By Amanda Respess 

M ore than 1,400 students participated in Georgia College & State University’s commencement ceremonies on May 13 and 14. GCSU hosted four ceremonies – one for each of the university’s academic colleges – to confer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees on the class of 2026. 

A unique addition to this year’s ceremonies was an original processional march composed by Dr. David Johnson, professor of music at GCSU. Johnson’s original compositions have been performed by numerous orchestras, including the Macon Symphony Orchestra. 

The class of 2026 includes 23 valedictorians – undergraduates who earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average upon graduation. GCSU President Cathy Cox enumerated the outstanding accomplishments of the graduating class, including extensive community volunteer hours logged by the graduating seniors and a range of transformative experiences such as undergraduate research, study abroad and internships. 

College of Health Sciences

Some 300 students are graduates of the College of Health Sciences, including those earning Bachelor of Science degrees in nursing, exercise science and public health. Additional degrees were conferred for Master of Science, Master of Arts and Doctor of Nursing Practice candidates. The College of Health Sciences keynote speaker was Dr. Keisha Reneé Callins, an OB/Gyn who serves as faculty in the Mercer University School of Medicine, and as a member of the College of Health Sciences Leadership Board. The ceremony student speaker was exercise science major Alexis Walker from Jefferson, Georgia.

College of Education

The John H. Lounsbury College of Education recognized another 300 students on the evening of May 13, earning their Bachelor of Science, Master of Education, Master of Arts in Teaching and Specialist degrees, in addition to one Doctor of Education candidate. The College of Education keynote speaker was 2025 Georgia Teacher of the Year and GCSU alumna Holly Witcher (’01). The student speaker was KeShawn Hurst of Dublin, Georgia, who earned his master’s in Curriculum and Instruction. 

College of Business & Technology

The third commencement ceremony took place Thursday morning, May 14, for the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business & Technology and featured keynote speaker and GCSU alumnus Dilanka Seimon, chief commercial officer at BKV Corporation. Seimon serves on the Georgia College & State University Foundation board. The student speaker was Lauren Decker, an Economics major from Suwanne, Georgia. Degrees awarded to some 400 students by the College of Business & Technology include numerous master’s programs, such as GCSU’s award-winning MBA, and one of the university’s most popular undergraduate degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Finance. 

College of Arts & Sciecnes

The fourth and final ceremony was for the College of Arts & Sciences, which recognized more that 400 students across the sciences, humanities, arts and communication. The keynote speaker was Dr. Laurie Peebles, associate professor of Music Therapy, who is also an accomplished flutist. The student speaker for the ceremony was Serena Semere of Canton, Gerogia, outgoing president of the GCSU Student Government Association. The College of Arts & Sciences ceremony included the conferral of numerous master’s degrees including the MFA in Creative Writing and popular Master of Science in Criminal Justice, in addition to several hundred bachelor’s degrees.

Header Images: Scenes from Georgia College & State University's spring 2026 commencement ceremonies on May 13 and 14 in the university's Centennial Center. Photos: Anna Gay Leavitt