Olivia Moss Named VSU College of Science and Mathematics Top Graduate

VALDOSTA — Olivia Caroline Moss of Valdosta, Georgia, is the recipient of the Fall 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 228^th commencement on Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14.

Moss will serve as the official banner carrier for the College of Science and Mathematics during the undergraduate commencement ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, on the VSU Front Lawn. She will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and an Honors College Certificate.

“Being named the top graduate for my college has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me at VSU,” she said. “It was the perfect culmination of my undergraduate studies, and I’m incredibly thankful for and proud of this achievement. I’m also proud of my department because I couldn’t have done this without help and support from all my professors. We may be small, but we are mighty.”

As a student at VSU, Moss was a member of Student Members of the American Chemical Society, where she shared her passion for science with community children through Science Saturday and Science Bowl events. She tutored other students in chemistry and logged more than 200 hours of community service with The Humane Society of Valdosta/Lowndes County’s Citizens Assist Spay/Neuter Program.

Moss presented research titled “Tuberculosis: A Third-World Disease in a Global Community” and “Developing and Filing a Provisional Patent Application: A Graphene-Glucose Carrier for the ¹⁸F Radioisotope Used in Positron Emission Tomography” at VSU’s 2019 Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Moss’s commitment to academic, service, and research excellence resulted in her being named a Zell Miller Scholar and a Reade Scholar every semester and earning the 2019 Outstanding Student for the College of Science and Mathematics Award, the 2019 Outstanding Senior Student for the Department of Chemistry Award, the 2018 Julia Wisenbaker Sumerford Scholarship, and the 2017 Southeastern Freight Lines Scholarship.

Moss plans to continue her education after graduation and pursue a doctorate in physical chemistry. She hopes to become a research professor and inspire other students to be part of “our future generation of scientists.” She is the daughter of Deborah and Jeffrey Moss.