Grant Lopez Earns Most Outstanding Cadet Award at VSU

Grant Lopez of Sugar Hill, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2023-2024 Division of Aerospace Studies Most Outstanding Professional Officer Corps Cadet Award. He is pictured with Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of VSU; Lt. Col. Lucas Brommer, commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 172; and Dr. Sheri Noviello, interim provost and vice president for the Division of Academic Affairs.

VALDOSTA — Grant Lopez of Sugar Hill, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2023-2024 Division of Aerospace Studies Most Outstanding Professional Officer Corps Cadet Award.

Lopez was recognized during VSU’s annual Academic Honors and Awards Dinner on April 25.

The Division of Aerospace Studies Most Outstanding Professional Officer Corps Cadet Award is presented to a highly ranked cadet from VSU’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 172 who demonstrates positive contributions to leadership, initiative, good judgment, self-confidence, promptness, and respect for authority; adapts to change; and possesses the highest personal and ethical standards and strong personal convictions.

“Hard work and dedication pay off,” he said. “This school and Air Force ROTC program have given me a great opportunity to learn and develop leadership skills that I will use in my career in the future. A picture is not but a past image of who one was; a mirror is not but a reflection of who I am today. But it is in the mind's eye that I see the person I am striving to become.”

Lopez graduated May 4 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems, a Minor in Computer Science, and a Minor in Aerospace Studies. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and plans to pursue a career as an intelligence officer. 

Highlights of Lopez’s time as a student at VSU include the following:

- Being part of Reformed University Fellowship.

- Being a cadet wing commander and president of the Blazer Corps of Cadets.

- Making lasting friendships.