Morgan Hill Earns College of Nursing and Health Sciences Excellence Award at VSU

Morgan Bailey Hill of Echols County, Georgia, is the recipient of the Spring 2023 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University. She will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences during VSU’s 235th Commencement at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, on the Main Campus Front Lawn.

VALDOSTA — Morgan Bailey Hill of Echols County, Georgia, is the recipient of the Spring 2023 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University.

The President’s Award for Academic Excellence is presented to a high-performing graduating student 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.

Hill will be recognized during VSU’s 235^th Commencement at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, on the Main Campus Front Lawn. She will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences.

“To be named top graduate of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is an incredible honor to me,” she shared. “It’s an honor I don’t take lightly. As a student-athlete, I had to learn early on to balance my time with studying and practicing. Succeeding on the playing field is very important to me, but I know that my days of being an athlete will come to an end. Therefore, my education was a priority for me from the beginning. I know that my future lies in my education. That said, I could not have accomplished this feat without the support of my family, professors at VSU, coaches, teammates, and friends. With such an amazing support system, I was set up for success from the beginning.”

As a student at VSU, Hill was a member of the Blazer Softball team and Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Hill’s commitment to academic, athletic, and leadership excellence resulted in her earning repeated Dean’s List recognitions and a number of athletic honors, including 2021 Academic All-Gulf South Conference, 2021 College Sports Communicators (formerly the College Sports Information Directors of America or CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team, 2021 First Team Academic All-American, and 2022 Academic All-Gulf South Conference. She was named Female Student Athlete of the Year in 2022 and 2023. She was a Zell Miller Scholar.  

After graduation Hill plans to return to VSU “to play my fifth year of eligibility for softball. Then I plan to go to physical therapy school and later specialize in pediatrics.”

Her supportive family includes parents Shelby and Rebecca Hill.