Kennesaw State University

With the mind of a scientist and the heart of an animal lover, Kaylee Stone combined her two loves at Kennesaw State. She is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry after four years full of curiosity and achievement. "The opportunities I've had for research at KSU all happened because I applied myself and took advantage of them," Stone said.

Hunter Quarles has faced more than his share of obstacles on the road to graduation, but the Kennesaw State University mechatronics engineering major refused to let those moments define him. "I've definitely pushed through a lot of things," Quarles said. "You can't let difficult situations win. You have to keep going."

Just a few weeks after her 63rd birthday, Mattie Frascella will receive her Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in professional writing and language and literary studies. With a 4.0 GPA and as a member of the KSU Journey Honors College, she follows in the footsteps of three of her children, becoming the fourth Kennesaw State alum in her immediate family.

Deontae Nelson is earning his Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in modern dance, culminating one journey and commencing another. "Between graduating high school in 2017, enlisting in the Army National Guard, having a few setbacks, and finally graduating, I'm happy for what I've achieved and where I've come from and where I'm going," Nelson said.

December graduate Essix Moser has earned his bachelor's degree in biology and applied to doctoral programs in the hope of a better understanding of how neurological developments go wrong. He also made lifelong friends in the lab and on the rink as a member of professor Martin Hudson's lab, along with KSU's ice and roller hockey clubs.

Having been a peer mentor for students with special needs while she was in high school, Toni-Ann McKenzie understood firsthand the barriers and challenges that can occur during learning. As a KSU student, McKenzie co-founded Totally Tutoring, a company to support students with autism through specialized virtual tutoring and the use of emojis.

Kennesaw State senior Kaitlyn Sennett came back to school after a major motorcycle accident in 2024 left her bedridden and unable to walk. Intense perseverance, overwhelming curiosity, and a relentless pursuit of excellence brought Sennett to where she is today - earning her bachelor's degree in biology from KSU.

Kennesaw State running back Coleman Bennett had an electrifying season on the field, helping the Owls to the Conference USA championship and the program's first postseason bowl game. In the classroom, he was named to the CUSA Football All-Academic Team. Bennett is graduating with his Master of Public Administration with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Managing the pace of athletics and engineering required careful planning and communication by KSU mechanical engineering major and distance runner Grant Crabtree. Morning practices were followed by classes, labs, and long study sessions. Crabtree regularly met with professors before traveling for meets in order to stay on track academically.

A year before they would officially graduate from KSU with psychology degrees, identical twin sisters Analisa and Alyssa Rhymer donned their caps and gowns for an early graduation celebration. They walked the hallways and into the room of the hospital where their father was spending the last days of his battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Before she became a construction management graduate, Zaida Bustamante was balancing life by working full-time while raising three sons with her husband. "I had never pictured myself going to college," she said. "As a first-generation student, I didn't know how to apply or what steps to take, but I knew I wanted more for myself and for my kids."

DarVarous Jones and Charlotte McClung became the latest Kennesaw State students to earn their degrees as beneficiaries of the Paul Radow Scholars Program. The program was established in 2014 by longtime KSU benefactor Norman Radow in honor of his late father, Paul, an accomplished NASA engineer.

The Wellstar-Tom and Betty Phillips Elite Honors Nursing Scholars program aims to produce top-notch nurses who benefit from a strong emphasis on academic scholarship. Each scholar belongs to the KSU Journey Honors College and participates in nursing-focused research projects in addition to rigorous curriculum in the Wellstar School of Nursing.

Maria Gonzalez said her parents are proud she is the first one in her extended family to graduate from college. Plus, they are in awe of her journey from a 9-year-old little girl in a new country, to the woman she is today earning a civil engineering degree with honors from Kennesaw State.

Competing with a prosthetic leg, Mary Tankersley has placed in the top 5 of multiple national and international competitions in sport climbing. Tankersley, whose right leg was amputated after a bone cancer diagnosis, developed a passion for sport climbing two years ago and quickly elevated to one of the world's best.

Kennesaw State was the first university Temi Aladegbemi visited for a tour, and from the moment she arrived on the Marietta Campus, she knew her place was in the College of Architecture and Construction Management. A first-generation college graduate, Aladegbemi sought out new experiences and encourages others to do the same.

As a teenager, Issa Solis found a community in the world of theater. At Kennesaw State University, she connected with the concept of immersive storytelling, telling her own story and helping others tell theirs. Solis is graduating with a bachelor's in theatre and performance studies, as well as a slew of experiences in building community through theater.

Rachel Kaplan's career journey started in the great indoors, and now you'll find her studying songbirds in the great outdoors. Kaplan changed career trajectories to follow a burgeoning interest in wildlife science and earned a Master of Science in Integrative Biology degree from Kennesaw State.

Avani Shah's competitive streak paid off as she entered college and got to work challenging herself. Shah helped launch the Honors Advisory Leadership Council, where she later served as president; interned at Fortune 500 companies; and participated in peer mentoring and various student organizations.

Spellbound by the prostheses in science fiction movies like "The Terminator" and "I, Robot," Adesua Ojeifoh brought that passion to Kennesaw State's Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics program. She is graduating with a master's degree - and a mission.

Savannah Tuschl's childhood curiosity about other cultures never slowed down. Tuschl, a KSU summa cum laude graduate and the Department of World Languages and Cultures' 2022-23 Outstanding Student, will work in Ecuador for 27 months with the Peace Corps in the area of youth and family development.

Kennesaw State University graduate Bonga Maswanganye said an often-misunderstood hobby led him to his now promising career path as a programmer and virtual designer. The Marietta resident earned his degree in computer game design and development and is set to work in the video game industry after picking among several offers.

Allison Shaw, a December 2022 graduate in civil engineering, completed five internships throughout her college career and will be working full-time with the Georgia Department of Transportation in 2023. Shaw's time as a Kennesaw State student has been marked with several successes and celebrations, but in June, her world stopped when her father unexpectedly passed away.

One of Kennesaw State's first recipients of the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship, Keoni McKeever has been a first-rate student. McKeever has made the most of his opportunities to succeed, culminating in earning his civil engineering degree during Fall Commencement ceremonies.

Between workouts and 12-hour clinical shifts, Kennesaw State senior Sarah Hendrick has lived college life to the fullest. With a schedule sometimes packed from dawn to dusk, the nursing major and student-athlete said she wouldn't have it any other way.

Kennesaw State University senior Ashley Francis has always considered herself a helper. Knowing that about herself, she planned to become a nurse, but later decided she could help more people through a career in human services. This week, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in human services focused on nonprofit leadership and social innovation.

Baron Wasden draws a straight line from his education at Kennesaw State University to the new job he will start in January, after graduating this month with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems. Wasden spent his final semester completing a capstone project leading the creation of a 3D printing laboratory in the Michael J. Coles College of Business and documenting the process so that others can follow the same roadmap to create their own labs.

Alisa Machiwalla's interest in mechanical engineering was sparked at a young age by watching her father fix things around the house. "He's super handy and I wanted to be like him," Machiwalla said. This week, she is graduating from Kennesaw State's Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (SPCEET) with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in nuclear engineering.

A scientist and a dancer, Hope Didier combined her two passions and forged her own way at Kennesaw State, graduating with two bachelor's degrees.

Barrett Upton graduates early with his degree in biology thanks to diligence in the classroom and in the lab at KSU.