b'Sullivan Literacy Center. She joined the 1906 Society to supportof Biology. She presented her findings at the 2024 VSU future Blazers and volunteered to represent her college at openUndergraduate Research Symposium and the American Society of house events. She also served the community as a volunteerPlant Biologists 86th Annual Southern Section Meeting. with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Valdosta.Her commitment to academic, research, and service excellence Lowes commitment to academic, leadership, and serviceresulted in her earning the SGMC Health Foundations Jay excellence resulted in her earning the Highest AcademicShaw Scholarship; the 2023, 2024, and 2025 Martha H. Barnes Achievement Award and the Outstanding UndergraduateScholarship; the 2022 Antonio and Edna Criscuolo Scholarship; Student in Elementary Education Award for the James L.the 2022 W.R. and Dorothy Salter Scholarship; the 2022 James and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and HumanEunice Legacy Scholarship; the 2025 Biology Senior Award; the Services, as well as the Ralph B. Johnson Scholarship and her2025 Outstanding Undergraduate in Biochemistry Award; and hometowns Jean H. Stephens Educational Fund Scholarship.repeated Deans List honors. She was also a Zell Miller Scholar. She was a Jennett Scholar, a Georgia HOPE Scholar, and an eight-time Deans List honoree. After graduation, I will begin the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program at Mercer University School of Medicine in August, After graduation Lowe will continue her education at VSU andLey said. I plan to specialize in family medicine, with the goal pursue a Master of Education in Elementary Education.of returning to my hometown to increase the accessibility of healthcare for the families of Lanier County, Georgia, and the Ultimately, I plan to explore the continuum of many educationalsurrounding area.professions, she shared. I want to create something of my ownHer supportive family includes parents Jeffery Ley and Kristen where kids of all ages and backgrounds can come and have a safeLey and siblings Asa Ley, Kailin Ley, and Kyleigh Ley. space to call their own. I want to use my education to help teach and inspire the upcoming generations. Her supportive family includes parents Willie and Rhonda Lowec ollege ofh umAnities& s ociAls ciencesand sister Jada Lowe. Without their unwavering support in all that I do, I would not have been able to achieve what I have thus far.A linAs herrellf Arriesof Hiram, Georgia, is the recipient of the Spring 2025 Presidents c ollege ofs cience& m AthemAtics Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Humanities and K ierstens ArAhl ey ofSocial Sciences at Valdosta State University. She graduates summa Lakeland, Georgia, is the recipientcum laude with a Bachelor of Arts of the Spring 2025 Presidentsin English and a Minor in Spanish.Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Science andI came to Valdosta State University Mathematics at Valdosta Statenot knowing a single person and being four hours away from University. She graduates summaeverything familiar, she shared. At first, it was difficult to cum laude with a Bachelor ofadjust. I was surrounded by strangers and unsure of where I Science in Biology (pre-medicinebelonged, but that slowly began to change since each semester I concentration) and a Minor inpushed myself to make Valdosta a home away from home.Chemistry.From continuing my love for music by joining the Blazin I am deeply honored to receive this award and to represent theBrigade to building meaningful relationships with Housing and College of Science and Mathematics at graduation, she shared.Residence Life to becoming part of organizations that turned Receiving this award reassures me that my dedication has beeninto family, VSU began to feel like more than just a campus. It worthwhile, and it encourages me to continue to strive forbecame a communitya community where I now walk around excellence in the next stage of my life. Ending my time at VSUwith my head held high, seeing familiar faces each and every with this honor is both humbling and motivating. day. That feeling is nothing short of a blessing.As a student at VSU, Ley was an active member of the Pre-MedWalking across the stage as a top graduate in the College Club and Northside Baptist Church, where she faithfully servedof Humanities and Social Sciences feels both surreal and in the Worship Ministry and Student Ministry. She worked as aemotional. All the late nights, the tearful phone calls with my Peer Alliance Learning program tutor with the Academic Supportmom, and the hopes I held for a fulfilling college experience Center for a year and a half and volunteered at Faith Hope & Lovehave come full circle. Ive done things I never imaginedChristian Ministries Inc., a healthcare clinic in her hometown. joining two incredible, life-changing organizations, studying abroad, meeting mentors who believed in me, and most Ley conducted research on modeling and analyzing a predictedimportantly, learning who I truly am.protein structure for GCN2 in Arabidopsis thaliana with Dr. Ansul Lokdarshi, a plant molecular biochemist with VSUs DepartmentFrom stranger to graduate, finding a home at VSU has been a journey of faith, courage, and transformation. Though closing 24 | VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY'