Savannah State University Athletics

Student-Athletes Close Fall Semester With Degrees In Hand

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee | 11/23/2020 4:56:00 PM

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Closing out an unprecedented fall semester, hundreds of Savannah State students and several student-athletes were conferred college degrees at Theodore A. Wright Stadium on Saturday, November 21 during the 197^th Savannah State Commencement ceremony.

Graduation during a pandemic took a different face than the normal post-semester event. Moving the event from Tiger Arena to the football field at the stadium allowed for a safer environment and the space to properly social distance.

Masked and socially distanced, graduating seniors on Saturday were still able to take part in the final ceremony of their college careers, marking a major milestone in their young lives safely, while a handful of family and friends, distanced in the stands, were able to share in the event.

All semester, the University and the Athletics Administration have worked diligently to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Health in regards to safe operation during the global pandemic. The efforts have resulted in very few cases of COVID on campus this semester.

Mayor Van R. Johnson delivered the commencement speech to the class of 2020. Mayor Johnson, the 67^th Savannah mayor, is a two-time graduate of Savannah State University.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson delivers the keynote address during the 197th Savannah State Commencement. [Photo by Litus Marshall]

Among those earning their degrees were 11 student-athletes and one athletics administrator. Academic Advisor Tina Jolley earned a Master of Public Administration. Former track and field student-athlete Aaron Whitely also earned a Master of Public Administration.

Joining them in the graduate school was football's Michael Johnson, who earned a Master of Business Administration.

At the top of the undergraduate student-athlete class, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in Biology, was softball player Shayne Byers, who will continue on to pharmacy school next year.

Former football player Casey Wilson earned a bachelor's in accounting. Baseball player Luis Lamarche earned his bachelor degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, graduating with Cum Laude honors.

From the Mass Communications department, football player Desmond Young earned his bachelor's degree. Young was also the Video Coordinator and Intern Media Relations Director for athletics during the 2020 fall semester.

Football's Czar Beneby earned his bachelor degree in Visual and Performing Arts. His former teammate William Campbell, earned his bachelor's in Civil Engineering Technology. Their teammate Tajavious Jackson earned his bachelor degree in Electronics Engineering Technology.

Two former student-athletes also earned associate degrees on Saturday. Football player Wilkenson Toussaint earned his Associate of Arts. Former women's basketball player Ja'Brekia Bass also earned an Associate of Arts, graduating Cum Laude.