

Georgia’s only public medical school has received funding approval to open a new four-year campus in Savannah, an expansion that will provide greater access to education and training for medical students and ease the state’s ongoing shortage of physicians.

Last week, approximately 4,200 graduates from Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro, Armstrong and Liberty campuses received associate, baccalaureate, masters, specialist and doctoral degrees in five Spring 2023 Commencement ceremonies.

With three universities and roughly four years of college under her belt, Valesia Davis was still looking for the right fit. She tried different majors as well as institutions, but finally found her place as a mechanical engineering major in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing and a mathematical sciences minor in the College of Science and Mathematics at Georgia Southern University.

Jonathan Hoopaugh was nervous when he reenrolled at Georgia Southern University in 2016. It had been six years since he’d written a college paper. However, the Statesboro native who is on the management track with Starbucks, graduated this week with honors, earning a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in management.

This week, Gabi Wiggill crossed Georgia Southern University’s Spring 2023 Commencement stage to earn a bachelor’s degree in public health with an emphasis in global health, following four years of rigorous coursework and faculty-mentored research within the Honors College. This summer, she’ll continue her studies in the Master of Public Health program at Yale University, which “was always the dream,” said Wiggill.

TEDxSavannah is one of the city’s most anticipated annual events, offering individuals and organizations in Savannah a platform to meet, share ideas and collaborate. In its 12th year, TEDxSavannah will for the first time take place in Georgia Southern University’s Fine Arts Auditorium on the Armstrong Campus on May 25 from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., debuting a new, half-day format and special rates for Georgia Southern students, faculty and staff. Following the main event, ticket holders can walk to the Armstrong Center for an after party with food trucks and live entertainment.

Savannah is a booming sports market. With locals teams becoming world-famous and new arenas being built for new professional teams, there is a growing need for sports broadcasters. Two Eagle graduates are part of the crews which transmit the games.

Joseph Vondrasek, a graduate student majoring in health science and kinesiology, is one of the winners of the 2023 Averitt Award for Excellence in Research. Vondrasek, who will receive his Master of Science and Sports Medicine on May 13, hails from Owosso, Michigan.

Stephanie Broxton has always been focused. In high school, her love of math and science led her to Georgia Southern University as a dual enrollment student, which allowed her to earn high school and college credits simultaneously. Now, after three years on the Statesboro Campus, she is graduating at age 20 with a degree in mechanical engineering.