Sidney Wilson Earns Outstanding Student Award at VSU

Sidney Wilson of Hahira, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2025-2026 College of Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Student Award. She is pictured with Dr. James LaPlant, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Sheri Noviello, interim provost and vice president of the Division of Academic Affairs; and Dr. William Crowe, interim president of VSU.

VALDOSTA — Sidney Wilson of Hahira, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2025-2026 College of Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Student Award.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Student Award is presented to a student with a record of academic excellence and distinguished service inside and outside the classroom.

“As a hard-working student that does not know how to slow down and recognize myself and my own accomplishments, this award really put into perspective how much I have been able to accomplish during my undergraduate degree at VSU,” she said.

Wilson graduated May 9 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology and a Minor in Spanish. She now plans to continue her education and pursue an accelerated Master of Science in Sociology through VSU’s Applied Sociology 4+1 program.

As an undergraduate student, Wilson participated in the university’s Building Community Through the Humanities initiative, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through VSU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. This allowed her to complete a semester-long paid internship at Fellowship Brookside Assisted Living Community and share her experience at VSU’s 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium.

She demonstrated a strong passion for undergraduate research and a commitment to exploring complex questions through critical thinking and collaboration. During her four years at VSU, it was hard to miss the joy she had for engaging in hands-on research experiences that deepened her academic knowledge, strengthened her problem-solving skills, and contributed to meaningful discoveries in her field of study.

Wilson presented “Growing Up Working: Impression Management and Motivation in High Achieving Generation Z Students” at the 2025 Georgia Sociological Association Conference; the 2026 National Conference on Undergraduate Research; VSU’s 2026 Graduate Student Research and Scholarship Symposium, where she earned a first-place poster award; and VSU’s 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium, where she earned a second-place paper award. This work was also published in Omnino, VSU’s undergraduate research journal.

Her “Impression Management at Work: Hustle Culture’s Effect on Wellbeing and its Expression on Social Media” was one of six projects selected for VSU’s 2025 Blazer Summer Research Institute (BSRI). She received a $1,000 scholarship plus compensation for any expenditures related to this project. In addition to her oral presentation at the end of the BSRI season, she presented this research at the 2025 VSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, earning a first-place poster award.

Wilson’s commitment to academic, research, and service excellence also helped her earn the Department of Modern and Classical Languages Excellence in the Study of Spanish for a Minor Award; the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Kathleen Lowney Outstanding Paper Award and Outstanding Student for Sociology Award, as well as the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Excellence in Experiential Learning Certificate. 

She hopes to pursue a career as a licensed clinical social worker and focus on supporting the needs of patients and their families in a hospital setting.

On the Web:
https://www.valdosta.edu/chss/