Skip To Main Content

Savannah State University Athletics

Scoreboard

Schedule

All Events
Litus Marshall

Academics

Student-Athletes Receive Degrees At 185th Commencement

Softball Player Rachel White Delivers Reflection

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State University (SSU) held its 185th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, December 13 in Tiger Arena where 14 student-athletes earned their college degree.

Former softball starter and English major Rachel White, a summa cum laude honors (4.0 GPA) graduate, delivered a reflection on behalf of the graduating class that focused on her time spent as both a student and an athlete at Savannah State.

" . . . There were instances when things never seemed to go my way on the field and while writing my papers, the words just would not seem to come out right," White said to an estimated 250 graduates. "There were times when I was so discouraged. I'm sure all of the graduates here today can agree with me that at some point in our collegiate careers we sat and wondered "Can I really do this?"
 6972
As human beings, in challenging times our bodies naturally react the same way and we give ourselves two options: fight or flight. We can either run from the situation, for fear that we may never succeed, or stay and push through the adversity that seeks to discourage us. Lucky us, because at Savannah State, we are constantly reminded that "We are Rising" and that "We can get anywhere from here.""

Joining White in receiving their degrees with honors were seven other student-athletes. Eric Ricks a former baseball player, graduated summa cum laude (Civil Engineering Tech), while tennis player Andrea Pavlovic graduated magna cum laude (Accounting).

Track star Felton Chinn walked with cum laude honors (Management). Men's basketball player Angelo Davis also graduated with cum laude honors (Management), and women's basketball player, and Savannah native, Charmaine Greene walked with cum laude honors (Biology).

Representing the football program, Antonio Proctor was conferred a degree in History, Jonathan Clowers graduated with a degree in Homeland Security, Simon Heyward earned a degree in Behavior Analysis, and former player and now student manager Julian Washington received his degree in Mathematics.

Women's basketball player Shawanda Hanton received her degree in Mass Communications, while teammate Jasmine Kirkland earned her degree in Biology. Men's basketball was represented by Patrick Hendley (History) and Stephen Wilson (Mass Communications).
6973
Giving the commencement speech was alumna Alissa Johnson, Ph.D '96, the deputy chief information officer for the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Johnson oversees White House information technology and interfaces with multiple staff and private contractors to create a stable and flexible technology infrastructure.

Prior to working at the White House, she was a cryptologic engineer with the US Department of Defense and deputy chief technology officer with Lockheed Martin. Johnson was recently named to the Top Forty Over 40 and the 2014 Federal 100.

Established in 1890, Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black college or university in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah. The university's 4,900 students select majors from 27 undergraduate and five graduate programs in three colleges.

Savannah State is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), competing on the NCAA Division I level. The Tigers and Lady Tigers field 16 teams in 12 sports. SSU earned several championships on the NCAA Division II level in their over 100 years of intercollegiate competition.

As a NCAA Division I institution, Savannah State has earned a bid to the NCAA Baseball Championship, a MEAC Championship Title in baseball, a bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in men's basketball, a MEAC Southern Division Title in softball, several individual MEAC Championship wins in Track & Field, and a National Championship in golf.



 
6974









 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Antonio Proctor

#24 Antonio Proctor

RB
5' 4"
Senior
Simon Heyward

#8 Simon Heyward

WR
5' 11"
Senior
Jonathan Clowers

#77 Jonathan Clowers

OL
6' 5"
Senior
Angelo Davis

#33 Angelo Davis

G
6' 2"
Senior
Patrick Hendley

#10 Patrick Hendley

G
6' 4"
Senior
Stephen Wilson

#11 Stephen Wilson

G
6' 1"
Senior
Jasmine Kirkland

#21 Jasmine Kirkland

G/F
5' 10"
Senior
Charmaine Greene

#24 Charmaine Greene

F
6' 1"
Senior
Shawanda Hanton

#32 Shawanda Hanton

G
5' 10"
Senior
Rachel White

#21 Rachel White

C
5' 5"
Senior
Andrea Pavlovic

Andrea Pavlovic

5' 9"
Senior
Felton Chinn

Felton Chinn

5' 10"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Antonio Proctor

#24 Antonio Proctor

5' 4"
Senior
RB
Simon Heyward

#8 Simon Heyward

5' 11"
Senior
WR
Jonathan Clowers

#77 Jonathan Clowers

6' 5"
Senior
OL
Angelo Davis

#33 Angelo Davis

6' 2"
Senior
G
Patrick Hendley

#10 Patrick Hendley

6' 4"
Senior
G
Stephen Wilson

#11 Stephen Wilson

6' 1"
Senior
G
Jasmine Kirkland

#21 Jasmine Kirkland

5' 10"
Senior
G/F
Charmaine Greene

#24 Charmaine Greene

6' 1"
Senior
F
Shawanda Hanton

#32 Shawanda Hanton

5' 10"
Senior
G
Rachel White

#21 Rachel White

5' 5"
Senior
C
Andrea Pavlovic

Andrea Pavlovic

5' 9"
Senior
Felton Chinn

Felton Chinn

5' 10"
Senior