Spring 2023 Graduation Marks Firsts and Lasts

Four graduation-related events were held at Columbus State University on May 11 and 12 to celebrate the 948 CSU students who comprise the university’s Spring 2023 graduating class.  As many as 494 graduates identified themselves as first-generation college students, while this spring’s graduating class range in age from 18 to 70 years old.  More than 88% (835 students) of the spring class hails from Georgia, with the remainder representing 21 other states and territories.  Nearly 4% (35 students) of the spring class represents 20 different countries, with the highest concentration hailing from India.  Among the graduates were 21 active-duty servicemen and servicewomen (2% of all graduates), and 38 military veterans (4% of all graduates).  This spring’s class of graduates included 294 institutional scholarship recipients, 395 HOPE Scholarship recipients, 38 athletic scholarship recipients and 158 external scholarship recipients.  These awards total more than $8 million.  This spring’s ceremonies marked the last over which Dr. John M. Fuchko III will preside as interim president.  This spring’s class also marked the first graduates of the D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology, following the college’s name change in April of 2023.  Two of those graduates, Sparks and Trey Mixon, are sons of Turner College economics professor Frank Mixon.  Sparks received a BBA in marketing, while Trey earned a Nexus degree in cybersecurity.  Trey previously earned a BA in history in December of 2021, and after that a certificate in cybersecurity in December of 2022.  He is a 2017 graduate of Calvary Christian School, while Sparks is a 2019 graduate of Northside High School.  Sparks plans to advance in his career with United Parcel Service, while Trey is pursuing graduate studies in cybersecurity management.