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of the Arts and Sciences at VSU and deeply honored to lead my fellow graduates at this year’s commencement ceremony,” she said.

Bridgeforth previously attended Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in Valdosta, Georgia, where she earned an Associate of Applied Science in business administrative technology in 2011 and an Associate of Applied Science in accounting in 2012. She was awarded the school’s 2012 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership for her exemplary performance in her chosen field of study and inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. 

Bridgeforth entered VSU through the Pathways Program, an initiative designed to increase the number of Georgians earning a four-year university degree by maximizing the transfer of credits from their respective Technical College System of Georgia institution of higher education.

As a student at VSU, Bridgeforth was a regular on the Dean’s List and a member of the Beta Tau chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She was also a Georgia HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) Scholar.

Bridgeforth plans to return to VSU to pursue a Master of Public Administration, with a concentration in public sector management. She is the daughter of Erving Rogers Sr. of Valdosta, Georgia, and the late Mary Rogers. 

“… I envision myself having a productive and rewarding career working within the public sector,” she said. “My primary goal is to obtain a leadership role that will allow me to utilize my education, skills, and qualities ….”

On the Web:
https://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts-sciences/
https://www.valdosta.edu/administration/advancement/event-services/commencement/welcome.php
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