Amanda Miller Named VSU College of Science and Mathematics Top Graduate

VALDOSTA — Amanda Rachel Miller of Leesburg, Georgia, is the recipient of the Spring 2019 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Science and Mathematics 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 six colleges — Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of the Arts, James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and College of Science and Mathematics.

VSU will celebrate its 227^th commencement on Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11.

Miller will serve as the official banner carrier for the College of Science and Mathematics during the undergraduate commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, on the VSU Front Lawn. She will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in chemistry.

“I hope that I have made my parents proud, and I am thankful to them for investing in me and my future,” said the daughter of Lee and Jina Miller.

As a student at VSU, Miller played intramural volleyball and flag football, worked as a personal trainer at Sculpt 24 Fitness and as a medical assistant with Dr. Ben Hogan’s family practice and sports medicine office, and served as a hospice volunteer. She conducted research on the molecular genetics of Aedes, a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones but now found on nearly every continent, with Dr. Eric Chambers, an associate professor in the Department of Biology who specializes in infectious diseases.    

Miller’s commitment to academic, service, and research excellence resulted in her earning a spot on the Dean’s List every semester, the 2018 Walter and Dorothy Salter Scholarship, and the 2015-2016 Dean’s Scholarship. She was recognized for having the highest grade point average in her sorority, the Kappa Beta Chapter of Phi Mu, and she took home wing-eating champion honors at the Psi Lambda Chapter of Chi Omega’s 2017 Wings for Wishes fundraiser benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.

Miller plans to continue her education after graduation and pursue a career as a physician assistant in the United States Navy.